Senior Software Engineer - Backend

Introduction

Farmlend is on a mission to radically improve how food is distributed globally. We do this by building a global network of growers and workflow software for distributors of produce. Our goal is to enable distributors to have a frictionless experience purchasing produce year-round, from incredible growers all over the world.

With 5 billion tonnes of produce grown annually, of which 30% goes to waste, It’s incredibly important we get this right. Our vision is a world where people worldwide have access to healthier food while growers and their communities have greater economic opportunities.

This is an ambitious goal in a very archaic and fundamental industry, and we cannot do this alone. We are lucky to be backed by some of the world’s top investors who have invested in the likes of Wise, Klarna, Citymapper and Robinhood, and we’re now looking for talented and passionate people to join us on our journey.

The role

We’re looking for an experienced backend engineer to lead on designing, building, and maintaining scalable, high-performance systems for the FarmLend platform.

Here are some of the immediate challenges we’re tackling that you can expect to work on:

• Building systems to ingest and parse invoices and shipping documentation from suppliers

• Integrating with third party-systems to track the location and estimated time of delivery of vessels

• Developing software to automate communication with customers via Whatsapp, e-mail and in-app notifications

What we value

• You are clear, concise and engaging.

• You are a self-starter, you take initiative and get things done.

• You think about the big picture and strive to understand why things should be built and how they fit into the broader puzzle.

• You know how to switch gears, changing from going on the offensive and hacking your way to a solution to playing defence, solidifying what you’ve built and setting up processes for scale.

What will you be doing?

• Work with the wider team to develop a modern marketplace for trading agriculture produce

• Design, develop, and maintain the backends, APIs and cloud infrastructure that powers our platform using Node.js and Python

• Participate in code reviews and ensure that all code is maintainable, efficient, and secure

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams including product management, frontend engineering, and QA

• Contribute to the platform's scalability, performance and security

What does the ideal profile look like?

• Strong background in backend engineering, with 5+ years of experience in building and maintaining large systems and APIs.

• Proficient in one of Javascript or Python.

• Experienced in cloud infrastructure and deployment, particularly with AWS or GCP, including serverless architecture.

• Familiarity with large-scale SQL databases

• Strong understanding of CI/CD pipeline and automation tools, with experience using Jenkins, Travis, or CircleCI, and containerization technologies such as Docker and Kubernetes.

Bonus points:

• Experience building marketplaces or fintech apps

What’s in it for you?

• Salary: £85,000-£95,000

• Equity: £62,000-£82,000

• Co-working space subscription: A global WeWork subscription

• Laptop and home-office budget: A Mac/PC and a budget to set up your home office

• Private International Healthcare

• Holidays: We trust you to take the holiday you need

• Hybrid work: We aim to meet in our London office 2-3 times a week. We think it's important to see each other in person, but we're flexible and will do what works best for you.

• A sense of mission: We’re very driven by the impact we create and believe a sense of purpose and impact creates a better working experience

• Opportunity for growth: You’re joining us at the ground level and will get the opportunity to grow with the business as it scales

Application Process

Apply

Send your LinkedIn profile or CV and any other info you want to share

Stage 1: Introductory call with CTO (30-60 mins)

We'll have an initial introductory call to find out more about one another and get a brief overview of your technical experience.

Stage 2: Culture-Mission Fit (60 mins with the founding team)

This is a longer call to explore your background, career choices, experience and motivations. We are particularly interested in exploring how much you fit what we value in colleges (section: What we value). This is also an opportunity for you to understand more about Farmlend, what we do and why we do it. In general, what excites us is:

• Clear and concise communication.

• Broad thinking about how and why you do things

• High-energy and optimism

• A non-dogmatic approach to solving problems, and the ability to switch approaches and tools depending on the job.

Stage 3: Take-home (4 hours)

We realise this is time-consuming, but believe this is the best way for us to truly understand your skills and for you to show off your abilities. We're looking to confirm your ability to deliver on projects very similar to what you would do if you joined us.

Stage 4: Discussion of take-home (60 mins)

Here we're typically looking to understand how you approached solving the take-home test, exploring the approach and reasoning behind your solution. We additionally may discuss other technical questions, looking to further probe your technical expertise.

Stage 5: Offer

We aim to get back to you with a response either way within 48 hours.