POSITION OVERVIEW
TED delivers conferences and media that brings communities together around Ideas Worth Spreading and delivers those ideas to millions of people around the world. As Software Architect, Back-End, you will own the back-end systems and architecture that power TED’s media, identity, and associated systems. You will build and maintain large-scale systems in Ruby on Rails backed by MySQL. You will assure the reliable delivery of service to millions of people. This is an opportunity for your work to elevate the world’s most urgent ideas on a platform with global reach and a massive audience.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Ensure the successful delivery of TED’s digital platform experience through rigorous engineering best-practices including coding to team-accepted standards, test-driven development practices, CI/CD enablement, observability and alerting implementation, and thorough documentation.
Deliver a technology back-end that meets demanding SLAs 24/7/365
Collaborate with product managers, engineers and stakeholders to ensure clear and consistent expectations for delivery
Engage fully in program management practices and ceremonies including team including scrum-style meetings, standups, wider department meetings, use of ticketing and tracking systems and other processes that may be prescribed
Promote pairing and conduct code reviews with engineers in order to provide support, feedback and encouragement.
Foster growth and support other back-end engineers through constructive, collaborative code reviews
Analyze user requirements and design solutions for new features
Design tools and libraries that will be used by other back-end engineers and company-wide
Manage and monitor back-end testing, performance, and code quality
Influence and guide the direction of our conference products back-end
Experiment with new technologies and share discoveries with the team
Enthusiasm for and usage of AI-enabled workflows to accelerate the team’s work
Willingness to contribute however possible to ensure overall effectiveness of the position
Other duties and special projects as may be assigned from time to time
10+ years Ruby on Rails experience, including gem development or rails engines
10+ years MySQL experience
12+ years overall professional experience in software development
Experienced with DevOps technologies including containerization solutions with a preference for Docker/AWS
Experience authoring and delivering APIs via GraphQL strongly preferred
Demonstrated success in designing complex ecosystems of web services
Demonstrated experience using AI technology to accelerate coding productivity without sacrificing quality
Experience with issues of scalability, uptime and quality of service
Experience with data security and privacy
Experienced in additional relational and document-based database technologies
Strong focus on code-quality, documentation, test-driven development, performance, scalability, monitoring, and readability
Able to debug and test problems through complex, interconnected web services.
Curious and knowledgeable about new web technologies and frameworks.
Able to refactor legacy projects in addition to greenfield development
Ownership of work with the ability to drive projects from inception through to completion, balancing doing it right and doing it fast
Values cross-functional collaboration and a diverse workplace
Familiarity with git, version control, and Unix/Linux command line best practices
Some experience with Javascript back-end technology: Express/Node a plus
Some experience in Javascript, CSS, HTML, and related Web APIs a plus
WORKPLACE CONDITIONS / PHYSICAL, MENTAL AND VISUAL DEMANDS
General: Office environment
Physical: Repetitive movement of wrists, hands, and/or fingers
Mental/Visual: Concentrated mental and/or visual attention; work involves performing tasks to very close accuracy and quality specifications
Machines, Tools, Equipment, Electronic Devices, Computer Software: Ability to use common office equipment such as telephone, computer and copier
Computer programs to include MS Office, Mac programs, Google Docs, functional related databases
Travel: Upon request
TED Conferences LLC is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We invite all qualified candidates to apply online with their cover letter, resume, and writing sample or portfolio.