Lead Software Engineer – TableXI

TXI is looking for a Lead Software Engineer who can see both the forest and the trees.

Building the right thing is often harder than building it right. More than 80% of digital innovations fail because they are not solving the real user need. We take a pragmatic approach to innovation by deploying integrated teams to uncover insights from users and turn them into compelling digital solutions. As a boutique strategy and product innovation firm, our capabilities include product discovery, delivery, and adoption. As a Lead Software Engineer, you have an opportunity to shape and define the products that you build.

Here’s what we expect from you

• • Lead projects, provide technical guidance, identify risks, proactively learn and share, and mentor more junior team members
  • Expertly develop both back-end and front-end code
  • Understand client’s business, build relationships with clients, and guide strategic decisions to make client successful
  • Communicate professionally and empathetically, solicit and provide feedback, actively offer help, and make sure everyone is aligned
  • Guide architecture and implementation discussions, help unblock other developers, establish best practices for maintainability, and strategically balance test coverage, risk and budget
  • Take responsibility (even when no one asks)
  • Work collaboratively on a cross-functional team of developers, designers, and business analysts
  • Learn from everyone, no matter what their title is

Our Tech Stack

• • • Back-end: we primarily create applications in Python and Node, though we have a small number of applications with other setups: Elixir and Phoenix, and Ruby on Rails and Flask
    • Front-end: For Javascript, we generally use React, though we have some apps that use Stimulus for when React is too big of a hammer. For CSS we tend to use Bulma or Material Design, and prefer to use styled components for React
    • Mobile: we support native iOS development in both Objective-C and Swift. These days, though, almost all of our apps are being built in React Native
    • Infrastructure: nearly all of our infrastructure is on AWS and managed by Terraform and chef. We are in the process of migrating to Docker containers in Kubernetes (EKS)

Proper expectations setting has a big impact on your progressional growth. To set expectations for what you’ll experience as a Lead Software Engineer, here is some of what you can expect in your first two years:

//Start the company onboarding process, learning more about our company’s culture, values, history, and commitments to our clients

//Gain an understanding of our integrated development process, tooling and frameworks, and project approach

//Shadow client teams to learn from our integrated squad(s) of designers, developers, and delivery leads

//Learn more about the client experience, from product discovery through delivery and into maintenance

//Go deeper into the employee experience of working at TXI, meeting with key leaders across the company and to build relationships with the broader team

//Have completed your onboarding process with your onboarding cohort

//Started your first project and begin relationships with developers, designers, and delivery leads on your team as well as across the broader company

//Engaged your first client, learning more about their business, unique challenges, and growth opportunities

//Completed your first Sticky Note Game

//Have a manager identified and received your first quarterly feedback Attended your first company All Hands with the rest of the organization

//See a high-impact project through, ideally from start to finish. You will participate in client facing retrospectives along the way to look for opportunities to evolve and improve

//Complete a review with your manager

//Push your team to do its best work yet. You’ll know the team well by this point and will understand how to encourage them to do work the whole team and company is incredibly proud of

//Advance the craft of software development at TXI. You’ll set a good example and share what you’ve learned with others

//Learn new technologies to support further growth and develop your own skills

//Attend a company retreat to get to know all of the employees outside of the office setting

//Potentially start with a second client or re-engage with your first client on a new product or phase of work, deepening your relationships

//Have the opportunity to become an owner in the business

//Look back proudly to the project and organizational changes you’ve inspired or directed, creating an impact on how we do business

We have been recognized for both our internal employee experience and delivering a trusted customer experience. At TXI, we are very intentional about the way we work and support both our team and our clients.

1. We focus on Product Innovation: helping initially to envision new product concepts for our clients. We are core contributors to shaping the work that we do and the problems we’re working to solve. In addition to that ideation stage, we get to help them bring these new concepts to market. We help both to build the right thing (design thinking and product discovery) and build the thing right (agile mindset and iterative approach).

2. We care about DEIB (diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging). To deliver the best solutions, we need as many bright and diverse minds in the room as possible, and we need to be able to learn from them once they’re there. That’s why we’re working to create an environment that’s comfortable and inclusive for everyone. Learn more about our DEIB learnings, roadmap, and history.

3. We work in a variety of industries, encouraging our team members to explore new domains, solve different kinds of problems, and adopt new technologies. There is no getting bored in our portfolio; you’ll work across health care, edtech, manufacturing, and nonprofits, just to name a few, and building web, mobile, and IOT solutions.

4. We work in integrated teams (and avoid staff augmentation). At TXI, we seek to bring all of the good ideas to the table so you learn from the talented teammates you regularly pair with. Product, design, and development regularly collaborate, and we are all listening to the same users.

5. We are intentional about supporting each individual’s growth. “Challenge and support each other” is a core value of the company and we take that mission seriously.  That’s why every employee has a personal learning and development budget, everyone has a bi-weekly conversation with their manager about their progress, and our CEO created the Sticky Note Game to encourage each person’s path at TXI.

6. We believe that wellness and sustainable pace deliver the best outcomes. We commit to our clients to be dedicated partners for a sustainable 35 hours a week. We don’t require regular travel or client on-site time. Our team members have flexible schedules with a hybrid (colocated or remote) working environment and discretionary time off because we respect that everyone has a life outside of work

7. We value transparency and open discussion. You will have a front-line view of the company’s performance, risks and issues, finances and budgets. With unique tools and facilitation techniques, we also regularly connect and discuss topics as a company to guide our path forward.

8. We build products that matter. We advance the causes and goals of our partners and consistently deliver outcomes for them. See some examples below.

For over two decades, we’ve partnered with clients across industries to research, design, and develop custom web and mobile applications that make a meaningful impact. These impacts include:

<>Empowering nonprofits with real-time insight into progress and potential for donor impact through transformative fundraising software

<>Designing a digital experience to support LGBTQ+ 14-17-year-old youths as they face societal and personal bias with their orientation prior to coming out, driven by evidence-based treatment and therapy plans.

<>Driving accountability and motivation for patients recovering from spinal surgery through integrated mobile app and wearable device on the patient’s lower back

<>Improving prediction of patient enrollment in global clinical trials for life-saving drugs through the integration of advanced analytics and digital innovation

<>Creating a new mobile app to inspire employees to love where they work by delivering meaningful savings and recognition in their workplace, while also amplifying merchant partner reach across the US

But the work is just part of what makes TXI a rewarding place to be. We support each others’ interests—whether volunteering, organizing meetups, speaking at industry events, or learning new techniques and technologies. If there’s something you’re passionate about, we want you to pursue it so you can teach it to the rest of us. Our company Lunch & Learns, Sticky Note Game, and regular practice meetings are just some of the ways we create space for sharing, learning, and professional development.

We believe in equitable pay. The salary range for this role is $140-$195k. In addition to our base compensation, we offer a quarterly bonus based on company performance and the following benefits, intended to take care of you (and the people you care about):

-Quality health insurance

-Paid parental leave policy (equal for all TXI parents) and discretionary paid time off

-401k plan, including employer matching

-The option to work fully remote with minimal client or onsite client work

-Company retreats and All Hands days – a chance to connect with each other in person and outside of the office

-Benefits for continuing education, donation matching, renewable energy switching

Location

US-friendly hours are strongly preferred. We have a hybrid setup at TXI – with both a home office in Chicago and the opportunity for any of our team members (currently in the US, Canada, and Europe) to work distributed, either from home or one of the coworking spaces in our network. We communicate and collaborate effectively in a remote environment with tools like Miro, Notion, Slack, and Zoom. While we encourage asynchronous communication, we often work in pairs or in collaboration sessions, so it is important to have some core hours of overlap with our clients and fellow team members. Regardless of where you are living and working, we will get together as a company several times a year to help build connections and foster relationships in our team.

If we move forward, here’s what the rest of the process that we’ll use to learn together if this is an amazing fit for you:

Initial Interview: After connecting with our recruiting team, you’ll meet the hiring lead over Zoom and cover some TXI basics, then focus the conversation on questions about your past work and how it relates to what you’d be doing at TXI. This stage is a 2-call process and should take no more than 90 min total (unless you want to dig in, chat more and spend some extra time learning about us!).

Virtual Pairing Session: Here is where we give you a job preview for the role, as well as the space to show off your skills. You’ll build a simple app that is intended to allow you to set up your environment, use the tools you’re most comfortable with, and choose the languages and frameworks in which you feel most confident. You will then pair with 2 developers on the team to build upon it. This stage should take no more than 90 minutes total and we’ll both have a clear sense of how we work together by the end.

Final All Team interview: At this stage, we’re incredibly excited about your potential with TXI. Get to know more of the team you’d be working with over a 3.5-hour session. You’ll find time with 6-8 of your potential integrated team members, where we will learn more about your holistic full-stack tech experience, consultative skills, and values alignment. You will also spend time with some of our leadership team talking about how TXI can support you on your personal journey.

Offer/Decision within 24-48 hours: You’ve made it! You successfully completed the process and spent about 6-7 hours learning about us, while sharing more about yourself. Once we get to this stage, we like to move fast. We are committed to debriefing within 24 hrs. and presenting a final decision within 48 hrs. (or less!) of your final interview day. If we choose to move forward, our team will collaborate with you to ensure that you have all the information you need to make the right decision for you and your career!

TXI is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is committed to equal opportunity employment without regard to race, religion, color, gender (including gender identity, change of sex, and transgender status), sexual orientation, age, disability, ancestry, national origin, military or veteran status, marital status, genetic information or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

In an effort to protect our employees and their families during these unusual times, proof of COVID-19 vaccination is required as a condition of employment with TXI.  This means all individuals must be fully-vaccinated (i.e. two weeks after their second shot for a 2-dose vaccine such as Pfizer or Moderna, or two weeks after a single-dose vaccine such as Johnson & Johnson) to be employed with TXI.  Of course, we are willing to consider requests for accommodation on an individualized basis.  Any medical information will be kept confidential.