Backend Developer
Houston, TX / United States, Remote
Kraken Technologies US 🇺🇸 – Software Engineering /
Full-time /
Hybrid
Kraken powers some of the most innovative global developments in energy.
We’re a technology company focused on creating a smart, sustainable energy system. From optimizing renewable generation, creating a more intelligent grid and enabling utilities to provide excellent customer experiences, our operating system for energy is transforming the industry around the world in a way that benefits everyone.
It’s a really exciting time in energy. Help us make a real impact on shaping a better, more sustainable future.
Our team
We follow a Kanban-like approach, using Google docs, BaseCamp, and Asana to specify and manage work; Github, CircleCI and Terraform Enterprise as part of an immutable-infrastructure, continuous delivery pipeline; and Loggly, Sentry and Cloudwatch to measure performance and monitor production.
Engineering standards are high. We thoroughly review and test code before it deploys, and maintain fast, high-value test suites. We have weekly tech talks, monthly blitz-days (eg sharpening our internal tools, upgrading dependencies) and can often be found at tech meet-ups and conferences.
Our coding conventions are open-source and we maintain a tech blog.
Octopus is a great place to learn, work with some talented engineers and level-up your skills.
Our technology
On the server-side, we mainly use Python. Most of our websites are powered by Django and the Django-REST-framework. We also use Pandas, Numpy and Jupyter for analysis and forecasting, plus Celery, RabbitMQ, SQS and Airflow for background processing.
We use AWS heavily, employing most of the "Hashistack" (eg Packer, Consul, Terraform) as part of a continuous deployment pipeline. See, for example, Django, ELB health checks and continuous delivery.
Client-side, we use React, Redux and SASS; our mobile apps are built using React Native.
What you'll do
- We have lots of difficult design challenges to solve. The US energy market is complicated, outdated and process-heavy - there's a lot of domain modelling that we need to get right. Strong attention to detail is essential.
- We have difficult technical problems to solve. With the advent of smart meters, we'll soon be processing millions of meter readings a day. We need the right technology in place to handle this smoothly as well as feeding data into a machine learning pipeline that models and predicts consumption.
- Often, we can only give you the question and not the answer, because if we knew the answer, we wouldn’t be hiring - are you someone who not only finds answers but creates value by coming back and asking better questions?
- There's a great opportunity for disruption in the US energy market. The big suppliers still dominate, but are not popular. The energy landscape is changing as we move to more dis-aggregated forms of generation, with less predictability, more dynamism and smarter technology. Octopus Energy were the first UK supplier to introduce a "tracker" tariff whose prices track the daily wholesale prices: http://www.cleanenergynews.co.uk/news/efficiency/octopus-offers-transparency-with-wholesale-price-tariff
- You'll be working for a company that’s fighting climate change. Our parent company is the largest investor in solar generation in the UK, and are funding wind and anaerobic digestion. As a supplier, we're helping people to use greener technology and renewable energy, all helping move the UK towards a lower carbon future.
What you'll have
- A minimum of 3 years of professional python software development experience is required.
- General interest in technology and problem-solving; Diligent and thoughtful.
- Good communication skills
- Python
- Django
- Django REST Framework
- Domain modelling
- HTTP and REST APIs
- Writing robust and fault-tolerant software
- Celery and async processing
- Postgres
- Legally able to work within the USA
- AWS
- Terraform, Packer, Consul
- React and Redux
- Professional understanding of the US energy domain
Plus experience in the following would be a bonus:
What you'll love about us
- Great medical, dental, and vision insurance options including FSAs
- paid time off — we know working hard means also being able to recharge as needed, we trust our employees to get the work done and take the time they need.
- 401(k) plan with employer match
- Parental leave. Biological, adoptive and foster parents are all eligible.
- Pre-tax commuter benefits.
- Flexible working environment: you need to shift around your schedule? You do you, we genuinely believe in work/life balance.
- Equity Options: every Octopus employee owns part of the business. We’re a team, working together towards huge goals. Every person is crucial to our success, you should be rewarded as such.
- Modern office or co-working spaces depending on location.
- The average salary range for this position is ~$90K-$130K (with a certain degree of flexibility) depending on level of experience.
If this sounds like you then we'd love to hear from you.
Studies have shown that some groups of people, like women, are less likely to apply to a role unless they meet 100% of the job requirements. Whoever you are, if you like one of our jobs, we encourage you to apply as you might just be the candidate we hire. Across Octopus, we're looking for genuinely decent people who are honest and empathetic. Our people are our strongest asset and the unique skills and perspectives people bring to the team are the driving force of our success. As an equal opportunity employer, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected attribute. Our commitment is to provide equal opportunities, an inclusive work environment, and fairness for everyone.
