Software Architect, Back-End

ABOUT TED

TED is on a mission to discover and spread ideas that spark imagination, embrace possibility and catalyze impact. Our organization is devoted to curiosity, reason, wonder and the pursuit of knowledge — without an agenda. We welcome people from every discipline and culture who seek a deeper understanding of the world and connection with others, and we invite everyone to engage with ideas and activate them in your community.

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.