Remote-first
Core hours 11–3
Dog friendly
Job Description
Skills & Experience
General: We are looking for candidates that can demonstrate an interest in technically challenging topics in computing, especially relating to realtime and distributed systems, networking and systems programming. Successful candidates will be able to demonstrate their ability to contribute and solve problems in these areas via professional experience and/or personal projects. Ultimately, ability will outweigh specific experience when reviewing candidates for this position.
Experience: Prior experience of working in a computing science or mathematics research setting is preferred, either in industry or academia, ideally with a relevant postgraduate research qualification. However, we don't have any specific experience requirements that are essential for the role. We will strongly prefer candidates that do have a track record in Node.js or Go, or can show experience in solving problems in distributed systems, and ideally have some familiarity with systems-level programming as well experience with high-level languages.
Open source: We prefer developers who have contributed to the open source community, even if those contributions are small.
It would be great if you have:
An active interest, and a track record of working on, distributed systems problems. Find out what it takes to be a distributed systems engineer.
Excellent analytical skills backed by a strong academic background in Computing Science or Maths.
Professional development experience in Go and/or Nodejs.
An excellent practical understanding of distributed systems software, networking, protocols and systems programming.
It would be nice if you have:
Experience of building and operating production systems at scale.
Experience in a research setting involving topics relevant to our product including realtime and distributed systems, protocols, collaboration and associated technologies.
What’s it like to work at Ably?
Ably is entering a new phase of growth led by an experienced senior team. You’ll be part of a successful, highly motivated, and extremely collaborative team.
To provide the infrastructure required for the next generation of the internet, to tell the world about it, and to support everyone inside Ably to do so we hire people who are ready and capable of taking on challenging problems in a high-growth environment.
We want to work in a company of inclusive people who treat each other well. To really thrive at Ably, you’ll need to believe in and be prepared to do your work in line with our values, which are:
Open for all. Open is a mindset. When open, we’re better collaborators, communicators and creators. Whether open source, standards, or protocols, open hearts, minds, and eyes. It’s better when it’s open.
Bias for action. We avoid analysis paralysis at all costs. We lean into doing in order to move us forward. When we have enough of what we need to act, we act.
Even the best do better. We want to be the best - but that doesn’t mean we rest when we are. Improvement and growth - true betterment - is an ongoing journey. One fuelled by curiosity and taking risks.
Technology needs humanity. Our technology means little without people - whether that’s how we treat our colleagues, or how we design developer experiences. Being human matters.
Dependable by default. Dependability is integral to our mission and technology, but being dependable starts with our people. When we care enough to take real ownership of our products and problems - all else will follow.
Bold creativity wins. When viewed through a different lens, what stands in the way can become the way. The bigger the challenge the easier the choice: bold creativity will always move us forward, create better outcomes, and set us apart.
What’s in it for you?
A great company culture
Share options
The chance to learn and grow with a fast-moving company, supported by a learning budget that gives you access to professional training, events, conferences, workshops etc.
Remote first: Unless you want to pop into our communal office space in Shoreditch, London, you’ll work from home most of the time, apart from when we have planning sessions and Summits. Travel to the office is at the employee's expense, apart from when we have Ably Summits
Your choice of high quality tech kit to work on
Home workstation set up budget of £500, plus an annual top-up of £150
Regular company away days and social events
Friday need-to-know drinks and snacks
Private health insurance, including Doctor@Hand
Access to private and confidential coaching with Sanctus
24/7 Employee Assistance Programme with AXA
A monthly wellbeing budget with Juno
25 days of paid annual leave (33 days including bank holidays)
10 days of paid sick leave (including mental health days) per year
Dog friendly office for when you’re in the office!
If you enjoy working as part of a technology company, value open source, and love solving hard problems - then we’d love to hear from you, regardless of whether you fit the job description exactly or not. If in doubt, drop us an email; we’d be more than happy to give you some advice on your application.
We believe our differences as individuals is what makes us great. Our people are at the heart of what we do, and we encourage everyone to be their most authentic self at Ably: we see inclusivity and openness as fundamental to creating long-term success as an organization. We encourage applications from all backgrounds regardless of age, disability, gender, sexual orientation, parental status, race, religion, educational background or neurodiversity. Ably has an amazing opportunity ahead of us, and we want anyone to be able to contribute to that opportunity.
Company benefits
The FlexScore® is the result of a rigorous 2-step verification of a company’s flexibility
First we assess the flexibility options Ably provides and then we anonymously survey a statistically significant proportion of their employees to make sure Ably is as flexible as they say they are. Our assessment is based on the six key elements of flexibility: location, hours, autonomy, benefits, role modelling and work-life balance.
We ask the hard questions so you don’t have to.
Working at Ably
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