Principal Engineer

We are looking for a Principal Engineer (all genders are welcome to apply) with deep expertise in building web applications and distributed systems. In this hands-on role, you'll support cross-team initiatives that elevate the engineering excellence of Ecosia’s software and innovate on Ecosia’s products on behalf of our customers.

As a green search engine, we have a comprehensive technology stack with integrations with large partners, including Microsoft and Google, all running at the edge or in the cloud. To provide a delightful and relevant search product, our engineering solutions need to be fast & efficient and our software solutions need to be smart and simple. This is where you can help.

You'll collaborate closely with cross-functional and platform teams, including Software Engineers, Product Managers, Data Analysts and Engineering Managers. They will have team-specific or company-wide technical challenges that you will help to overcome. This will allow you to dive deep into the details of various topics, e.g. CI/CD, search technology, distributed systems, user experience, etc. At the same time, you will propose and support cross-team improvement initiatives as well as overview which technology trends we need to get ahead of.

This is a high-profile, high-autonomy role where you’ll be able to have a lot of real impact across the organization.

On any given day you might be:

• helping engineers to root cause a complicated bug in production;
• setting standards for technical architecture and leading by example;
• meeting with external partners to coordinate technical integrations;
• or working with the CTO on engineering strategy.

If you are excited to go up and down our technical stack, elevate our engineering excellence, and make people around you better, all while having a positive impact on climate change, we are excited to chat.

What you’ll do

• Work across teams - involve yourself in engineering and product solutions independent of technology boundaries. Identify areas of improvement to elevate software engineering practices, code quality, and system designs.
• Design, write, test, build, maintain, review, and deploy software. Innovate on existing software and systems. Understand where to extend, where to refine or remove, and where to start fresh.
• Advise Product and Engineering stakeholders about the technical feasibility of business ideas. Look ahead to identify technical challenges we need to overcome in the near future. Engage with external partners to improve their integrations with our software systems.
• Make people around you better. Mentor fellow Engineers and support Engineering Managers to develop learning paths for their direct reports. Share knowledge on engineering best practices across engineering teams.
• Stay on top of the latest developments in your expertise and actively contribute to adopting new technologies.

What you bring

• You have a bias for action and are proven to dive deep and overcome business-critical technical challenges.
• You can break down ambiguous problems and propose innovative solutions.
• You have a documented history of designing and shipping software to production for at least 8 years.
• You are proficient in JavaScript (or TypeScript), Go, or Python. You are curious to work with any of those languages.
• You are comfortable going up and down the technical stack, including cloud and infrastructure-as-code.
• You possess effective communication skills and can convey complex concepts to non-technical audiences. You enjoy working collaboratively as part of cross-functional teams.
• You thrive in an environment of evolving requirements and demonstrate a hands-on approach to problem-solving.

Process:

1. Intro conversation with the Talent Partner
2. Coding (up to 75min)
3. System Design (up to 75min)
4. Final - Cultural focus (up to 75min)

Why Ecosia?

• What if your job made a real difference in the climate crisis? Join Ecosia and help plant millions of trees where people and ecosystems need them most.
• We are a diverse team, committed to equality, equity, and inclusion, with members of various backgrounds: sexual orientations, genders, ages, races, ethnicities, nationalities, physical and mental disabilities, family structures, and religions.
• We offer you the opportunity to balance work with other parts of your life. (Flexible working hours, more vacation days than the law requires (30 days/year on a five-day week), designated Focus Times, remote work options) (not applicable to freelance contracts + different labor laws apply in other countries).
• Moving to Berlin for the first time? We welcome everyone and offer relocation support and visa/work permit assistance to new employees and their loved ones coming from abroad and within Germany (applicable for unlimited contracts).
• Our green benefits program, including subsidized public transport cards and bike inspection services, supports your sustainable living choices, varying by location (not applicable to freelance contracts).
• We support your professional growth through monthly learning days, hack days, online and physical libraries, a 2000€ development allowance per year, continuous feedback, etc. (not applicable to freelance contracts).

Q&A

How many people work at Ecosia?

114 (July 2024) - our departments include Engineering (incl. Platform), Product (incl. Design & BI), Marketing, Trees, Operations, and People and Culture.

Where is Ecosia based and what kind of a work set-up do we have?

We are a remote-friendly company with one office in Berlin-Wedding. People come to the office or work from home, as per their wishes and/or circumstances. Some roles require presence in the office at least from time to time. The Talent Partner will tell you more.

Compensation Range: €91K - €108K