dscout
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Lead DevOps Engineer

Sorry, this job was removed at 10:36 p.m. (CST) on Tuesday, November 30, 2021
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about dscout
We are dscout. At our core, we are People Nerds. We empower our customers to meet the people who matter to them in the moments that matter most. Customer-obsessed companies and agencies like Salesforce, Sonos, Groupon, and Best Buy use dscout to build better products and services because of people like you. We are building a smart and driven team, and we would love for you to join us.

our platform
Our web platform is built on React.js frontend and Elixir backend tied together by GraphQL APIs. We make heavy use of PostgreSQL for our storage needs and we host our platform on Heroku. Another core part of our offering are two mobile apps - iOS and Android - that are written in Swift and Kotlin respectively. We also employ WebRTC, Twilio, and WebSockets for live video streaming and use Python for NLP and media processing.

Over ten years and 45K commits later, we've maintained a tidy code base that is well documented and battle tested by tens of thousands of users.

On the DevOps side, we have a modern architecture that has served us well. However, we are quickly outliving it and will soon need to migrate clouds (from Heroku to AWS) and evolve the CI/CD and the security aspects of our platform. But here’s what we got so far:

  • Infrastructure: Heroku Enterprise Private Shield, S3, CloudFront & CloudFlare CDNs
  • Security: Cloudflare WAF
  • CI/CD: CI on every commit, automated deploys on commits to main, Docker as a deployment unit
  • Observability: SumoLogic (logs & metrics), Honeybadger, PagerDuty

Besides migrating between cloud providers, here are some other interesting challenges that lie ahead for us:

  • Adopt Infrastructure as Code approach as we move to AWS
  • Automate staging environment setup for on-the-fly creation & deletion
  • Partner with Data Engineers to work on data pipeline & ML infrastructure
  • Introduce key management and key vaults as a way to enhance security

you are
We’re looking for smart and driven DevOps Engineers to help scale our platform. You have experience with AWS infrastructure and beyond and have seen a couple (or more) different ways to do it. You are fully bought into IaS (Infrastructure as Service), have used one of the popular tools (Terraform, CloudFormation, etc), and are excited to write our first line of IaS code. 

You have a product mindset and have a history of working with application developers and Quality Engineers to understand their needs, prioritize them, and deliver DevOps solutions that address those. You are also data driven and use metrics to drive your decisions. 

Our team is growing but we’re not a big company. We work collaboratively, move fast (we deploy to production many times a day), and we value technical quality. If you are excited about the challenge of building a platform that powers an incredible product while working alongside a great engineering team, we’d love to hear from you!

the job
what you will do

  • Be an active member of the Platform team
  • Work with a product mindset where the rest of Engineering are your customers
  • Collaborate with teammates to continuously improve the ways you and your team work
  • Design & implement DevOps solutions using a modern toolset
  • Use metrics and data to drive communication and decisions
  • Be responsible for the platform stability and help inform application architecture decisions in that context
  • Deliver platform changes in an iterative way and with no downtime
  • Work with VP of Compliance and Chief Architect on defining & adopting security best practices & solutions
  • Be a part of our on-call rotation 

what you need to have

  • 5-8 years experience in any engineering role
  • At least 4 years of experience in a DevOps engineer role specifically
  • Expertise with designing, creating, and managing AWS infrastructure
  • Expertise with using IoC tools (Terraform, CloudFormation, Ansible, etc) to manage cloud infrastructure
  • Experience with (at least some) modern tools like Docker, GitHub, CircleCi, etc
  • Understanding of how DevOps design influences, enables, and constrains application architecture and SDLC
  • Experience with observability tools (logs, metrics, tracing), troubleshooting, monitoring, and alarming
  • Solid understanding of security principles and how to design with security-first approach

We do our best to write realistic, accurate job descriptions, but we also recognize that great talent comes in many forms and from many backgrounds. Not sure if you meet all of the above bullets? Please apply anyway!

Note: As a result of COVID-19, the dscout team has decided to work remotely for the time being. However, we are now interviewing, hiring, and onboarding remotely for all open roles! While our office is temporarily open for teammates who feel comfortable coming in, no current or future employees will be required to come back into our office at this time.
This position is open to candidates who are legally authorized to work in the United States and who will be located in the US by their start date.

what we provide
Here at dscout, we are a team of passionate research, sales, technical, marketing, design, success, and operations professionals. We are driven by the power of research—how in-context insights from real people can build products and services that are more people-centric. We value learning, sharing, and building. We deeply value being a diverse and inclusive team and company, and we are looking for team members who align with that belief. We are proud of what dscout is today and we are excited to build our future with you. 

In addition to joining a smart and passionate team, you will get:

  • A strong compensation package with bonus structure. Your success is tied to company success. We are all in this together.
  • An incredible set of core benefits as well as a 401k with match, solid PTO policy, and generous company holidays. We are committed to supporting our team. 
  • Exposure to the inner workings of a growing company, including open, transparent communication within our team. You will know what is happening and why it matters.
  • An education stipend. We are committed to helping build your future.
  • A beautiful workspace along the Chicago Riverwalk, that is temporarily open for teammates who feel comfortable coming in and working from there. Read more about our new office space here!

dscout is an equal opportunity employer that values diversity. We do not discriminate based on identity- race, color, religion, national origin or ancestry, sex, gender identity and expression, age, physical or mental disability, pregnancy, veteran or military status, unfavorable discharge from military service, genetic information, sexual orientation, marital status, order of protection status, citizenship status, arrest record or expunged or sealed convictions, or any other legally recognized protected basis under federal, state, or local law.

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What are dscout Perks + Benefits

Culture
Volunteer in local community
Our “dscout gives back” program is an opportunity to volunteer in our community. Previously, we’ve worked with organizations like the Chicago Parks Foundation, Cara Collective, and the GCFD.
Partners with nonprofits
dscout will match up to $200/year on contributions you make to registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations.
Open door policy
OKR operational model
Team based strategic planning
Pair programming
Open office floor plan
Flexible work schedule
dscout offers flexibility to accommodate for different schedules and responsibilities, including flexibility for parental care, appointments, etc.
Remote work program
dscout is a remote-first company with a work from almost anywhere policy. Team members have the flexibility to decide your best way of working no matter where you live, across (most of) the country.
Diversity
Documented equal pay policy
Dedicated diversity and inclusion staff
Mandated unconscious bias training
Diversity manifesto
Mean gender pay gap below 10%
Hiring practices that promote diversity
Health Insurance & Wellness Benefits
Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
dscout’s FSA helps employees cover out of pocket medical expenses with pretax contributions up to $2,850 annually.
Disability insurance
dscout’s benefits program offers short-term disability options up to 13 weeks providing partial salary, and long-term disability options up to 24 months.
Dental insurance
dscout’s prides itself in offering employees the best insurance at the lowest cost. Our medical, dental, and vision programs cover a significant majority of premium costs.
Vision insurance
dscout’s prides itself in offering employees the best insurance at the lowest cost. Our medical, dental, and vision programs cover a significant majority of premium costs.
Health insurance
dscout’s prides itself in offering employees the best insurance at the lowest cost via BCBS. Our medical, dental, and vision programs cover a significant majority of premium costs.
Life insurance
Pet insurance
dscout offers pet insurance via Figo, through which employees receive a 5% discount and reimbursement for pets unexpected medical costs.
Wellness programs
Mental health benefits
dscout it is proud to offer support through our Employee Assistance Program through BCBS, and through the “Headspace for Work” app, which offers crisis help and mindfulness tools.
Financial & Retirement
401(K)
dscout provides 401(k) pre-tax and post tax (Roth) retirement savings plans, offering a broad selection of investment options.
401(K) matching
dscout’s retirement plan matches 100% of your contributions up to 4%.
Company equity
All dscout employees are eligible to become equity holders, as a part of your total compensation package.
Performance bonus
dscout offers company-based performance bonuses to employees every year, as a part of your total compensation packages.
Charitable contribution matching
As a dscout employee, you are entitled to up to a $200 match each year on contributions you make to registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations.
Child Care & Parental Leave Benefits
Generous parental leave
dscout offers up to 12 weeks of fully paid paid parental leave for new parents, regardless of the path to parenthood. This includes FSA dependent-care with pretax contributions up to $5,000 annually.
Family medical leave
All paid time off under dscout’s Parental Leave policy, short-term disability, and state benefits will run concurrently with the FMLA, as applicable.
Adoption Assistance
dscout offers up to 12 weeks of fully paid paid parental leave for new parents, regardless of the path to parenthood.
Restricted work hours
While we have employees working across multiple different states and timezones, our headquarters are based in Chicago. This means our core working hours are loosely based on central time.
Company sponsored family events
The dscout team works to offer company sponsored events for families, including a recent play date for all parents, with a guest appearance from a family magician.
Vacation & Time Off Benefits
Unlimited vacation policy
Generous PTO
We believe in promoting work/life balance and do not want to restrict your time off. We have implemented a flexible PTO policy and encourage dscouters take off at least 4 weeks during the year
Paid volunteer time
Our “dscout gives back” program is an opportunity to volunteer in our community. Previously, we’ve worked with organizations like the Chicago Parks Foundation, Cara Collective, and the GCFD.
Paid holidays
Paid sick days
Our flexible PTO policy includes sick days, so our teammates are able to take this time off when needed.
Office Perks
Commuter benefits
dscout offers pre-tax commuter benefits for all employees for transit and parking.
Company-sponsored outings
dscout provides quarterly team outings as well as annual company-wide holiday parties and in-person meetup events.
Free snacks and drinks
dscout has a fully stocked kitchen for those wanting to use the office space. This includes a variety of snack options, coffee and tea, and of course unlimited LaCroix.
Some meals provided
Company-sponsored happy hours
Onsite office parking
Recreational clubs
dscout has sponsored a variety of sports leagues year-round, including kickball, softball, broomball, etc.
Home-office stipend for remote employees
dscout offers an annual stipend of $200 for home office supplies, to make your remote office environments as comfortable as possible.
Onsite gym
Professional Development Benefits
Job training & conferences
Lunch and learns
Promote from within
Continuing education stipend
dscout offers up to $2,000 (based on your role) per calendar year to use for work-related professional development purposes.
Continuing education available during work hours
Our teams have created a series of learning committees that focus on topics like sustainability, work well being, working parent perspectives, etc. as an opportunity to further curiosity.
Online course subscriptions available
Customized development tracks

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