Senior Backend Engineer, Charging Services

Location: SF Bay Area, or remote in the US

 

About Synop

Our purpose is to improve the world by decarbonizing global transportation through electrification. We're doing it by accelerating the transition to electric fleets by connecting vehicles, chargers and the grid through software. Synop provides one solution for fleet operators to manage vehicle telemetry, chargers and energy all in one place, gives them an operational dashboard for critical fleet functions, and the ability to build on additional products and services (e.g. payments, reporting).

 

What’s special about our solutions?  

  • AI automation to maximize EV fleet uptime

  • Deep integrations resulting in real-time data and control

  • Cost savings from optimized energy usage

  • Revenue generation through smart grid participation

 

Our ambitions are massive - build a game-changing software company and lower greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector.  We are a seed-funded start-up backed by leading VCs including Obvious Ventures, Wireframe Ventures, and Better Ventures.  Come join our rocket ship and help accelerate our growth!

 

Interested in making a positive impact on the climate crisis, solving tough problems, and breaking new ground?  Then read on…

 

Our Story

Gagan Dhillon and Andrew Blejde co-founded Synop in 2021 to tackle a large and meaningful problem:  create the infrastructure for commercial transportation to transition to electric vehicles and put EV operations on autopilot, bridging charging, fleet operations and energy management in a single, unified platform to take care of all fleet electrification needs. 

 

Our People

We are a people-first company aiming to create a unique culture where everyone can do work they’re proud of, form lasting relationships, and make an impact. Our values help define who we are as a company:

 

  • We are customer obsessed.  Our mission is to solve the biggest, hidden infrastructural barriers for customers looking to make and manage the transition to electric vehicles seamlessly.

  • We are accountable. We deliver what customers need…sometimes before they know what that is…and have the tenacity it takes to be first movers.

  • We are curious. We gain a deep understanding of customer needs and wants and explore new approaches to help our customers reach their goals.

  • We approach others with empathy and acceptance. We see the product from the customers' perspective; we see people as they want to be seen, with an open mind, honoring and accepting unique differences.

  • We act with urgency.  We have a unique opportunity right now to make a remarkable difference for the world, for our customers and for our people.

 

…and we uphold the highest standards of honesty and integrity in all we do.

We take pride in our people as well as in the products and services we provide, and each role is not only an opportunity for us to hire great talent but make a connection with someone who shares our values and is passionate about our mission.

About You

We are on the lookout for a highly-skilled Senior Backend Engineer to play a central role in the development and scaling of our charging-related web services. Your role will be pivotal in helping us deliver EV charging-related functionality, synthesizing customer needs, building deeper integrations with EV charging hardware, and ensuring our multiple backend services all operate together seamlessly to provide a robust, performant product and experience. We value keeping customers operational and competitive, and driving the world towards an electrified and greener transportation system. We want to work hard, build great products, and do our small part to make the world a cleaner and better place. We are looking for someone kind, smart, and curious, with an eye for creativity, and a disciplined focus on scalability, quality, and performance.

What You’ll Be Doing

Backend Development & Architecture:

  • Design, develop, test, and deploy APIs and backend services that augment our charger functionalities.

  • Translate product requirements into a comprehensive implementation plan and coordinate execution across multiple team members.

  • Own product development through the entire development lifecycle, from scoping and planning through customer delivery, with plans for testing, monitoring, and collecting feedback and metrics for success.

  • Perform code reviews, design reviews, lead performance testing, and push us to improve our automated testing suites.

 

Team Collaboration:

  • Engage actively with various teams (across engineering, product, and customer success) to identify dependencies, eliminate blockers, and refine processes for faster and better delivery.

  • Write user documentation and tutorials that foster a user-friendly API product experience.

  • Foster a culture of continuous improvement, finding innovative solutions to operational challenges.

  • Mentor junior engineers, and seize opportunities to help others grow.

 

Scalability and Performance:

  • Focus on designing and testing systems to ensure they are geared for scalability, quality, and performance (think about ~250k IoT devices, all online and sending us data continuously via websocket connections, and providing aggregated and real-time information seamlessly and instantaneously).

  • Embrace the challenge of working with IoT and embedded systems, focusing on fault-tolerance – handling offline devices, data delays, service disruptions, data backfills, etc – and building resilient systems.

What You’ll Bring to the Role

Required Qualifications

  • A minimum of 7 years of back-end (and/or full-stack) professional development experience, with a deep understanding of Java. Deep knowledge of Golang and Typescript are a strong plus.

  • A proven track record of leading large projects, managing them from design to implementation.

  • A relentless pursuit of process improvement and a knack for devising creative solutions to complex challenges.

  • Outstanding documentation and written communication skills that translate complex technical concepts into understandable, actionable insights.

  • Kindness, a high EQ, and the ability to listen, communicate with, and collaborate with other members of the team.

  • An ability to move quickly and deliver while things are in flux, and where roles & problems may be less defined.

 

Preferred Qualifications:

  • Experience integrating with multiple different protocols or protocol versions, and integrating these into a single shared abstraction layer.

  • Prior experience working with IoT devices

  • Experience in the Clean Tech or Energy Industries.

  • Prior experience working with remote teams.

  • Prior experience working with early stage and/or growth-stage startups.

 

How You’ll Be Supported

 We want our people to feel supported so they can thrive in all aspects of their work-life.  We offer a full array of employee benefits and are adding more options as we grow.  In addition to working with remarkable people in a remarkable culture, we offer the following:

  • Medical, dental, vision coverage (Synop contributes part of your premium cost), along with Employee Assistance Program and other benefits, including company-paid life insurance.

  • Unlimited PTO.  We want you to take time off to recharge so you perform at your best. We don’t set a specific number of days. Take what you need; just be reasonable and make sure your deliverables are met. 

  • Paid holidays.

  • Wellness benefit.

  • Flexibility.  We are a virtual-first company with people across the US.  We manage by objective.

  • Flexible spending accounts, Health care spending account and Commuter benefit.

  • Access to local co-working space (where we have people, you’ll have colleagues to collaborate with in person!).

  • A fast-paced and collaborative environment where we leverage the latest technology.

  • An opportunity as an early team member to help shape the direction of the company.

 

All things are a conversation and salary will be discussed in the 1st call, not the last one. Compensation is dependent upon many factors, such as: skills, experience, and relevant past roles.  The target for this role is $150,000 - $200,000.

 

Our Commitment to Inclusion and Equity

Sustaining the future is what we do…for the planet, our customers, and our people.  We are committed to creating and sustaining a culture of inclusion and connectedness.  Our commitment to inclusion and equity means that we value who you are and the path you’ve taken to get here.  We're more interested in your experiences, results, and impact than brand names, degrees, or keywords on your resume.

 

Synop recruits and supports a distributed team of people across the US who work remotely.  Our guiding principle is “purpose-driven”: whether we work at home or in one of our offices, and with what frequency; whether we’re working virtually or traveling to get together for periodic in person collaboration events.  Our working norms are evolving, and we expect our people to help shape our path forward.

 

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age or veteran status.  Synop is also committed to compliance with all fair employment practices.

 

If you’re looking to join a company where you can proudly bring your whole self to work, can help drive success, and have fun solving hard problems that matter, we can’t wait to meet you.  Apply today!

 

This position has been filled.