Lead Ruby Developer

Lead Developer

Job Type: Permanent
Location: Cape Town

COMPANY DESCRIPTION
The company provides a service that enables people who are annoyed about something to find others annoyed about the same thing and get something done about it.

The online platform covers a huge range of issues and organisations at local, national and global levels. It includes business issues, e.g., 'lost luggage with American Airlines', government issues; e.g. 'school class sizes', 'parking fines with Camden Council', and even light-hearted ones 'men leaving toilet seats up'.

The company makes money by charging organisations to engage in the issues about them.

Users are recruited via Facebook, Twitter and Google feeds. The company provides a PR-friendly proposition because of the current frustrations people have around the world. It will get coverage in online media as well traditional print, radio and TV media.

Paying organisations are recruited via carrot (improve service) and stick (there's a large growing crowd of unhappy people).

Volunteers are provided with tools to spend time doing tasks for the issues about things they care about. Third Party developers are encouraged to use the API and build applications that help users who share their issues.

The CEO has founded and funded the company. He was formerly VP Marketing at Skype (where he learnt about hugely leveraged global organisations), Marketing Director at eBay UK (where he learnt about the power of platforms that have all things in one place for a user), Founder of Fonepark (where he started up a text messaging services business and sold it having nearly gone bust and making lots of mistakes), Interactive Marketing Manager at Unilever (learnt about how large multinationals work). The CTO candidate can join before or after funding which is underway and will close by the end of the year.

JOB DESCRIPTION
Technical development leadership
• Focus the technical team and architecture on the company’s users, volunteers and organisations.
• Differentiate the company through technical innovation
• Deliver a consistent and simple user experience
• The platform has been built in Ruby on Rails and presents a number of technical challenges particularly as we launch and grow. These include:
o Complex and rich domain model
o Scaling and performance
o Recommendation algorithms
o Applicability of AMQP
• Use leading edge search, database, API, mobile and infrastructure technologies across the platform
• Integrate with an extensive set of third-party APIs including Twitter, Facebook
Founder member of the in-house technical team
• Transition from third party developer of launch beta service to in-house team
• Help hire excellent individuals and build them into a high performance team:
• Roles to be hired include: Ruby on Rails developers, database architect, search architect, infrastructure manager, system administrator
• Partner with contractor and overseas third party developers as appropriate
• Provide line management
Deliver product features using agile development
• Work with the existing agile development process to make it world class
Work with the developer community
• Create a collaborative culture with third party API developers leveraging our platform

EXPERIENCE & SKILLS REQUIRED
Agile development:
• Several years experience in working on projects using Agile Development techniques
• Fully embrace intent of Agile but have developed you own synthesis of the different approaches
• Comfortable with fast-pace, changing environment
Technical skills:
• 2 years experience with Ruby on Rails required (The platform is built in Ruby on Rails)
• Be a contributor to the Ruby on Rails developer community
• Must have experience in delivering complex applications with a rich web app interface
• Dealt with scaling application and infrastructure
• Managing large databases and delivering efficient search solutions
• Has delivered complex technical projects from inception through deployment to ongoing upgrades
• Engage and embrace new technologies as they come along
Leadership
• Track record of leading developer teams
• Ability to attract and develop talent
• Demonstrated strategic thinking of strategic technical planning but also strategic business planning
• Business savvy
• Communicate effectively with non-technical people
• Has a global outlook and experience with global applications and teams
Management
Managed teams of at least 2 developers