Tech Lead/Staff Engineer

Who is Space Inch?

Space Inch is a mid-sized design and development agency based in the US and Europe. We care about writing great code and supporting the professional and personal growth of our team.  

Is this job for you?

If you are a senior software engineer who doesn’t want to manage engineers, but you do want to continue your professional development, then this job might be perfect for you.  

If you're an experienced Senior Full-Stack Engineer with a background in production-level applications, have a passion for coding, enjoy working on diverse projects, and want to stay deeply involved with the code while keeping up with the latest technologies, we’d love to talk!

In this role, you will offer technical expertise across several ongoing projects. Your responsibilities will include:

• Providing estimates and designing architectures for new projects or features.
• Reviewing plans and estimates proposed by engineers during sprint grooming.
• Conducting code reviews to ensure high-quality standards.
• Assisting engineers in overcoming technical challenges when they encounter roadblocks.
• Writing code for the projects as needed.

Ultimately, you will be accountable for maintaining the quality and integrity of our codebase.

About Working at Space Inch

• We started as a game dev company and still do a bit of that.  We focus mostly on startups, healthcare, and fintech. 
• Our team is primarily based in Croatia, with a fully remote work environment.
• Occasional travel may be required, including annual company retreats in Croatia.
• We prioritize the delivery of exceptionally high-quality work in everything we do.
• We place a strong emphasis on the personal and professional growth and development of our team members.

Requirements

Key Aspects that Make this Position Unique Include

• Vision from Experience: Our rich history of successes and challenges has shaped a clear, strong vision for the role.
• Startup Energy and Freedom: You can embrace the vibrant, energetic environment of a startup, free from the typical pressures of rapid growth and fundraising.
• Wide Learning: Though we work with clients big and small, our projects usually involve creating new products.  You will often use the latest and greatest technologies.
• Diversity of Projects: You get to do hands-on technical work with a variety of projects.  This job never gets old.

Key Responsibilities

·   Project Work 75%

• Technical Excellence: Ensure the projects maintain a high standard of technical excellence while being completed on time, within scope and budget and with few bugs.
• Hands-On Approach: Dive into the details by reviewing code, engaging in discussions with team members during sprint meetings, and validating plans.
• First In: Be the first person on a new project.  Establish the right architecture and approach on the project. Demonstrate to the team they can rely on you and on your experience and knowledge. Sometimes you will choose different technology than the team is used to. Build trust with the team by discussing pros and cons of your choices, explaining the steps necessary for success, and demonstrating that you can reliably help when the team is unsure of next steps.
• Estimate Accuracy: Assist with producing the first draft of estimates with nuance based on the discovery session. Verify that project estimates are accurate and align with the scope of work.
• Proactive Problem Solving: Identify and address challenges promptly, especially when teams or individuals encounter difficulties.
• Collaborative Engagement: Foster open communication with team members, encouraging a collaborative environment.
• Support for Struggling Teams: Be proactive in assisting and resolving issues when teams or individuals face challenges, ensuring project success without alienating team members…
• Client Needs. Understand business needs of the clients and be able to articulate those needs to engineers.
• Project Plan and Sprint work. Review project plans and align the team on sprints while monitoring milestones and timelines.  When issues arise, have the ability to dive into the sprint, diagnose the problem, recommend a solution and dig into the work as needed.
• Code Work. Remain familiar with the codebase for each project.  Resolve major issues or critical bugs when a team member is stuck.  Maintain an ability to work in any stack our team is using so that you can actually code to help the team if we are in danger of failing to deliver on time, on budget, within scope, and with high quality for any reason (requirements change, an engineer gets sick etc etc).  
• Staff Aug v End to End Projects.  Maintain the ability to help an engineer even if they are working in a staff augmentation capacity.

·   Process Work 10%

• Understand company processes and recommend improvements for processes in the technical domain.

·   Mentoring and Coaching 15%

• Accurately assess performance of engineers
• Provide good clear reports
• Communicate succinctly
• Help team members to become better at their craft

Benefits

• Competitive salary: $4,000–$6,500 USD/month gross, commensurate with experience.
• Work-life balance: Fully remote work and flexible schedules.
• Exciting projects: Opportunity to build applications for a leading company in the fintech/insurance sector.
• Great team: Work alongside a skilled, professional, and supportive team dedicated to delivering exceptional results.

• Career growth: Access to tools and resources to enhance your skills and career growth.