Backend Engineer III

The Backend Engineer III at Alma is tasked with designing, developing, and implementing maintainable and scalable backend systems. This includes creating member-facing and internal features that enhance onboarding, scheduling, and billing processes. Collaboration with cross-functional teams is also a key responsibility, ensuring the solutions provided effectively address the practical challenges faced by mental health providers.

Candidates for the Backend Engineer III role at Alma should have 2-4 years of experience in engineering, with a solid background in building products at scale. Familiarity with technologies like Python, Django, and AWS is essential, along with experience in API development and system design. A strong understanding of security compliance and proficiency in code versioning tools, especially Git, is also required.

Alma emphasizes a nurturing work environment through various benefits tailored for its team members. This includes health insurance plans, wellness stipends, flexible PTO, and comprehensive parental leave plans. Additionally, the company fosters a remote-first culture, ensuring that Backend Engineers III are equipped with necessary tools for their home offices.

The development team at Alma seeks a candidate who enjoys a collaborative environment and is committed to customer-centered software development. A desire to experiment, learn from both successes and failures, and make data-informed decisions is crucial for the Backend Engineer III role at Alma. Strong communication skills and the ability to iterate on feedback are also highly valued.

Absolutely! At Alma, the culture promotes continuous learning and professional growth. Backend Engineer III will have the chance to collaborate on various projects, engage in iterative development processes, and access resources to improve their technical skills. The opportunity to contribute to meaningful solutions for mental health care adds a level of fulfillment to your career development.

It’s beneficial to share specific projects where you've used Python and Django, discussing the role you played and the outcomes. Highlight any challenges faced and how you overcame them, which showcases your problem-solving skills and technical proficiency.

Security is paramount in backend development to protect sensitive user data and comply with regulations. You can discuss specific security measures you’ve implemented in past projects, such as data encryption or secure user authentication, demonstrating your practical knowledge in this area.

Reflect on a specific project where effective communication was key to your success. Mention how you ensured all stakeholders were aligned, how you integrated their feedback into development, and what the end product achieved in response to their requirements.

Discuss your understanding of RESTful principles and any experiences in documenting and testing APIs. Highlight how you prioritize user needs when developing APIs and your strategies for ensuring they are intuitive and easy to use.

Share your testing approach, including unit, integration, and end-to-end testing. You can mention frameworks you've used (like pytest for Python) and how automated testing contributes to maintaining code quality and reducing bugs in production.

Select a specific technical issue where you successfully identified the root cause and implemented a solution. Emphasize your analytical approach and any tools or methodologies employed to resolve the problem effectively.

Discuss your process for balancing urgent tasks against longer-term goals. You might mention using methodologies like Agile or Scrum to facilitate communication and prioritization based on stakeholder needs and business impact.

Focus on the combination of technical skills, problem-solving abilities, and effective communication with team members. Mention the importance of continuous learning and adapting to new technologies and methodologies in a rapidly evolving field.

Share specific instances where user data or feedback influenced your development choices. Discuss how understanding user behavior and needs can lead to building better and more successful features.

Talk about your familiarity with AWS or other cloud services, focusing on any specific features you've utilized in past projects. Highlight how cloud technologies can improve scalability and performance in backend systems.