Lead Software Engineer (Kubernetes)

As a Lead Software Engineer at Appian, your primary responsibilities will include developing high-quality product features, performing code reviews, mentoring junior engineers, and collaborating with product management and architecture teams. You'll also engage in identifying technical constraints that impede engineering effectiveness and lead initiatives to address them.

To qualify for the Lead Software Engineer position at Appian, you should hold a B.S. in Computer Science or a related field, with an advanced degree preferred. Additionally, you need 7+ years of relevant experience or 10+ years with a B.S. You should be fluent in Java and have experience working in high-volume production environments.

Appian offers various growth opportunities for Lead Software Engineers, including tailored leadership programs, a comprehensive library of specialized training through Appian University, and tuition reimbursement for further education. This ensures that employees have access to resources that promote their professional development.

At Appian, continuous learning is central to our culture. Lead Software Engineers benefit from dedicated mentorship, onboarding training, and the First-Friend program designed to integrate new hires successfully. These initiatives ensure employees stay equipped with the skills needed to excel in their roles.

Collaboration is crucial for Lead Software Engineers at Appian. You'll work closely with both feature teams and leadership in architectural discussions, ensuring technical consistency and discipline while inspiring innovation throughout the development process. This teamwork is essential to advance the Appian platform effectively.

When answering this question, focus on specific projects where you utilized Kubernetes. Highlight challenges you faced, how you overcame them, and the impact your solutions had on the project's success. Be sure to mention any specific tools or methodologies you employed.

In your response, emphasize the importance of constructive feedback. Discuss your approach to reviewing both code quality and design principles, and share an example of how your feedback improved a project's efficiency or performance.

Share your mentorship philosophy, including the importance of guiding junior engineers to become proficient and self-sufficient. Provide examples of mentorship activities you’ve engaged in, such as code pairing or knowledge-sharing sessions, and the positive outcomes that followed.

Discuss the resources you utilize, such as blogs, webinars, online courses, or industry conferences. You might mention specific trends that excite you and how they could potentially benefit Appian's engineering initiatives.

Use this question to demonstrate your ability to communicate technical concepts clearly. Describe the design briefly, your approach to simplifying it for a lay audience, and the feedback you received from them to showcase your impact on the project.

Explain your systematic approach to performance profiling, identifying bottlenecks, and implementing optimizations. Be ready to discuss a specific instance where you successfully optimized code, detailing the metrics before and after your changes.

In your answer, emphasize the importance of documentation, standardized processes, and regular collaboration with team members. Provide an example of a time you implemented measures to ensure consistency and how it positively impacted the project.

Share a specific challenge you faced, the steps you took to address it, and the role you played in leading that initiative. Highlight your problem-solving skills and how you leveraged your team's strengths to achieve a successful outcome.

Mention the tools you're experienced with, such as Jenkins, CircleCI, or Travis CI, and explain how they enhance your development workflow. Give an example of how these tools helped your team maintain code quality during rapid development cycles.

Discuss the importance of inclusivity during architecture discussions, encouraging team input, and finding common ground on best practices. Provide an example of a successful architecture decision-making process you facilitated.