Sr Software Engineer

As a Senior Software Engineer at Arkham, your main responsibilities include architecting scalable systems with a focus on modular microservices, building and optimizing Kafka-based workflows for seamless service communication, and developing robust backend services primarily using Python. You'll also ensure observability and reliability through monitoring strategies and collaborate with cross-functional teams to design effective APIs.

To thrive as a Senior Software Engineer at Arkham, you should have at least 5 years of experience building production-grade backend systems. Proficiency in Python is required, and familiarity with Node.js is a plus. Strong knowledge of microservices architecture, distributed systems, API design, and hands-on experience with Kafka are essential. You should also be comfortable with DevOps practices including CI/CD and security awareness regarding data protection.

At Arkham, a Senior Software Engineer will work on exciting projects that involve designing systems for large-scale data processing and integrating services across our innovative platform. You will be key in enabling mission-critical AI and analytics workloads, thereby directly impacting how our clients streamline their operations and gain insights from their data.

The team culture at Arkham emphasizes collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement. As a Senior Software Engineer, you’ll be working closely with other engineers and teams, fostering an environment of learning and sharing best practices. We value open communication and encourage team members to advocate for secure coding practices and participate in evolving our engineering culture.

At Arkham, Senior Software Engineers have ample opportunities for career advancement by taking on more complex projects, mentoring junior engineers, and contributing to architectural discussions. Your contributions toward setting engineering standards and advocating best practices could pave the way for leadership positions within the organization as we grow.

When answering this question, focus on specific projects where you designed or implemented microservices. Highlight key decisions you made, the technologies you used, and how you ensured scalability and resilience in your architecture.

Discuss your process for designing APIs, including your focus on RESTful design principles, authentication mechanisms like OAuth2, and ensuring the APIs meet both performance and security standards.

Share your experience with Kafka, including your understanding of consumer groups, message delivery semantics, and how you addressed issues like lag or message retention to optimize overall system performance.

Explain your experience with tools like Prometheus and Grafana for monitoring. Share specific examples where you set up alerts, the metrics you tracked, and how you used this data to improve system reliability.

Talk about your familiarity with CI/CD tools like GitHub Actions and specific deployment strategies such as blue-green or canary deployments. Share a situation where you successfully implemented a CI/CD pipeline.

Discuss your strategies for scalability, including the principles of domain-driven design you apply, how you anticipate future growth, and any specific technologies you leverage to maintain high performance under heavy loads.

Highlight your understanding of security best practices such as data encryption, user authentication, and fine-grained access controls. Provide examples of how you implemented these measures in past projects.

Explain your experience with async processing models and how you've used non-blocking I/O patterns to efficiently handle concurrency in your applications. Provide specific examples if possible.

Share your perspective on teamwork and collaboration, emphasizing how you actively engage with cross-functional teams, share knowledge, and contribute to a collective goal in delivering complex projects.

Discuss your methods for staying updated, whether through online courses, attending conferences, or engaging with professional communities. Highlight any recent technologies you've explored that could benefit Arkham's initiatives.