Experienced Software Engineer

As an Experienced Software Engineer at Automattic, you will be responsible for optimizing large-scale systems for performance, scalability, and resilience. You will work collaboratively with your team in design discussions and peer code reviews while being involved in developing projects like Gutenberg and Jetpack.

To qualify for the Experienced Software Engineer role at Automattic, candidates should have production experience with programming languages such as PHP and JavaScript. Familiarity with system architecture and a passion for software development are also essential. Experience with testing frameworks is a plus!

At Automattic, experienced Software Engineers are encouraged to grow their careers through various pathways, including leadership options, professional development budgets for courses, and active participation in collaborative teams. Your input can directly influence the evolution of projects and engineering practices.

The culture for Experienced Software Engineers at Automattic is positive, supportive, and inclusive, fostering open communication and collaboration across global teams. Employees enjoy a flexible work environment, an open vacation policy, and the opportunity to contribute to open-source projects, bringing your ideas to the community.

While prior experience with WordPress is a bonus for the Experienced Software Engineer position at Automattic, it is not a strict requirement. Enthusiasm for learning and adapting to technologies like PHP and JavaScript is more important, as you will be working on various WordPress projects.

In answering this question, focus on a specific problem, the steps you took to address it, the technologies you used, and the impact your solution had on the overall project or team.

Explain your approach to prioritization, such as user feedback, business impact, and technical dependencies. Mention any tools or methodologies you use for project management.

Discuss your experience in both giving and receiving feedback during code reviews and how they contribute to team collaboration and code quality. Highlight any best practices you follow.

Share your strategies for professional development, such as reading blogs, attending conferences, or taking online courses. Mention any communities you engage with to foster learning.

Provide a detailed example of a situation where you identified performance issues, the analysis you conducted, and the steps you implemented to optimize system performance.

Outline your systematic approach to debugging, such as isolating components, using logging or monitoring tools, and collaborating with team members to gather insights.

Discuss the importance of code quality and testing methodologies you incorporate, such as unit testing, integration testing, and using testing frameworks to maintain code integrity.

Reflect on your strategies for managing pressure and tight timelines, including effective communication with stakeholders, prioritizing features, and ensuring quality through focused efforts.

Choose a design pattern relevant to the role, explain its benefits, and describe a project where you utilized it effectively to solve a problem or enhance the code structure.

Discuss your passion for open-source technologies, the significance of democratizing publishing and commerce, and how Automattic’s culture aligns with your professional values and goals.