Senior Software Engineer II, Cost Management

As a Senior Software Engineer II at dbt Labs, you will be responsible for designing and developing back-end services and front-end experiences that enhance cost observability for our users. You’ll also contribute to a multi-tenant, distributed architecture, ensuring optimization for reliability and scalability. Your role will involve close collaboration with product and design teams to implement new features and participate in code reviews, thus influencing the team’s engineering practices significantly.

To qualify as a Senior Software Engineer II at dbt Labs, candidates should possess 5 to 8+ years of experience in software engineering, with a strong foundation in Python and knowledge of distributed systems and APIs. Familiarity with multi-tenant SaaS architectures is essential, along with a proactive attitude toward tackling complex problems, mentorship skills, and an interest in collaborative growth, preferably with knowledge of tools like gRPC or Kafka.

At dbt Labs, you’ll find a dynamic and inclusive work culture that encourages team collaboration, learning, and growth. We value the input of our Senior Software Engineers II, allowing you to shape the engineering processes and tools as we continue to evolve. The team is supportive and emphasizes sustainable engineering, ensuring that everyone participates in mentorship and fosters a culture of feedback and development.

The Senior Software Engineer II at dbt Labs plays a crucial role in initiating and leading projects by taking ownership of service design and implementation. You will have the chance to work on pivotal features and solutions within our Cost Management team, contributing to the architecture and helping to build practices that will benefit the organization. Your experience will also guide your peers in delivering quality software, thus enhancing the overall project outcomes.

At dbt Labs, a Senior Software Engineer II can expect a competitive compensation package that ranges from $172,000 to $271,000, alongside equity options. The company offers unlimited vacation, excellent healthcare options, a 401k with a 3% guaranteed contribution, and additional perks like paid parental leave and wellness stipends. This comprehensive package reflects dbt Labs’ commitment to supporting their engineering team both personally and professionally.

When answering this question, focus on specific projects where you have implemented or designed distributed systems. Highlight technologies used, your role in the projects, and any challenges faced, as well as how they were overcome. Emphasize your understanding of scalability and performance concerns and how they relate to the architecture at dbt Labs.

Detail your strategies for identifying potential issues in multi-tenant systems, such as security and resource allocation. Provide examples showing your proactive measures or specific methodologies you've adopted. It could be beneficial to mention your experiences with adapting solutions for different customer needs within such systems, which will showcase your versatility.

Discuss your proficiency in Python, along with any additional languages you've worked with, such as Rust or JavaScript. Encourage sharing examples where your knowledge of these languages has directly contributed to successful projects or features relevant to the work at dbt Labs, emphasizing how they can be applied to cost management challenges.

In your response, mention specific CI/CD tools or frameworks you've utilized, such as Jenkins, GitLab CI, or Travis CI. Go into detail about how you've integrated these into your development workflows, emphasizing improvements in deployment speed and reliability. Relating these experiences to dbt Labs' needs will demonstrate your suitability for the position.

Share your practices for maintaining code quality, such as writing unit tests, employing code reviews, and utilizing static code analysis tools. Give examples of how these practices improved the projects you've worked on, and articulate your philosophy on the importance of writing maintainable, clean code, which aligns with dbt Labs' engineering culture.

Discuss specific instances where you've mentored team members, focusing on techniques that you found effective (like pair programming or code reviews). Highlight how you tailored your mentoring approach to different skill levels and sought to foster independence and confidence in your mentees. This demonstrates your leadership potential and aligns with dbt's values.

In your response, describe a complex project, emphasizing your specific contributions and decision-making processes. Highlight obstacles you encountered, how you collaborated with your team, and the successful outcomes. Conveying how this experience could translate to work at dbt Labs will strengthen your candidacy.

Reflect on what excites you about cost observability—whether it's the ability to empower clients through transparency or optimizing resource allocation. Explain how these interests connect to your previous experience and align with the goals of dbt Labs, showcasing your passion for driving efficiencies and insights.

Share your continuous learning practices, such as attending conferences, participating in webinars, or collaborating with peers on new trends. Discuss specific areas you focus on, like developments in cloud infrastructure or advancements in Python, making sure it relates back to the technologies fb Lab utilizes. This illustrates your commitment to growth and expertise.

Articulate your motivation for joining dbt Labs, tying together values and goals of the company with your career aspirations. Express enthusiasm for innovative analytics engineering and how your skills are well-suited to enhance the team. Clear connections between company culture, opportunities for growth, and your aspirations will resonate positively during interviews.