Staff Software Engineer

As a Staff Software Engineer at Freenome, your primary responsibilities encompass providing strategic and tactical leadership, developing methodologies to improve departmental execution, ensuring regulatory compliance with our QA department, and translating business strategies into actionable plans. You’ll also be accountable for departmental performance, proactively communicating across functions, and fostering a culture of learning from mistakes.

To qualify for the Staff Software Engineer position at Freenome, candidates must have a B.S. or M.S. in computer science or a related field, along with a minimum of 8 years of experience in production infrastructure, automation, and deployment. Proficiency with cloud platforms like AWS, Azure, and GCP, as well as expertise in Kubernetes and infrastructure-as-code tools such as Terraform or Pulumi, is essential.

Freenome values the growth of its employees, and as a Staff Software Engineer, you will have the opportunity to actively identify internal transfer opportunities and pursue growth. The company conducts quarterly talent reviews, addresses performance issues constructively, and encourages team members to develop their skills while aligning with our mission of improving cancer detection.

At Freenome, a Staff Software Engineer will work with various technologies including multi-public cloud services (AWS, Azure, GCP), Kubernetes, automation tools, and programming languages like Python. You'll also interact with monitoring and logging tools like Prometheus and Jaeger, and work on data pipelines using technologies such as Kafka or Spark, ensuring you stay at the forefront of tech in the biotech space.

Freenome fosters a high-performing culture built on respect, collaboration, and inclusivity. As a Staff Software Engineer, you will be part of a small, agile team that emphasizes integrity and communication. The culture encourages feedback and innovation, allowing you to take calculated risks and learn from your experiences to drive impactful solutions in cancer detection.

In response to this question, candidates should highlight their experience with major cloud platforms, discussing specific projects where they designed or managed cloud infrastructure. Mentioning any challenges faced and how you overcame them can demonstrate both your technical skills and problem-solving abilities.

Discuss specific instances where you utilized automation tools like Terraform or Pulumi to streamline processes in production environments. Highlight the benefits of your automation strategies, such as increased efficiency or reduced errors, and any feedback received from the team.

Your answer should outline your approach to communication, emphasizing the importance of clarity and adaptability. Providing examples of how you’ve facilitated discussions or navigated conflicts in team settings can showcase your interpersonal skills.

Candidates should prepare a detailed case study illustrating how they identified the performance issue, the steps taken to address it, and the outcomes achieved. Focusing on collaboration with peers can also exhibit your ability to work within a team.

Explain your hands-on experience using Kubernetes, detailing projects you have worked on, the architecture you implemented, and challenges you faced in managing containerized applications. Highlight any relevant metrics that demonstrate the success of your deployments.

Share specific initiatives you’ve taken to promote learning, such as mentorship programs, knowledge-sharing sessions, or collaborative coding practices. Discuss the long-term benefits of fostering such an environment and how it impacts team performance.

Discuss your understanding of compliance standards relevant to biotech, such as FDA regulations or ISO standards. Share experiences where you ensured compliance within your work and how you partnered with QA teams to fulfill these requirements.

Candidates should present examples of how they prepared for potential incidents, the response protocols established, and post-incident analysis. Highlighting the preventative measures taken to mitigate future issues can also be beneficial.

Your response should include your philosophy on mentorship, examples of how you've supported junior engineers in their career development, and the impact your guidance had on their skills and confidence.

Articulate your passion for biotechnology and how Freenome's mission resonates with you personally. Sharing stories or experiences that illustrate your drive to make a difference in cancer detection can leave a strong impression.