Senior Backend Engineer, Grafana Search & Storage (Remote, EMEA)

As a Senior Backend Engineer at Grafana Labs, you will play a pivotal role in developing our Unified Storage component, which is essential for the functionality of our Grafana Cloud platform. Your responsibilities will include designing, building, maintaining, and operating critical systems while ensuring reliability, performance, and availability. You'll also collaborate with your team to deliver new features and take part in on-call rotations, making sure the services run smoothly for our customers.

To be successful in the Senior Backend Engineer role at Grafana Labs, candidates need solid experience with the Go programming language and a strong understanding of Kubernetes API patterns, such as controllers and operators. Experience in software development for cloud environments, writing clean and performance-oriented code, and delivering projects from inception to completion are also vital. A passion for creating user-focused products is essential, alongside excellent communication and collaboration skills in a remote setting.

Grafana Labs promotes a remote-first culture, providing flexibility to its teams spread across various locations. Collaboration is key, and regular meetings are held over video calls, ensuring that every team member is engaged and supported. You’ll be encouraged to mentor others while also being part of a friendly, inclusive, and open-source-focused environment where your contributions are highly valued and recognized.

Absolutely! At Grafana Labs, we believe in continuous learning and skill development. As a Senior Backend Engineer, you'll have the opportunity to dive deep into our cloud products and a large distributed system. We encourage team members to contribute to other projects outside of their direct responsibilities, which fosters an environment of growth and innovation while learning from each other.

The base compensation range for a Senior Backend Engineer at Grafana Labs in Sweden is between SEK 738,518 and SEK 923,148. Actual compensation may vary based on experience, skills, and performance during the interview process. In addition to base salary, Grafana Labs offers benefits such as equity, bonuses, and various other perks designed to create a rewarding work experience.

When answering this question, discuss your specific experiences using Go, detailing projects where you've utilized it, challenges you've overcome, and how it has contributed to your development as an engineer. Be prepared to mention your proficiency in writing clean, maintainable code and any frameworks or libraries you’ve worked with.

Use this opportunity to highlight your knowledge of Kubernetes, specifically how you've implemented controllers and operators in past projects. Discuss the advantages of using these patterns for managing services and scaling applications, as well as any specific project experiences that illustrate your points.

When faced with this question, provide a clear, concise example of a significant issue you encountered in a production environment. Talk about your approach to diagnosing the problem, the steps you took to resolve it, and any lessons learned that you'll apply in future situations.

In your response, explain your personal framework for prioritization. You might reference methods like agile methodologies, Kanban boards, or simply prioritizing based on impact and urgency. Discuss how effective communication with your team plays a role in managing workload.

Demonstrate your understanding of reliability principles, mentioning practices such as automated testing, continuous integration and delivery, performance monitoring, and incident response strategies. Be prepared to share examples of how these practices have been integrated into your workflow in previous positions.

Focus on your communication strategies and tools you use to stay connected with remote teammates. Discuss successful experiences you’ve had working in a distributed team and any tools (like Slack, Zoom, or project management software) that help facilitate collaboration.

When discussing your experiences with MVPs, explain the problem you aimed to solve and the iterative process you followed to develop a minimal, yet functional version of your project. Highlight your thought process in gathering user feedback and incorporating it into future versions.

Describe your approach to code reviews, emphasizing the importance of constructive feedback and collaboration. Share experiences where code reviews led to improved code quality or how they fostered knowledge sharing within the team.

Explain your strategies for managing stress in high-pressure situations, such as staying organized, breaking tasks down, and keeping communication open with team members. Share any personal anecdotes that demonstrate your ability to deliver quality work under tight timelines.

When answering this question, express your enthusiasm for Grafana's innovative approach to data visualization and observability. Discuss how the company's mission aligns with your professional goals, and mention any specific projects within Grafana that inspire you or match your skills. This is a great chance to showcase your knowledge of the company and its products.