Sr. Software Engineer

WHO WE ARE

Level99 is a first-of-its-kind destination for real-world, social, challenge-based entertainment for adults featuring over 50 mental and physical challenges set in immersive, artistic environments. Each challenge is designed to bring a group together in engaging activities that take 2 to 4 minutes to complete, sparking moments of laughter in epic fails and high-fives in triumphant wins. From navigating our iconic Axe Run, to solving puzzles in a Crystal Cavern, to conquering the largest pinball game imaginable, Level99 offers endless ways to play using both body and mind. Level99 tracks each player’s progress as they work their way up the coveted leaderboard or try to collect every “star” available in the venue, unlocking exclusive rewards as they play. To enhance the gaming experience, Level99 offers a full-service bar, restaurant, and beer hall, Night Shift Kitchen + Tap, that features scratch-made cooking, legendary craft beers, hand-made creative cocktails, and a variety of dining and gathering spaces for events. In 2025, we will be adding Victory Brewing in Tysons, VA and Two Roads Kitchen + Tap in West Hartford, CT to our group of restaurants as we team up with local brewers in support of our northeast expansion. 

Level99 opened its first location in 2021 in Natick, MA, followed by its second location in Providence, RI in 2024. A young, entrepreneurial company, Level99 has immediate plans to triple in size over the next 18 months. We are backed by Act III Holdings, led by Panera founder Ron Shaich, and we have a talented team that has worked on successful entertainment projects such as 5 Wits, Boda Borg, Blue Man Group, and Walt Disney Imagineering. This position is an opportunity for an experienced and motivated individual to dive into a fast-paced, dynamic environment where you can apply your skills in a fun and exciting setting that brings joy and entertainment to hundreds of thousands of people each year. More information on Level99 and our restaurants is available at http://www.level99.com.

JOB DESCRIPTION

A Sr. Software Engineer on the Platform Team is responsible for the design and development of best-in-class software that operates as the foundation of the Level99 experience. A Level99 software engineer can expect to work on a broad range of applications and domains including modern web development, front-end interactive software, scalable back-end APIs and infrastructure, and more, both for internal use and for customer facing applications. Level99 Engineers identify critical aspects of new challenges and propose solutions that take technical, experiential, and creative needs into account. They work closely with the project management, product, and in-venue teams to ensure that each software solution meets the technical and creative requirements of each feature. The Sr. Software Engineer maintains high standards of code quality and adheres to industry-standard best practices for software development. 

In addition to creating new applications and features, the Sr. Software Engineer participates in code reviews, actively enhances the skills and learning of junior team members, proactively works to eliminate technical debt, and works to keep their skills up to date with rapidly changing technologies. This is a “working” design engineer role, with the Sr. Software Engineer responsible for managing and organizing the work, as well as prototyping and implementing finished solutions directly.

The position is remote, but candidates must be based in Eastern or Central Times Zones only. The Platform Team is based in the Greater Boston area and current venues are located in Natick, MA and Providence, RI.

• Ideate, develop, specify, design, test, and maintain software applications, features, and fixes as required
• Build software components and features in a variety of disciplines, such as:
• Customer facing interfaces, including web applications, kiosk terminals and screen-based interactives
• Internal applications and staff tools 
• Back-end infrastructure, including API design and database management
• DevOps tasks, such as toolchain development and system monitoring
• Schedule, plan for, present at, and lead review meetings pertaining to engineered designs 
• Translate preliminary concepts into technically sound, actionable specifications and communicate these to relevant team members
• Develop software features at every stage of their life cycle, including ideation, specification, risk assessment, development, testing, deployment, and maintenance
• Accurately estimate the duration of software related tasks and feature additions to aid in company-wide planning and work scheduling
• Iteratively improve concepts and implementations as they progress through the Software Development Life Cycle
• Identify areas of technical debt and/or risk and implement strategies to fix them
• Communicate the status of work-in-progress to team members and Software Team Manager clearly, proactively, and often
• Work to preemptively identify interdependencies with other departments and coordinate workloads and schedules to maintain continuous forward progress on the project
• Maintain an up-to-date understanding of emerging technologies; research and apply them as appropriate for the needs of the project
• Create and maintain detailed, accurate, and up-to-date documentation on applications, systems, related hardware, and more
• Coordinate with project management, product, and other teams, to ensure compatibility and design intent are maintained
• Troubleshoot software applications and systems, and deploy fixes as necessary
• Occasionally attend and contribute to design and planning meetings
• Identify and interface with external contractors in the event that third-party services are retained
• Demonstrate wise and perceptive people performance management skills with high emotional intelligence and the ability to identify talent and develop other tech team members to rise to their full potential, giving timely, honest, ongoing coaching and feedback through one on ones and performance appraisals  
• Display skill in leading and navigating hard conversations and show skill, grace, maturity, and decisiveness in relationships with subordinates and co-workers
• Continuously uphold Level99 brand and visual standards across all parts of the business, including product, experience, graphic design, and display standards, as well as environmental cleanliness and organization
• Take initiative, seeing what needs to be done and assembling the resources to accomplish self-determined goals, in continual pursuit of improvement of our guest experience and venue performance 
• Follow the direction of supervisors and manage time effectively
• Maintain a positive, upbeat, pro-active attitude and inspire the same in co-workers
• Other duties, as assigned

• Ability to work a flexible schedule based on business needs which may include days, nights, and weekends as well as emergency responsiveness to pressing technical issues as required
• Ability to travel for the installation process at new venues, as required
• Ability to read and comprehend software documentation, as well as any other related specifications required to develop a robust solution
• Four year college degree in computer science, math, engineering, or other relevant discipline
• 4+ years hands-on software development experience in a professional environment
• Working knowledge of data structures, algorithms, design patterns, concurrency, and cloud computing
• Experience in all phases of SDLC like Requirement Analysis, Implementation, and Maintenance
• Self-motivated to stay ahead of development technologies, tools, and implementation patterns and a desire to share this knowledge within teams and the broader organization
• Detail oriented with focus on quality of the user experience, product, data, and code
• Experience designing and building systems that are maintainable, evolvable, and tested
• Ability to self-manage time and resources in a low-oversight environment
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Highly organized with strong attention to detail
• High integrity, honesty, and professionalism
• Ability to work well under pressure in a fast paced, ever changing work environment
• Understands, utilizes and embraces new technology and its implementation into our operation
• A positive, joyful, upbeat and energetic attitude – leading by example
• Experience developing scalable RESTful APIs, preferably using Python and the Django Rest Framework
• Experience with database table and query design, preferably using MySQL
• Experience developing user facing single page applications, preferably using React

• Three years’ experience working in a related technical design capacity, preferably with experience specifically in high-traffic location-based entertainment or customer facing eCommerce
• Advanced knowledge in one or more of the following: software architecture, database management, DevOps, eCommerce, application scaling
• Experience developing software using agile methodologies
• A strong desire to ensure code quality by maintaining automated tests

While we don’t expect a candidate to have deep experience in all of the above, we’re looking for someone with the passion and capability to learn quickly in the areas that are new!

YOU MIGHT BE A FIT ON THE LEVEL99 TEAM IF YOU…

• Like to laugh, would be described as a "low maintenance, low drama" person, have a tendency to have a bit of fun while you work

• Have a high tolerance for ambiguity, like to go fast, and are excited to learn on the job

• Are just a little bit obsessive about getting the details right the first time

• Have a high energy personality, the kind of person who is typically smiling, and likes to "get it done now"