Staff Software Engineer (Python/Django)

Since 2015, Octopus has been on a mission to bring affordable, green energy to the world. With the help of our in-house developed technology platform, Kraken, we've become the 2nd largest energy supplier in the UK, opened retailers in 7 other countries, and licensed our software to retail giants including E.ON in the UK and Origin Energy in Australia. We've reinvented energy products with smart, data-driven tariffs to balance customer demand with renewable generation - and we're the biggest investor in renewable generation in the UK.

We've since expanded our tentacles and we are now looking for a Staff Software Engineer, based in Australia. Our main hub is in Melbourne but it's not a requirement to work there. We're looking for someone with a general interest in technology and problem-solving; someone diligent and thoughtful. As a staff engineer level hire into the team you will have a big impact on strategy and cross-functional collaboration with other teams and business areas, as well as mentoring your colleagues. Working with Kraken is a chance to join an exciting scale-up business within the energy supply sector, one that's at the forefront of changing the landscape of the energy industry across the world. A role with us offers you the chance to contribute to building world-class operations that will catapult you into a fantastic career.

All technology is written and maintained by a multi-discipline engineering team of around 550 people. This includes server-side, client-side and mobile engineers working closely with UX experts, copywriters and designers. We follow a Kanban-like approach, using Google docs and Asana to specify and manage work; Github, CircleCI and Terraform Enterprise as part of an immutable-infrastructure, continuous delivery pipeline; and Loggly, Sentry and Cloudwatch to measure performance and monitor production.

Engineering standards are high. We pair program, thoroughly review and test code before it deploys, and maintain fast, high-value test suites. We have weekly tech talks, monthly blitz-days (eg sharpening our internal tools, upgrading dependencies) and can often be found at tech meet-ups and conferences.

Our  coding conventions are open-source and we maintain a  tech blog. Kraken is a great place to learn, work with some talented engineers and level-up your skills. Some of our coding conventions are open-source.  

On the server-side, we mainly use Python. Most of our websites are powered by Django, Django-REST-framework and GraphQL (Graphene). We use AWS heavily, employing most of the "Hashistack" (eg Packer, Consul, Terraform) as part of a continuous deployment pipeline. See, for example, Django, ELB health checks and continuous delivery.  Client-side, we use React, Redux and SASS; our mobile apps are built using native code or React Native.

What you'll do...

• We have lots of difficult design challenges to solve. The energy market is complicated, outdated, and process-heavy - there's an awful lot of domain modeling that we need to get right. Strong attention to detail is essential.
• We have difficult technical problems to solve. With the advent of smart meters, we'll soon be processing millions of meter readings a day.
• You'll be influential in the strategic technical decision making. 
• Work cross-functionally, collaborating with different team leaders and engineering professionals from other business areas. 
• Be a role model and mentor to your colleagues.
• Help build and scale the Kraken team by embedding an engineering, problem solving, and customer-first culture. 
• Architect & develop new components of the Kraken platform to serve other utilities. 
• There's a great opportunity for disruption in the energy market. The big suppliers still dominate but are not exactly popular. The energy landscape is changing as we move to more disaggregated forms of generation, with less predictability, more dynamism, and smarter technology. Octopus Energy was the first UK supplier to introduce a "tracker" tariff whose prices track the daily wholesale prices: http://www.cleanenergynews.co.uk/news/efficiency/octopus-offerstransparency-with-wholesale-price-tariff
• You'll be working for a company that's fighting climate change. Our parent company is the largest investor in solar generation in the UK and is funding wind and anaerobic digestion. As a supplier, we're helping people to use greener technology and renewable energy, all helping move the world towards a lower carbon future.

What tech stack you'll have (in rough priority order)

• Python
• Django (or equiv. web framework)
• Domain modelling
• HTTP and REST APIs
• Writing robust and fault-tolerant software
• Celery and async processing
• Postgres
Plus experience in the following would be a bonus:
• AWS
• Terraform, Packer, Consul
• React and Redux

What you will love about us

• Our company culture - We are organisation where people learn, decide, and build quicker. Where people work with autonomy, alongside a wide range of amazing co-owners, on projects that break new ground. We want your hard work to be rewarded with perks you actually care about! We won best company to work for in 2022, on Glassdoor we were voted 50 best places to work in 2022 and our Group CEO, Greg has recorded a podcast about our culture and how we empower our people.
• Flexible working environment - genuine work life balance here, we are in the top 5 companies in the UK, we treat you as a human, and do our best to make work and life merge smoothly together 
• Equity Options Scheme - you own your own part of the business, share options in the whole Octopus Energy Group so we all work together towards success 
• Office - have a certain tech requirement? We'll do our best to get it. We also have drinks, snacks and a coffee machine at the WeWork office space.
• Your development is important - we support and help with development including internal and external courses, learning, study support etc, all bespoke to you 

We would prefer someone who can work in our Melbourne office hybrid / remote of 1-2 days a week onsite but it's not a deal breaker. You do need to have the rights to work in Australia.

We're very excited to be growing our team. We're looking for skills and experience to help shape and define the future of not only our team, but the wider business at a global scale. If you're reading this and grinning, please apply! There are huge challenges to tackle, and we need amazing people who are keen to get stuck in.