Senior Backend Developer (Python/Django)

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Job Description

Our team

All technology is written and maintained by a multi-discipline engineering team of around fifty 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 Notion 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.

Octopus is a great place to learn, work with some talented engineers and level-up your skills.

Our technology

On the server-side, we mainly use Python. Most of our websites are powered by Django and the Django-REST-framework. We also use Pandas, Numpy and Jupyter for analysis and forecasting, plus Celery, RabbitMQ, SQS and Airflow for background processing.

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 React Native.

Responsibilities

• We have lots of difficult design challenges to solve. The Japanese energy market is complicated, outdated and process-heavy - there's an awful lot of domain modelling that we need to get right.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. We need the right technology in place to handle this smoothly as well as feeding data into a machine learning pipeline that models and predicts consumption.
• There's a great opportunity for disruption in the Japanese energy market. The energy landscape is changing as we move to more dis-aggregated forms of generation, with less predictability, more dynamism and smarter technology. Octopus Energy were the first UK supplier to introduce a "tracker" tariff whose prices track the daily wholesale prices: http://www.cleanenergynews.co.uk/news/efficiency/octopus-offers-transparency-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 are funding wind and anaerobic digestion. As a supplier, we're helping people to use greener technology and renewable energy, all helping move the UK towards a lower carbon future.

Qualifications

What you'll haveWe're looking for someone with a general interest in technology and problem-solving; someone diligent and thoughtful. It would be helpful to have experience/expertise in the following (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


• Ability to speak Japanese would be a plus

About the Company

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 4th 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, Origin Energy in Australia, and Tokyo Gas in Japan. 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.

Since we have expanded our tentacles to Japan we are looking to hire a Data Engineer. This role is based in Tokyo primarily to support Octopus Energy Japan and Kraken deployments for Japanese customers, but will be part of the wider APAC data platform engineering team.

Working with Octopus Energy 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 worldwide. A role with us offers you the chance to contribute to building world-class operations that will catapult you into a fantastic career.

What you'll love about us

• Our company culture - we won best company to work for in 2019 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 
• Relaxation - we don’t count your holidays here, we work hard, and so we know you need to play hard as well (within reason of course) 
• 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 culture - have a certain tech requirement? We’ll do our best to get it. Our offices are also stocked with fruit, breakfast, great coffee and soft drinks. Weekly on a Friday we all get together (this happens virtually too) for company updates and drinks - we call it Family Dinner 
• Your development is important - we support and help with development including internal and external courses, learning, study support etc, all bespoke to you