Senior Software Engineer

Our Vision and Our Company EtiquetteOur vision is to be the world’s most thoughtful villa company. To achieve our vision, we are thoughtful, we work with integrity, and we take a principled, considerate, proactive, and passionate approach to what we do. Every day.What we doWe manage an exclusive collection of luxury villas around the Mediterranean. Our knowledgeable sales team personally chats with our clients to match them with the perfect villa. We then arrange everything they need for their stay, including private chefs, experiences, boat trips, cooking courses, wine-tasting, and access to local secrets. The Engineering team builds all the tools we need to make this process as seamless as possible. We recently received investment from Piper (Mindful Chef, Bloom & Wild) and were awarded B Corp status last year.The roleBuild and maintain test-driven systems that power our client journey and business workflows. You’ll work with stakeholders from across the business to continuously deliver reliable changes. Using your experience, you’ll thoughtfully understand the complex requirements of the teams and our clients, breaking them down into manageable tasks that deliver the most impact through achievable actions. This is a backend-leaning product engineering role, focused on building tools that are consumer-like for our teams to use, enabling them to deliver exceptional quality to our clients. Engineering at The Thinking TravellerFounded 21 years ago, we've witnessed significant technological advancements over the last two decades and have implemented a variety of systems to meet our current needs. Now, we're on a mission to prepare for the future.This presents an incredible opportunity to take ownership of many of the new systems we require. We're transitioning to Next.js hosted on Vercel, and Ruby on Rails with PostgreSQL hosted on GCP. Our new systems are developed using a trunk-based repository with CI/CD, and our goal is to achieve double-digit deployments per day. The existing team consists of two frontend roles, two offshore backend roles, and a database administrator. Additionally, we have a design team and external agencies to provide support as needed.You can read more about what we’re working on here: Engineering at The Thinking Traveller ( you'll be doingBuild and maintain the systems that power our client journey and business workflowsBuild systems for payments handling tens of thousands of pounds per transaction for our clients and partnersContinuously improve our testing infrastructure and operations toolsMaintain existing systems and build in observabilityRelease new features using feature flagging and A/B testingCollaborate effectively with stakeholders to understand their needs and clients’ needs to develop our tools with a continuous feedback loopOwn features from concept all the way through to production Your skills and experienceA passion for software engineering for the WebExperience with Ruby on Rails or similar modern MVC web frameworkCan strike a balance between getting things done and taking on too much technical debtThe first thing you think is ‘how do I test this’ before you dive inYou want to work in an environment with high levels of ownershipYou enjoy getting your work in front of the people that will use it and happy to listen to and implement feedbackPivot around issues to get things shipped, negotiating and managing expectations around deadlinesYou can prototype to demonstrate ideas to get buy in and support from other departmentsLove working as part of a team collaborating with other engineers and in other non-technical disciplinesYou want to continue your career as an individual contributorAct as an advocate for engineering in the business, be able to communicate with non-technical teams about engineering decisions and compromisesA growth mindsetNice to haveExperience working with event-driven architectureExperience working with commonly used marketing tools for the Web and CRMsExperience in e-commerceAn appreciation of good UX and designYou love travel!Please still apply if you don’t have as many nice to haves as you think you need. We love having a team made up of various strengths from a range of backgrounds, and we’d love you to apply if you bring something different.ProcessApplication Review: Our team will review your application and CVInitial Interview: Selected candidates will be invited for a brief call to get to know youSecond-Stage Interview: Shortlisted candidates will be invited to attend an in-person interview at our offices in Shoreditch, where there will be a short task to be prepared in advance and present on the dayFinal Decision: Successful candidates will receive an offer, and we will provide feedback to all interviewed applicantsWe aim to keep the process efficient and transparent, however on occasion it may be adjusted. In the event of any change we will notify candidates promptly.What we can offer youA modern, spacious and comfortable office environment in the heart of ShoreditchSocial events organised by our Thinkers Social CommitteeMonthly office lunchEpic annual partyBupa cashplan with access to 24/7 Employee Assistance ProgramLife AssuranceSeason ticket loan schemeCycle to work schemeStaff Discount on our villasChoice of a MacBook Pro or a Dell InspironHybrid working (3 days’ in the office / 2 days’ from home)Work-from-home project weeks, allowing you to focus on particular tasks or projectsWorking From Abroad AllowanceVolunteering DaysOur Commitment to Equity, Diversity and InclusionAt The Thinking Traveller, we value and prioritise diversity and inclusion within our workplace, recognising the importance of ongoing improvement in this area. Our goal is to cultivate a thoughtful culture where every individual feels genuinely appreciated, respected, and included.We firmly believe that by attracting a diverse group of talented individuals, we can benefit from a wide range of perspectives, experiences, and ideas. This diverse tapestry of Thinkers enables us to deliver exceptional results to our esteemed clients. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds, irrespective of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, age, or disability.If you are considering joining our team, we encourage you to apply and inform us if any adjustments are required during our recruitment processes. Your unique perspective and potential contributions are valued, as we strive to create an environment that is inclusive and supportive to all.