What are the responsibilities and job description for the Intermediate Software Developer position at Menlo Innovations?
Welcome to Menlo Innovations! We're a custom software design & development firm with a unique mission: to return joy and end human suffering in the world as it relates to teams and technology by rigorously applying and teaching The Menlo Way®. Our primary goal has always been to return joy to technology, for end users, our clients, and our team.
Rooted in Agile and Scrum style methodologies, our approach to product development is unique in several ways. We work in pairs, are fanatic about test-driven development (TDD) and employ a user-centered design process called High-Tech Anthropology®. These three elements of our process work in concert to ensure quality and mitigate IT project risk. We work with companies in a wide range of industries and domains, from Fortune 500 manufacturers to small local startups. An important part of our work at Menlo includes transforming client teams through deliberate co-creation. We also enjoy sharing our knowledge with others through a variety of tours and hands-on workshops focused on teaching The Menlo Way®.
We're looking for an Intermediate Software Developer who can thrive in a collaborative, paired environment. You have enough experience to contribute confidently to technical discussions, solve problems with limited guidance, and help others grow, but you're still excited to learn new technologies, approaches, and domains.
At Menlo, developers work in pairs on a variety of projects, rotating pair partners and/or projects on a weekly basis. We believe that sharing technical and project knowledge is essential to building strong teams and preventing any one person from becoming a tower of knowledge.
This role requires a unique balance of technical skill, emotional intelligence, and service minded thinking. You'll play a central role in communicating technical recommendations to clients, engaging in feedback with your peers, and producing high-quality, full-stack software solutions.
We are especially interested in candidates with experience in the following areas:
- Cloud Services, such as AWS, Azure, and GCP
- LLM-powered development tooling and AI-assisted workflows
- DevOps pipelines
- Salesforce
- GIS
You Can Expect:
- To spend your time working in a paired context with other team members and, at times, directly with clients
- To spend the majority of your time coding and executing related development tasks, including TDD
- To rotate across a diverse portfolio of projects, domains, and technologies
- To estimate, design, develop, test, and deploy high-quality software
- To participate actively in technical discussions and contribute to project-level decisions
- To work collaboratively and cross-functionally across the team to drive project success
- To participate in and lead project activities such as daily stand-ups, show-and-tell sessions, planning games, and technical discussions
- To help newer developers grow by sharing technical knowledge and providing constructive feedback
- To proactively identify and communicate technical risks, blockers, and opportunities to the project team
- To contribute to system design and implementation decisions while knowing when to seek input from more experienced team members
- To work with clients and teammates to understand problems and translate them into effective technical solutions
- To continually improve your technical skills while helping others learn what you know
Qualifications:
- 3 years of professional software development experience
- Experience working on software projects from requirements through implementation and delivery
- Strong understanding of software development fundamentals, testing, and maintainable code
- Comfortable working in unfamiliar codebases and learning new technologies
- Able to contribute to or lead technical design and architecture discussions
- Strong communication and collaboration skills
- Enjoys sharing knowledge and helping less-experienced teammates develop their skills
- Familiarity with and/or interest in Agile development, XP, TDD, and pair programming
- A “make mistakes sooner” attitude
- Asks questions often and is willing to challenge assumptions respectfully
- Commitment to work full time, in-person in Ann Arbor, MI (This is not a hybrid or remote work assignment)
- Our interview process requires candidates to fulfill a trial period on-site in Ann Arbor, MI
Nice to Have:
- Prior experience with pair programming and/or TDD
- Experience working in a consulting or client-services environment
- Experience mentoring or informally leading other developers
- Experience working across multiple programming languages or technology stacks
- Experience working directly with clients or non-technical stakeholders
- Experience with cloud services, DevOps, Salesforce or GIS
Benefits:
- Health insurance (73% - 87% subsidized with HSA options and generous employer contribution)
- Life & disability insurance
- Paid time off (20 days annually)
- 10 paid holidays per year
- 401(k) - with employer contribution (Traditional and Roth)
- Parking is reimbursed
- Menlo values work/life balance, and uses a unique paired staffing approach as a mechanism for employee development, cross-training, and delivering high-quality work products.
Menlo Innovations is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to providing a work environment that is free of discrimination and harassment. All employment decisions at Menlo Innovations are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected characteristic. We encourage applicants of all backgrounds to apply.