Job opportunity: Web/mobile developer at EveryBlock

Written by Adrian Holovaty on July 6, 2011

We're looking to hire another programmer to join our small and effective development team at EveryBlock. This is your chance to work on a wide variety of interesting problems, helping improve a great product with a passionate and growing user base. You should expect to have a hand in all aspects of the site, and your contributions will have an immediate, direct impact on the awesomeness of our service.

When it comes to developers, we like to hire Jacks (or Jills) of all trades. The ideal candidate will be equally comfortable developing back-end Python code, working with databases (we use PostgreSQL and PostGIS), writing efficient front-end JavaScript (we use jQuery), writing screen-scrapers and other various data-import scripts (we use Python), helping optimize our infrastructure, and working on EveryBlock mobile applications (iPhone, Android). There will be a focus on mobile applications, at least at the beginning, but your responsibilities will be wider and more varied than that over time.

Here is the requisite bulleted list of requirements:

  • Significant experience using Python.
  • Experience building mobile applications for iPhone and/or Android.
  • Experience using Django to build Web applications.
  • Experience developing non-trivial JavaScript applications.
  • Experience deploying code on Linux.
  • Experience (and preference for) working on a small team.
  • Clear communication skills, both verbal and written.
  • Impeccable work ethic and ability to manage your own workload effectively.
  • Ability to iterate quickly.
  • Ability to write high-quality code, with a passion to the point where poorly written code makes you slightly nauseous.
  • A passion for computer programming/hacking to the point where you'd be doing it even if you weren't getting paid for it.

And here are some nice-to-haves:

  • Experience building geo apps and using PostGIS.
  • Experience writing screen-scrapers and working with data (cleaning it up, importing it).
  • Passion about improving neighborhoods through information and enabling community conversation.
  • Sense of humor.

This is your chance to work directly with two Django committers, including one of the creators of the framework (hey, that's me!). We have three developers at the moment; you'd be the fourth. It's worth mentioning that the entire team right now is seven people, and you have a chance to make a huge impact, beyond strictly development -- suggesting marketing ideas, helping prioritize various strategies and tactics, etc.

We have a low-stress environment and a culture of getting things done with as little corporate BS as possible. Though we're technically no longer an independent startup -- we were acquired by msnbc.com in 2009 -- we're culturally very much still a startup, given that our product is still in early stages and we're still figuring things out. It's a very nice combination of startup culture with the financial security of working for a big company. (We have great benefits -- salary, health care, 401(k), bonuses, etc.) And msnbc.com is taking the long-view on us, investing in us over time and giving us years to develop a large audience and become profitable. It's a great company to work for.

Now is a fantastic time to be joining our team. We just hired a new President, we recently launched a major redesign that's been almost universally loved, and, most importantly, we're getting momentum and critical mass in more and more neighborhoods.

You'll need to live in the Chicago area for this position; telecommuters need not apply. Our office is in a comfortable loft space on the north side of Chicago, near a bunch of other startups. Several of us walk or bike to work; we're also equidistant from the Montrose and Irving Park el stations on the Brown Line, and several bus lines.

Apply through the official msnbc.com Jobvite site here. Thanks for checking this out.

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