You will work within a highly customised backend stack requiring strong Ruby expertise and a solid understanding of document-oriented databases.

Core Backend :

- Ruby 3.3.5

- Rails 2.3

Database Layer :

- CouchDB 3.3.3

- Document-based modelling

- Map/Reduce view architecture

Supporting Services :

- Sinatra services

- GWT (Google Web Toolkit)

- HTML / JavaScript components

Infrastructure :

- Hybrid environment : legacy virtual machines and Kubernetes (GKE) on Google Cloud Platform

- Fully Dockerised environments

- Ongoing containerisation and infrastructure evolution

Responsibilities :

- Stability & Performance : Contribute to the reliability and performance of a high-traffic, mission-critical system. Diagnose complex production issues across application, data, and infrastructure layers.

- Architectural Refactoring : Contribute to incremental refactoring efforts. Improve maintainability, performance, and clarity of the codebase while operating within the constraints of a legacy Rails framework.

- Data & System Design : Apply strong data modelling principles in a document-based environment. Evaluate and optimise Map/Reduce strategies and data structures for performance and scalability.

- Infrastructure Awareness : Work across application and infrastructure boundaries. Support deployments, investigate runtime issues, and contribute to improvements in Docker, Kubernetes, and GCP-based environments.

- Engineering Discipline : Operate within a high-standard development lifecycle

- Test-Driven Development (TDD)

- Pair programming

- Rigorous GitHub pull request reviews

- Contribute to maintaining technical standards and improving engineering practices over time.

Candidate Profile :

- Deep Ruby Expertise : Strong understanding of Ruby internals and experience working within legacy Rails applications. Ability to apply modern language patterns within older frameworks.

- Strong Data Modelling Skills : Practical experience designing for NoSQL systems. Clear understanding of the structural and performance differences between relational and document databases.

- Systems-Level Thinking : Ability to evaluate architectural trade-offs and make pragmatic decisions in complex environments.

- Infrastructure Competence : Comfortable working with Docker, Kubernetes, and GCP. Capable of supporting the full lifecycle of the systems you help build.

- Clear Communicator : Able to articulate technical risks, trade-offs, and constraints clearly to both engineering peers and business stakeholders.