Principal Architect

Ookla is a global leader in connectivity intelligence, offering unparalleled network insights through the combined expertise of Speedtest, Downdetector, RootMetrics, and Ekahau.

Ookla’s complementary datasets combine crowdsourced and controlled, public and private collection methods, QoS and QoE metrics, and more to unlock correlations and actionable insights — helping organizations optimize networks, enhance digital experiences, and create better connected experiences for end-users.

Millions of consumer-initiated tests are performed through our products and billions of data points are collected globally every day. With all this measurement comes countless ways to dissect and analyze our data, and plenty of exciting opportunities to optimize our broader strategy. When you work for us, you are using Ookla data and insights to further our mission to improve connectivity for all. Join us in making the internet better for everyone

Intro to the Role

We’re looking for a Principal Architect to join the Ookla Architecture and Design team. As a principal architect, you will create solutions that help turn the world’s most comprehensive dataset on mobile and fixed internet performance into valuable insights for our customers.

You will work across all product engineering teams to design and implement scalable and economical systems driving both our platform and critical product features. Your designs will be expected to not only meet both our end users' and internal stakeholders' requirements, but also interface well with existing systems and be well-documented to allow the owning team to maintain and extend it.

You will also work with Research Data Scientists and Product managers to build out proofs-of-concept solutions to validate hypotheses about novel data insights and products.

The right applicant has hands-on skills and attitude, a strong technical background in software and architecture, and excellent collaboration and communication skills. Experience in AI and ML is a plus.

We are committed to providing you a flexible work environment where individuality, fun, and talent are all valued equally. If you consider yourself innovative, adept at collaboration, and you care deeply about the work you do, we want to talk

Expectations for Success

- You collaborate closely with product managers, data and research scientists, and engineering teams to understand system requirements.
- You turn product requirements to highly scalable, highly-available system architectures that serve key parts of, and are designed to grow with, the Ookla business.
- You help implement architectures to spec quickly and correctly, in close collaboration with the engineering team that will own it, and make sure engineers have all the resources and background they need to extend and maintain the system.
- You create, build consensus for, communicate, and execute architectural and technological roadmaps.
- You plan and execute migrations off of complex legacy systems while keeping availability high, costs low, and the customer experience uninterrupted.
- You establish policies and follow best practices to ensure durability, quality, security, and compliance.
- You stay up to date with industry developments to keep the engineering team informed and to continuously improve the tech stack.
- You are enthusiastic about mentoring and guiding junior team members, helping them understand architectural principles, best practices, and effective ways of working.

Requirements

We are looking for the right person, not the exact list of requirements. If you believe your life experience has prepared you for similar challenges, we’d like to hear from you.

- Bachelor's or master’s degree in computer science or related field, or equivalent experience.
- Strong background in object-oriented and functional programming using languages like Python, Go, and Typescript.
- Experience designing for observability and to avoid the common pitfalls of distributed systems.
- Strong hands-on experience with AWS Cloud including serverless and streaming services.
- Excellent troubleshooting and analysis skills.
- Working knowledge of SQL and databases like MySQL, PostgreSQL, Redshift, DynamoDB.
- Excited to learn and work with new technologies in a dynamic environment.
- Strong communication skills both in person and via virtual mediums.
- Strong time management skills and a self-driven work ethic.
- Experience with event-driven architecture and streaming data pipelines is a plus.
- Experience with big data systems and technologies such as Trino, Spark, Iceberg, etc. is a plus.
- Background check is required.

Benefits

We offer a comprehensive benefits package, including (but not limited to):

- Pension matching.
- Competitive annual leave.
- Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) options.
- Private health insurance.
- Paid pregnancy and parental leave.
- Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) (mental health, financial advice, legal guidance, and more).
- Life Insurance.
- Wellness benefits (Calm app, gym reimbursement, ERG groups, etc).

You will have the best hardware, software, and tools available for you to do your work, and we provide excellent flexibility for working remotely as time and responsibilities allow. To promote your success and growth we offer educational opportunities, and anti-racism and LGBTQIA+ resource libraries, team activities, and many more.

We care deeply about each other and the work we do, and our perks are just one way we demonstrate this. Ookla has great benefits including competitive compensation and paid time off. We make sure you have the best hardware, software, and tools available for you to do your work.

If you’re passionate about joining the work we’re doing, we welcome your application and encourage applicants with both traditional and non-traditional experience that makes them an excellent candidate for the role. We strongly believe diversity of all kinds makes us better. We are an equal opportunity employer actively working to build an inclusive workforce at all levels of the company. [Read our latest diversity report from our parent company here.] Ookla is an equal opportunity employer, and qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender perception or identity, national origin, age, marital status, protected veteran status, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

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