Backend Software Engineer (Node.js) (Remote)

Impala

Hello!
Thanks for checking out our job description for a remote Backend Engineer (Node.js) (Remote)at Impala. We felt a little bit impersonal just throwing you right in there with words like “revolutionising” and “disrupting”.
As such, we want you to know that the person that wrote this job description apologises in advance for any clichés, tropes or sudden-insecurity-driven-panic-attacks that you might find in the description below.
What is Impala?
Impala is making the process of booking hotel rooms ridiculously easy. We’re providing hotels with a powerful data distribution infrastructure that transforms the way hotel guests across the world browse, book, stay and pay. Think Twilio for Travel.
We launched our original API product in January 2019 and since then have grown at - quite frankly - a ridiculous old clip. Our technology is already installed in hundreds of hotels worldwide, on six continents and categorises more than 1 billion data points. This has allowed us to bring forward our ambition to revolutionise the hotel distribution market and help empower millions of people across the globe.
We are a growing remote-first team of exceptional people split across engineering, product and commercial that have built a thriving, active, supportive community.
Where is Impala going?
We’re supported by some of the best investors in the business, the early-stage backers behind Deliveroo, PillPack, SecretEscapes, Zoopla, Trivago, Monzo, Travelperk, Transferwise, Airbnb, GetYourGuide, Omio, Spotify and more! 
They’re on board because of the opportunity that lies before us - revolutionising a 1.6 trillion dollar market that’s been out-of-date for 20 years.
They also share our vision of a future in which travel is seamlessly connected and relentlessly inventive.
Our vision is that within the next two years 10% of hotel bookings worldwide will flow through Impala technology, and the product that we’re building will support the entire ecosystem of travel technology (we already have over a thousand companies signed up).
Anyone travelling anywhere will interact with products powered by Impala and to achieve this we’re growing the team extensively within the next year. Now is the most exciting time to be joining Impala as we go through a large push to scale up!
A brief overview of what you will be doing here:
You will be a key contributor to our distribution marketplace platform, ensuring that it keeps scaling smoothly as we rapidly add more customers and features. You will be given a lot of responsibility for evolving the infrastructure and picking the right tools for the job.
You will work closely with other engineers but also product and business teams to deliver a product that’s technically first-class and loved by our customers.
You should join us if you:
  • Have significant experience with Node.js and good knowledge of JS fundamentals
  • Have experience working with relational databases
  • Have experience working on a large-scale platform
  • Are comfortable working closely with product owners and other engineers to define the best way to implement features with high technical standards
 Where will you work?
This is a remote position. This means you can work from anywhere +/- 2 Hours of London timezone (and less than a 3 hour flight).
We are a remote-first company, our whole engineering team is fully distributed! This was a very deliberate choice to prioritise work-life balance and ensure we’re able to accommodate the best people in Europe, whilst fostering diversity.
We have loads of remote initiatives to ensure you’re fully setup !
  • We give you an additional generous Personalised Workspace Budget for things like monitors, keyboards, desk chairs and headphones.
  • We offer an office stipend - you can furnish your home office with a generous £150 monthly stipend (coffee, snacks, wifi bills, cleaning, desk equipment, plus anything in between) or we will pay for a co-working membership near you.
  • You’ll travel once a quarter to meet and socialise with the rest of the engineering team somewhere in Europe.
  • You’ll have a generous Social Budget to travel to London based social events.
  • We have a dedicated Remote Experience Manager in the team, whose role is, among other things, to ensure your happiness, and help you integrate and be empowered whilst working remotely.
  • We will give you a brand new high-spec laptop when you start, giving you the choice between a Thinkpad or Mac.
Please note, we only accept candidates in Western Europe because of timezone and travel time differences. We make no exceptions (we don’t have time to!). 
What you will get in return? 
  • We reward Impalans with super competitive salaries and regular reviews. Whether you're an individual contributor or you want to manage people, there's plenty of opportunity to develop your skills and boost your earning potential. We offer 3.5x the average annual raise in the UK, even if you remain within the same role.
  • We’re in the top 14% of companies in the UK for the amount of holiday that we offer, at 36 days.
  • One Unsick day off per year, to keep up with proactive health admin - so you can finally sort that trip to the dentist and get those health screens that you never have time to do.
  • Flexible working options. With extended lunch break options, Recess Hour, and loads more.
  • We invest in your development with a generous £1,000Professional Development budget per year, and we will support you to realise your potential. 
  • Fun and inclusive monthly social events, from go-karting to mini golf to karaoke.
  • Access to Perkbox
  • A super strong and proactive focus on mental and physical wellbeing. From Vitality health insurance, to Sanctus, to a monthly gym membership reimbursement, plus heaps more.
  • A generous Loved Ones Budget - £750 annually to get your friends & family over to visit you once a year, no matter how near or far from home you are based. (engineering only)
  • Weekly10% Time. (engineering only)
Sound interesting? 
If your answer is ‘yes’ and you are really excited to learn more then please check out our Medium page which includes more information about who we are, what we do, what matters to us, and our culture.
Want to know more about our CEO, or want a deeper understanding of our what and why? Watch this video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxBZuoxCbKM
For more information about what it's like working here, check out our Glassdoor page.
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