Software Engineer - Algorithms

tl;dr: Early-stage startup looking for an exceptional software engineer who wants to be part of building the future of boating. If you are skilled in C++ and algorithms, and enjoy building novel solutions in area of mapping and navigation, consider joining Orca, and if you submit a solution to our programming challenge #3 we'll fast-track the hiring process.

As a Software Engineer, you will work on non-trivial and hard problems. You will contribute to map data processing pipelines and the algorithms we use to build routing graphs and find optimal routes. You’ll also drive the development of backend services responsible for providing advanced navigation experiences.

Most boats have a navigation system - these are traditionally called chartplotters – google it! – and they are built on outdated technologies: They are hard to use, slow, and provide mediocre experiences.

Orca is different from traditional chartplotters. We’re on the mission to build the most modern navigation devices for sailors and cruisers around the world. Our end game is to build the systems to enable autonomous navigation.

We’re now looking for more people to join us on that mission.

What we're looking for

Orca is looking for a highly skilled software engineer to join our Hydromancy team. This team works across our stack to solve our hardest challenges, from writing drivers for IMUs, reverse engineering marine industry protocols (CAN, radar and sonar), processing map data at terabyte scale, to building global routing graphs.

You will traverse different stacks, languages, and tools, sometimes working for weeks towards a single feature, other times solving smaller problems to support the progress of our front-end team.

The cross-functional nature of the team provides many different ways for you to make an impact. These will be the challenges you will face:

• Creating efficient pipelines for processing GIS data at a global scale
• Building advanced marine navigation services
• Making sense of user data and building services on top of it
• Machine learning and satellite imagery processing

You will get the opportunity to contribute to truly novel solutions across the stack and deliver direct value to the user.

If you like challenges in algorithms, optimization, GIS processing, or mapping, or a combination of those, then Orca is the place for you. Expect to dive into our stack and start contributing from day one.

You must be responsible, flexible, effective, and be able to thrive in a dynamic environment.

Who you are

• Great at simplifying complex problems, breaking them down into smaller pieces, and releasing value incrementally
• Fast learner with the ability and interest to dive deep into non-trivial problems
• Excited to be a part of an early stage company and to help shape its culture
• Skilled with C++
• Has solid foundation in data structures and algorithms, ability to handle graph theory and pathfinding
• Experienced with, or able to quickly pick up: Node.js and Python
• Experienced with, or able to quickly pick up: PostGIS, Mapbox stack, BigQuery, and general GIS concepts
• Have a track record of project/product delivery or math/programming competitions or open-source
• Able to deliver reliability and high quality across the stack
• Highly independent and detail-oriented
• Have excellent communication, collaboration, reporting, analytical and problem-solving skills

How we work

We are on a mission to disrupt a traditional industry led by global companies such as Garmin and Navico. This requires setting the right direction, having a sharp focus, and delivering at a fast pace.

We can only do this by reaching the best of each of us. We help each other, but also hold each other accountable to reach our very best.

We are pragmatic with processes. We think of them as organic and evolving systems. We measure the success of a given process by looking at its impact on employee or customer happiness and satisfaction. This is a never-ending process that we expect you to contribute to.

Technology: We use the technologies best suited to solve the problems at hand. For high-performing algorithms, we use C++. We also have services and systems built on Go and Python. Data pipelines are usually a mix of Python, Node and SQL, and whatever else helps get the job done.

Processes: We follow weekly sprints but we are very pragmatic when it comes to ways of working: Transparency and open communications prevail over processes.

We are a multicultural team with people all over the world. English is our communication interface. We have a hybrid culture: while we have a strong remote culture, we strongly believe in the benefits of co-location. This requires mature and autonomous professionals.

About the Team

You will be joining a small and close-knit team of industry veterans. We’ve been working in this space for years, and have several successful startups behind us. Our core experience is product development, software, and hardware engineering.

These are the 3 co-founders. Feel free to reach out to us if you want to know more about what we do.

• Amir Borovac - https://www.linkedin.com/in/borovac/
• Kristian Fallroe - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristfal/
• Jorge Sevillano - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jorge-sevillano/

The team operates out of Oslo and Madrid, with employees working remotely in other countries as well. While we have a strong remote culture, we strongly believe in the benefits of working close to each other. Hence, we will prioritize hires in those locations. If you live in any of the core locations, we expect you to be part of the office regularly to foster team collaboration, but we are flexible.

What we offer

First, we know how difficult it is to find an exciting job that allows you to learn, work on interesting problems, and have a direct impact on people’s life. This is what we strive to build. We offer an opportunity to build a product with the potential to disrupt an entire industry. You’ll be working with talented people building state-of-the-art technology and consumer experiences.

Second, we offer a competitive combination of salary and options plans. We believe that good talent shall be compensated accordingly.

Last, If this is not the right time, you can still stay in touch with us at [email protected]

Are you a good fit?

If you think you’re a good fit, message us here or email us at [email protected]. We’d be excited to review any code you might consider relevant or are particularly proud of. If you send us a good solution to our programming challenge #3 in your message, we'll skip the chit-chat and fast track the process.