The Principal Ruby on Rails Software Developer role at thoughtbot mentors other thoughtbot developers and contributes to the development practices of thoughtbot and our community while working on client projects, but is a non-management position. It is ideal for people who have made significant contributions to the Ruby on Rails development community and want to continue to do so without having to take on the responsibility of directly managing other developers.

You’ll work directly with clients on projects as a Principal Ruby on Rails Software Developer, leading by example with your communication and advocating for how we work as consultants, especially in difficult situations. You’ll partner closely with product managers, designers, developers, and clients to help solve problems.

You’ll deliver high-quality, well-tested software, mentor both client and thoughtbot engineering teams in software best practices, and advise on product prioritization, agile process, team culture, and communication.

During investment time, you’ll contribute to the broader tech community, thoughtbot, and yourself. The majority of thoughtbot’s open-source work and blog content is the result of investment time.

This is a remote position on the Boost team, which focuses on embedding with technical teams to address technical debt, implement process improvements, and mentor and upskill client teams.

Requirements

Principal thoughtbot software developers have either made significant contributions to the Rails community through activities such as open source, speaking at conferences, and blogging, or have extensive experience in Consulting and have founded or led a Rails development company for several years.

Principal thoughtbot software developers are able to build high-quality, test-driven applications with Ruby on Rails and JavaScript (or TypeScript).

Principal software developers at thoughtbot have an excellent knowledge of refactoring, application architecture, performance tuning, debugging, design patterns, and working effectively in legacy applications.

In addition to Rails, our clients often have frontend needs in JavaScript, TypeScript, and Elm, including frameworks like React and Stimulus. Experience with JavaScript or TypeScript is a must, and an interest in a continuing frontend education is a plus.

As consultants, we work closely with our clients. Experience with a client-facing role like consulting, teaching, or business development is also valuable, but not required.

We especially appreciate candidates that demonstrate commitment to valuing DEI and contributing to an inclusive working and learning environment. We also understand that not everyone has had the opportunity to commit to this work, and that’s okay.

We encourage you to apply even if you don’t match 100% of the requirements. Let us know if you need any specific accommodations during the interview process.

Benefits

Our goal is to provide ourselves with the best possible benefits, tools to use, and environments to work in while staying sustainable. We’ve shared the full details of all our benefits, along with all our salary bands in our compensation calculator.