Senior Staff Software Engineer (Ticketing Core- Ruby on Rails)

Job Description

We are seeking a Sr. Staff Software Engineer to join our full-stack Ticketing team at Zendesk. Our team is dedicated to enhancing Zendesk’s core product offering - The Support Ticket. Responsible for facilitating seamless communication among admins, agents, and end-users through Zendesk's ticketing process, we focus on developing new features, ensuring system reliability, scalability, and performance.

As a senior-level technical leader within the team, you'll lead the charge as the technical leader behind one or more essential components of our systems, boasting a comprehensive understanding of every aspect. Your track record of delivering top-tier solutions sets you apart, showcasing your wealth of experience, depth, and responsibility. Leading by example, this role requires mentoring junior and senior engineers, setting technical standards, and ensuring successful project delivery. 

Note: This is a hybrid role, combining remote and on-site work, requiring 3 days in the office, and relocation to Pune.

What you’ll be doing

• Solve real business needs at large scale by applying your deep technical knowledge and analytical skills

• B uild high-quality, clean, scalable and reusable code by enforcing best practices around software engineering architecture and processes (Code Reviews, Unit testing, etc.)

• Collaborate with architects and product managers to understand detailed requirements and own your code from design, implementation, test automation and delivery of high-quality products to our customers.

• Troubleshoot complex problems across interconnected systems, demonstrating a strategic approach to technical challenges

• Lead all software lifecycle phases, from discovery to rollout, focusing on feature performance

• Act as the Tech Lead within the team, mentoring and guiding junior and senior engineers, promoting growth and expertise, and ensuring effective technical leadership.

What you bring to the role

Minimum Qualifications:

• BS/MS in Computer Science or related majors, or equivalent experience.

• 12+ years of professional software development experience, with a proven track record of technical leadership and decision-making

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a demonstrable bias toward action.

• Strong proficiency with Ruby on Rails is a must have for this role.

• Deep understanding of distributed computing principles, data architecture, and scalable system design.

Preferred Qualifications: 

• Familiarity with relational data stores like MySQL and Aurora, and systems like MySQL, ElasticSearch, Redis.

• Experience with event-driven, distributed architecture using Kafka.

• Excellent verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills

• Self-motivated with a strong propensity for action, results and continuous improvement

• Ability to thrive in high-energy, fast paced, rapidly changing environments

Tech Stack

• Frontend is primarily written in React (transitioning to Typescript) with a bit of Ember.js.

• Usage of Apollo for frontend data handling, REST APIs, and a GraphQL API gateway in Java.

• Backend server built on Ruby on Rails.

About Zendesk’s Product Development Center of Excellence in Pune

Zendesk is in the exciting early stages of establishing a Product Development Center of Excellence in Pune. This center is being developed through a BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) model, allowing us to gradually build and scale our operations with a current mix of BOT workers and full-time employees (FTEs). Our vision is to create a vibrant, innovative hub where all team members will eventually transition into FTE roles.

As an early hire, you will have a unique opportunity to be a pivotal part of this journey. You’ll play a key role in shaping the culture, processes, and success of our Pune site, contributing directly to the growth and maturity of our Product Development Center of Excellence. Your expertise and insights will help lay the foundation for a world-class development center, influencing the way we build and deliver products at Zendesk.

#LI-ESKD

Hybrid: In this role, our hybrid experience is designed at the team level to give you a rich onsite experience packed with connection, collaboration, learning, and celebration - while also giving you flexibility to work remotely for part of the week. This role must attend our local office for part of the week. The specific in-office schedule is to be determined by the hiring manager.

The intelligent heart of customer experience

Zendesk software was built to bring a sense of calm to the chaotic world of customer service. Today we power billions of conversations with brands you know and love.

Zendesk believes in offering our people a fulfilling and inclusive experience. Our hybrid way of working, enables us to purposefully come together in person, at one of our many Zendesk offices around the world, to connect, collaborate and learn whilst also giving our people the flexibility to work remotely for part of the week.

Zendesk is an equal opportunity employer, and we’re proud of our ongoing efforts to foster global diversity, equity, & inclusion in the workplace. Individuals seeking employment and employees at Zendesk are considered without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, medical condition, ancestry, disability, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We are an AA/EEO/Veterans/Disabled employer. If you are based in the United States and would like more information about your EEO rights under the law, please click here.

Zendesk endeavors to make reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities and disabled veterans pursuant to applicable federal and state law. If you are an individual with a disability and require a reasonable accommodation to submit this application, complete any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participate in the employee selection process, please send an e-mail to peopleandplaces@zendesk.com with your specific accommodation request.