November 8, 2023

Unlock Your Potential with Spare's Software Development Team!

Shelby Perera
Shelby Perera
People & Talent Co-op

Inside Our Software Development Team

Insights from Joel DeYoung, Vice President of Software Development

At Spare we have multiple software development teams, and each is responsible for different parts of our platform.  We divide their responsibilities with a customer focus, grouping features and functionality based on the customer groups they serve.

  • Our Motion team is responsible for our core routing engine and related components which primarily serves drivers and dispatchers.
  • Our Open team focuses on the needs of third-party transportation providers who interact with our Open Fleets features, or who integrate their own software via our APIs.
  • Our SpaceBus team supports reservation agents and administrators and are responsible for our admin interfaces.
  • Our Rider Experience/Mobile team builds mobile apps and web interfaces that provide a smooth experience for those who ride on the transit services powered by our platform.
  • Our Launchpad team builds, operates and monitors all parts of our platform infrastructure to ensure we're running smoothly 24 hours a day.

The software development teams at Spare have many opportunities to collaborate on projects and initiatives when we work on things that overlap responsibilities of multiple teams. When projects of this nature are of a significant size, we may even form temporary "strike teams" to deliver a feature in as short a time as possible.

Spare’s Open Software Development Roles

Intermediate Software Developer, Mobile:

As an Intermediate Software Developer on our Mobile team, you will work on our Driver and Rider apps, improving user experience and building new features to enhance functionality. You will deliver high-quality code using tools and languages like React Native and JavaScript/TypeScript, collaborate with developers of all levels, and contribute to the continuous improvement of our development practices.

For this role, we are seeking a talented developer with strong knowledge of React Native, who isn’t afraid to dive into native code to enhance our users’ experience. To perform well on your application, come prepared to talk about your past experiences, your development skills and something you implemented that you are really proud of. We love those stories! Make sure you have appropriate questions for each stage, we want to be certain that we are a match for you just as you are to us. And remember to think out loud during the live code interview — we want to hear your ideas, your process of thinking, and how you prioritize tasks and elaborate on your technical approach. The process is just as valuable as the end goal.
Andre Cytryn

Team Lead (Rider Experience/Mobile), Software Development

Senior Software Developer:  

As a Senior Software Developer, you will work on complex frontend features using React and provide leadership and guidance to the team. You will own features end-to-end, working closely with customers and other stakeholders to ensure seamless integration from design to deployment. You will be participating in product and design discussions to build the best solutions, improve the routing engine for our driver application and be part of our on-call Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) team.

Our Motion team tackles complex technical challenges, like optimising driver itineraries (AKA which rider should go with which driver at what time), which are crucial for our customers. As we become a more fullstack team, we're looking for a Senior Software Developer with strong expertise in React, who can also bridge the gap between code and human impact. Ideal candidates will have experience working closely with customers, expertise in frontend problems and a passion or curiosity for backend problems. We want an all-rounder who excels technically and understands the importance of delivering solutions that truly meet customer needs.
Caitlin Hutnyk
Team Lead (Motion team), Software Development

Why Do These Roles Matter?

Our software developers are the backbone of Spare’s innovation, continuously enhancing and expanding the capabilities of our platform. They are essential in building scalable, robust, and efficient systems that handle the complexities of on-demand and scheduled transit systems, ensuring seamless operations for our clients. Developers at Spare are not just coders; they are collaborative problem-solvers who work closely with other teams to deliver comprehensive solutions. Their expertise in coding, problem-solving, and technology enables us to stay ahead in the rapidly evolving transportation industry, turning ideas into impactful solutions.

Resume & Application Tips:

  1. Include a link to your LinkedIn profile.
  2. Highlight your most recent experience first and list your previous roles in reverse chronological order.
  3. Provide a brief overview of each company you’ve worked for to give context to your experience.
  4. Use bold formatting to highlight your job titles, company names, and dates of employment.
  5. Craft a personal summary and response to "what interests you about working at Spare" that reflects your genuine experiences and motivations, as opposed to a ChatGPT generated answer (trust us, we notice!).
  6. Provide additional assets that showcase your personality (e.g., video, website, anything at all!) highlighting why you’re the best fit for the role!

Common Questions We Get Asked:

1. What technologies and tools does Spare use in its tech stack?

    Our backend primarily uses Typescript, Node.js and Scala, while our frontend is built with React.js. We leverage GCP for cloud services and Kubernetes for container orchestration. For data storage and management, we use PostgreSQL and Redis. We also incorporate various DevOps tools such as Docker, Terraform, and CircleCi to streamline our development and deployment processes.

2. How does Spare support the professional growth of its software developers?

  • We offer various opportunities for learning and development, including access to our in-house course content, hackathons, and collaborative projects.
  • We have regular one-on-one meetings to discuss career goals and provide feedback.
  • We encourage developers to work on innovative projects, participate in hackathons, and collaborate across teams to gain diverse experiences.
  • We conduct quarterly performance reviews with managers for recognition and feedback, with promotion and compensation reviews taking place bi-annually in the Spring and Fall.
Shelby Perera
Shelby Perera
People & Talent Co-op
Shelby is a co-op student from SFU majoring in Human Resources with a keen interest in psychology. She is a writer, artist, and advocate for both people and animals, with an ever-growing passion for making people's lives easier. Although she's never been one to curl up with a good book, her passion for writing stems from a desire to share thoughts and experiences that might resonate with those who feel unheard.
Read more from 
Shelby Perera

"Spare has been integral to the rollout of our updated GoPass app. Spare enables us to easily plan and operate new on-demand Golink services, and facilitate seamless connections for passengers using DART bus and rail."

Gary Thomas
,
DART CEO

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