Travel Diaries is seeking a highly skilled and communicative Engineering Lead with backend or full-stack development expertise, particularly in .NET. This is a remote position within the EMEA timezones.

The ideal candidate has strong planning skills, experience in managing tech teams, and familiarity with scrum and agile methodologies. Knowledge of React, AI, and mobile application development using Flutter is a plus. We’re currently seeking an Engineering Lead who embodies our values of ownership, action, urgency, rigorous thinking, trust, and optimism to join our growing team.

If you’re excited about joining a remote startup environment and making a significant impact, apply now! We’re eager to hear from you!

For a more detailed description of the responsibilities, please see below.

About Travel Diaries

We’re a startup from The Netherlands, specializing in creating digital journals through our web and mobile applications. Our flagship products, Travel Diaries and Baby Diaries, enable users to capture their most precious memories through stories and images in digital diaries, which can be shared online as a blog, downloaded as a PDF and ordered as beautifully printed books. We’re expanding our product line to include other types of journals utilizing the latest cloud technologies on Azure. With our scalable subscription models and recent investment (November 2023), we aim to become the market leader in journaling apps.

Our mission is to help people worldwide to capture, share and immortalize their memories in a fun and easy way, so they can relive them whenever they want, and pass them on for generations to come. We currently have over 200.000 users and delivered over 15.000 books worldwide.

We’re a dynamic and innovative company dedicated to driving growth and creating impactful solutions. Our team is passionate, diverse, and committed to excellence.

‍ About the Role

As an Engineering Lead, you’ll be the driving force behind our small development team, consisting of a frontend, backend and mobile developer, ensuring technical excellence and delivering cutting-edge solutions.

This solution is composed of the following application components:

Website – public accessible, informative website
Web application components (Authentication, Editor, Product Configurator, Checkout) providing content editing, printable book configuration and ordering process
Mobile application for Android and iOS
Backend application components (API & Backoffice)

The following technologies are used to implement above solutions.

The backend is implemented in .NET core/C#.
The frontend is implemented in React/JavaScript
The mobile application is developed in Flutter/Dart
The solution is hosted in Azure, using App Services and Docker Containers running on Kubernetes

Your expertise will be essential in bringing our vision to life, steering our projects to successful completion. Your leadership will ensure our technical direction aligns with business strategies, paving the way for continuous growth and cultivating a culture of relentless improvement and forward-thinking innovation.

️ Key Responsibilities

We believe in transparency and clarity when it comes to our expectations. Below, we've outlined the key responsibilities for the Engineering Lead role to give you a comprehensive understanding of what you'll be tackling. While we've done our best to be detailed, there may be other responsibilities that arise as we continue to grow and evolve. We want to ensure that you have a clear picture of the role, so we can attract candidates who are fully aware of and excited about the challenges and opportunities ahead. Our goal is to find the right fit for both you and our team, so we can build a successful and productive partnership.

Technical Leadership
- Lead and mentor the engineering team in designing, developing, and maintaining high-quality software solutions, while fostering a collaborative and productive environment.
- Provide technical guidance and ensure adherence to coding standards and best practices.
- Encourage team members to take ownership of their work and contribute to the company's goals.
- Foster a culture of action and quick, calculated decision-making.
Project Management
- Plan, coordinate, and oversee technical projects, ensuring timely and within scope completion.
- Facilitate scrum ceremonies (daily stand-ups, sprint planning, retrospectives, etc.) and promote agile principles within the team.
- Continuously improve processes and workflows to enhance team productivity and delivery.
- Break down complex tasks into manageable items and assign them to team members.
- Monitor project progress and implement risk mitigation strategies, prioritizing the most impactful work contributing to the company's goals.
Communication and Collaboration
- Ensure effective communication and coordination within the team and with other stakeholders.
- Translate technical concepts for non-technical stakeholders.
- Cultivate trust and amplify the strengths of team members through open communication and continuous feedback.
- Improve internal and cross-functional communication by establishing an effective communication architecture, supported by People Ops.
- Enhance documentation practices to ensure knowledge transfer and maintain a high bus factor within the team.
Development
- Support team in troubleshooting and resolve technical issues promptly.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams to deliver scalable solutions, considering the broader impact on the company.
- Facilitate in designing and implement features across the entire stack.
- Optimize the bug reporting process to enhance clarity and speed in resolving technical issues across the team.
AI and Innovation
- Stay current with emerging technologies and trends, especially in AI and machine learning.
- Explore and integrate AI solutions where applicable to enhance product functionality.

KPIs You’ll Influence

You’ll be responsible in driving the following key performance indicators (KPIs), which are essential for measuring the success and performance of both the company and the engineering team.

Project delivery
Code quality
Team productivity
Technical debt
System performance
Sprint success rate
Effective cross-functional collaboration

Requirements

✨ We know the confidence gap and imposter syndrome can get in the way of meeting spectacular candidates, so please don’t hesitate to apply — we’d love to hear from you. ✨

Located within the EMEA timezones.
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field.
At least 5-7 years of professional experience in software development.
At least 2 years experience in a remote work environment.
Experience in .NET Core, Microservice architectures, Microsoft Azure technologies like Cosmos DB, App Services and Azure functions and Dockerization is a pré.
Experience with any our frontend technologies, like React, Typescript, Javascript and Flutter is a pré.
Proven experience in managing and leading technical teams. This can also include leading a squad or project-focused team on software development and delivery.
Experience in leading a team or acting as a liaison between technical and non-technical teams, with the ability to motivate and inspire teams to achieve project goals.
Solid understanding of agile methodologies and experience in facilitating agile ceremonies.
Excellent proactive communication and interpersonal skills.
Ability to work 100% remotely, with flexibility to collaborate across multiple time zones, self-motivated and disciplined, with excellent time management skills.
Approach challenges with optimism and a proactive mindset, viewing obstacles as opportunities for growth.
Demonstrated ability to embrace a growth mindset, continually seeking opportunities to learn, improve, and innovate.
At least C1 level English proficiency.
Experience in the travel, diary, or digital book publishing industries is a plus.
Knowledge of AI, machine learning and mobile application development is a plus.

Our Company Culture

Our mission is to become the largest journal app in the world, enabling people to easily capture, share, immortalize, and relive precious memories.

We believe in a flexible, results-oriented work culture where productivity is rewarded, and team members have the freedom to shape their work and personal lives.

Our ethos is centered around fostering happy, engaged, and motivated team members who feel a strong connection to the company. We prioritize location-independent work, leveraging digital meetings and daily communication through Slack to maintain a content and efficient team.

Journal Lab Tenets

Ownership Mindset: We act as stakeholders, taking responsibility for the company's direction and goals. We don’t say “that’s not my job” – we roll up our sleeves and contribute solutions, not just problems. We avoid working in silos, always considering our impact on the team.

Bias for Action: We take calculated risks and explore new opportunities, moving quickly on reversible decisions while pausing to consider irreversible ones. We reward seizing opportunities and exploring new possibilities without fear of failure.

Move with Urgency and Focus: We prioritize impactful work, providing prompt and efficient service, and making swift decisions to drive growth and protect our reputation. We cultivate a culture of accountability, innovation, and resilience.

Think Rigorously: We commit to thorough and analytical thinking in all aspects of our work, ensuring well-informed decisions aligned with our objectives. This fosters a culture of excellence, driven by innovation, efficiency, and continuous improvement.

Trust and Amplify: We trust and amplify each other’s expertise and strengths, fostering open communication, transparency, and inclusive decision-making. This cultivates mutual respect, empowerment, and innovation, driving meaningful impact and achieving collective goals.

Optimism: We maintain a positive outlook, viewing challenges as opportunities for growth. We encourage proactive problem-solving, fostering resilience, creativity, and a can-do attitude, enabling us to navigate complexities with confidence and agility.

Our Offer

Annual compensation: €55,495 - €66,033
Continuous learning. Opportunities for professional growth and career development in a small, autonomous, and rapidly growing team. A steep learning curve that fosters continuous learning and advancement, embodying our values of ownership, action, rigorous thinking, trust, and optimism.
Flexible work-schedule. Flexibility in your schedule; what we care about is getting the job done.
Generous paid time-off. We believe in the need to unplug and replenish our energy levels. Enjoy 26 days of annual vacation plus national holidays.
Ergonomic workspace options. Support in setting-up an ergonomic workspace for your house or a co-working space if required.
Work remotely. Collaborate with a globally distributed workforce with team members from Brazil, Argentina, Suriname, Colombia, Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, Ukraine, Turkey, Pakistan, Indonesia, and more!
Education budget. As part of our career development framework we offer €500 a year per full time employee. The education budget usage will depend on your development plan.
An inclusive and dynamic workplace. We respect and value diversity in all its forms, where people from all walks of life are welcomed and valued for their unique perspectives and experiences.
Free Travel Diaries membership & printed books. We want our team to be familiar with our product and to help us improve it, so we encourage you to make use of it. You’ll enjoy a free Travel Diaries membership as well as one printed book a year for your own enjoyment.
Free books and memberships for 15 of your friends or family. We all have loved ones around us and as they say, sharing is caring. We want to offer 5 paid print memberships and 10 online memberships for your loved ones. Thinking about a nice birthday or Christmas gift? We got you covered.

Application Process

To apply, please fill-in the application form.

We look forward to reviewing your application and exploring how you can contribute to our dynamic and growing team. We'll do our best to reply to you within 2 business days.

Friendly reminder: To be considered, candidates should be located within the EMEA timezones. Please make sure to include your location in your application for us to review it.

Process in detail

Screening (async)
First interview with People Operations Manager (sync)
Technical Assessment (sync)
Second interview with CEO (sync)
Offer meeting

Equal Opportunity Statement

We’re an equal opportunity organization and value diversity at our company. We don’t discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: €55.495,00 - €66.033,00 per year

Travel Diaries

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Engineering Lead (EMEA timezones)