Behind the code. Insights from Jaideep Singh, Senior Software Engineer II at SmartRecruiters

Your Role & Team Dynamics

Question: Can you describe your current role at SmartRecruiters?

Jaideep: I am a Software Engineer in the Frontend Platform team. My core tasks include building and maintaining systems that support the frontend engineers and improve the productivity of the product teams in SmartRecruiters. Another key aspect of my role is to provide ongoing support on critical issues and bugs which might block the ongoing feature development by product engineers.

Question: What do you like the most about your role?

Jaideep: 

Impact on the organisation - knowing that the projects I'm working on can bring an immense productivity boost for the engineers brings me a lot of satisfaction on a regular basis.

Collaboration - a core part of my role is to regularly collaborate with the engineers from other teams. This brings together many different perspectives and is an enriching experience to learn from each other and build something which actually brings value.

Continuous improvement - working in a platform team opens up multiple opportunities for growth and learning, not just technically but also on the management, leadership and process side of things. This is extremely rewarding and keeps me motivated.

Question: How do you and your team decide which projects to work on next?

Jaideep: We are a team of four engineers, and our team is responsible for multiple technical aspects of the SmartRecruiters platform. It is therefore essential that we are spending every bit of our time on the most critical stuff at any given point.

When prioritising and planning our work, we consider a lot of different sources of inputs. These are:

Engineering strategy - we try to ensure that everything we choose to work on is closely aligned to our Engineering strategy, so that we feel confident that we are contributing to what matters the most at an organisational level.

Ongoing projects - as far as possible, we try to keep our focus on finishing initiatives we already started, before  picking up new ones, or at least to get them to a state where they functionally stable and delivering value.

User feedback - a core part of our way of working is conducting user interviews on a regular basis. We reach out to different engineers and listen to their experiences of working with different parts of our frontend tech stack. This helps us validate if a problem is really worth solving.

Slack - the channels on Slack also serve as an indicator of some important topics, especially if there has been more participation in those discussions and if certain issues are being brought up frequently.

GetDX - the quarterly GetDX survey shines light on what is most pressing for our engineers at the moment. The trends and comparisons of different quarters can yield some valuable insights into improvement (or deterioration) of sentiment.

Domains health - although this has not been not one of the most important sources, we periodically also assess the health of the technical domains (products, services, frameworks) we own, for example: tech debt, architectural improvements, framework updates and prioritise if something is tending to be a potential productivity bottleneck or risk.

If a topic frequently appears as crucial from multiple sources, it becomes a top priority for us. However, we always remind ourselves to consider both the short-term and long-term impact of working on a project versus deferring it to a later point.

Life at SmartRecruiters

Question: What do you like most about working at SmartRecruiters?

Jaideep: My top pick is people and culture. Everyone feels empowered to share their perspectives openly while also respecting and listening to other opinions. I believe this is an essential ingredient of any successful organisation. 

Another remarkable thing I like here is transparency. Updates about the company’s progress, decisions, and strategies are regularly shared with us (eg. via Smartian News and R&D All-Hands). Difficult questions are also welcomed and answered unambiguously. This transparency helps in building trust and aligning everyone with the organisational objectives.

Innovation and impact

Question: Can you share a project you've worked on that had a significant impact on our products or services?

Jaideep: I've helped improve the adoption of Playwright as the test automation framework within the product teams. This included establishing a comprehensive knowledge base, having regular feedback catch-ups with the frontend engineers, as well as pair programming sessions for setting up the framework and troubleshooting issues.

Question: How does SmartRecruiters support innovative thinking within your team?

Jaideep: During the past 12 months, I’ve noticed a considerable emphasis on innovation within the team. This includes the ways of working within the team (transitioning from a 2-week to 1-week cycles, following hill charts for visualising progress), driving decisions based on metrics, and regularly challenging each other while constantly pushing them towards better outcomes.

Tips for future candidates

Question: What advice would you give to someone considering joining your team?

Jaideep:

Understand the scope and impact: make sure you understand the broader impact of the frontend platform team. you’re not just delivering functionality; you’re building the tools and frameworks that empower other engineers to keep shipping the product features efficiently.

Be ready to learn constantly: as the frontend platform team owns multiple aspects of the frontend ecosystem at SmartRecruiters and is at the forefront of innovating, there is always a new challenge awaiting you.

Prioritise and manage time effectively: learning to prioritise and re-prioritise stuff, along with effective time-management is crucial, especially when working on multiple projects or initiatives.

Focus on collaboration and communication: you’ll need to work closely with other frontend engineers (and sometimes designers too). Being able to articulate ideas clearly, listening to feedback, and integrating diverse perspectives into your work is vital.

Question: What qualities are essential for success in your role at SmartRecruiters?

Jaideep: 

Attention to detail: given that the work often involves developing tools and frameworks that multiple teams will use, precision and attention to detail are crucial. Errors or oversights can easily multiply across the entire development process, affecting many teams and even the SmartRecruiters platform.

Problem-solving skills: the ability to tackle complex problems and come up with efficient, scalable solutions is key. This involves not only addressing immediate issues but also anticipating future challenges that could arise due to changes in technology or business requirements.

Resilience and patience: work in a platform team often involves complex challenges that require sustained effort and iterations to resolve. Resilience and patience are essential when facing setbacks and continuing to push forward towards optimal solutions.