Backend Engineer II

Job Description

Octopus is a tech-powered energy company. We believe technology has the power to address our greatest challenge, climate change, while also delivering incredible service and customer experience.

We are changing the way people interact with their energy company - by making it approachable, low cost, easy-to-understand, and most importantly, 100% renewable.

What will you be doing?

Octopus Energy Engineering is responsible for the sites, services, and tariffs that are used by the millions of Octopus Energy customers worldwide. From building the latest, cutting-edge time-of-use tariffs, to helping customers actually enjoy tasks like providing meter readings through our wheel of fortune - and everything in between.

You'll find a wide variety of challenges in the work we do as we help push the energy revolution forward. Our teams are multi-disciplined and collaborate between countries, meaning you have what you need to get the right people together and build the next great thing.

We are looking for a Backend Engineer II based in the US to join our global backend team at OE Engineering.

We embrace flat hierarchies and an open, agile culture that fosters innovation, flexibility, and creativity. We don't hang our personalities up with our coats and nor should you.

At Octopus, we hire great people who get stuff done, all whilst being themselves.

What you'll need to have...

• We're looking for someone with a general interest in technology and problem-solving; someone diligent and thoughtful. It would be helpful to have experience/expertise in the following (in rough priority order):
  • Python
  • Django (or equiv. web framework)
  • Domain modeling
  • GraphQL
  • Writing robust and fault-tolerant software
  • Celery and async processing
  • Postgres

Plus experience in the following would be a bonus:

• AWS, or other cloud infrastructure experience
• React/Next.js with TypeScript

Why else you'll love it here...

• Our company culture - We are an organization where people learn, decide, and build quicker. Where people work with autonomy, alongside a wide range of amazing co-owners, on projects that break new ground.
• Fully paid medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• Paid time off - we know working hard means also being able to recharge as needed, we trust our employees to get the work done and take the time they need. We offer 20 days of paid vacation and 8 paid sick days annually.
• 401(k) plan with employer match.
• Parental leave. Biological, adoptive and foster parents are all eligible.
• Pre-tax commuter benefits.
• Flexible working environment - genuine work life balance here; we treat you as a human, and do our best to make work and life merge smoothly together.
• Equity Options Scheme - you own your own part of the business, share options in the whole Octopus Energy Group so we all work together towards success.
• Salary - The expected salary range for this Backend Engineer II role for candidates based out of our Houston, Texas office, is between $108,000 - $138,000 annually. Your exact compensation will be determined by your technical expertise, professional experience, and how well your unique skills align with the role's specific needs. Please note that the top end of this range is reserved for candidates who exceptionally meet all criteria.
• While our preference is for candidates based in Houston, we are open to considering exceptional candidates located elsewhere in the US (ideally in central or eastern time zones to make collaboration with our global teams easier). For these candidates, salary will be thoughtfully adjusted to reflect the local cost of living and market conditions.
• Your development is important - we support and help with development including internal and external courses, learning, study support etc, all bespoke to you.

If this sounds like you then we'd love to hear from you.

Studies have shown that some groups of people, like women, are less likely to apply to a role unless they meet 100% of the job requirements. Whoever you are, if you like one of our jobs, we encourage you to apply as you might just be the candidate we hire. Across Octopus, we're looking for genuinely decent people who are honest and empathetic. Our people are our strongest asset and the unique skills and perspectives people bring to the team are the driving force of our success. As an equal opportunity employer, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected attribute. Our commitment is to provide equal opportunities, an inclusive work environment, and fairness for everyone.

Where necessary, we sometimes use AI tools to help with parts of our hiring process, like reviewing applications or assessing responses. We're lucky to receive a huge amount of interest, so these tools help our recruiters manage that volume, not replace them. Ultimately, every hiring decision (for example, whether to progress your application or not) is always made by a real person in our Talent team. If you'd like to know more about how we use your data, you can reach out to us via email at [email protected]. We're happy to help!