About Very
(Remote – North America)

Very is a fully distributed technology firm led by expert problem-solvers who create efficient, scalable solutions that move commercial, industrial, and consumer products from pilot to production in record time.

We believe that real innovation happens in the grind — working shoulder to shoulder with clients who are building the future. Our team thrives on that energy. When we’re not helping clients deliver business-critical outcomes, we’re refining our craft and celebrating what it means to do hard things well.

We’ve built a collaborative, tight-knit culture that thrives in both remote and in-person settings. We’ve won numerous workplace awards over the years, including Great Place to Work certification and recognition from Parity.org as a Best Company for Women to Advance.

Our clients include well-known brands like Vizio, Peloton, Clear, iHeart Radio, and Fellowes — all determined to leverage connected devices and AI to drive meaningful impact. Our job is simple: help them win.

About This Role

A Lead at Very is an individual who operates with the highest degree of knowledge and accountability for the delivery of services to our customers. They provide excellent technical leadership and delivery skills, as it pertains to complex, multi-faceted projects at Very. They have a strong executive presence, which gives major client stakeholders the confidence that we will deliver, and gives our team the confidence and accountability to do so.

As a Lead Software Engineer, you will serve as the key technical architect across multiple client engagements, ensuring that each system’s design and implementation align with customer goals and business outcomes. You’ll architect modern, scalable software spanning AWS & Azure infrastructure, backend, web frontend, and mobile — and you’ll get your hands dirty in implementation. Your technical skills must meet a very high standard: you’ll set the bar for engineering excellence through high-quality, maintainable, and scalable code.

At Very the key distinction between mid, senior and lead roles is the scope and depth of your expertise and responsibility. As a mid you can own and deliver tasks (work packages) with a high level of professionalism and know when to reach out for help. As a senior, you have deep expertise in your area of specialization and can execute independently in your domain while interfacing with other software stacks. As a lead you become a true full stack engineer with the ability to plan, execute and lead a team across the full software stack, while interfacing with non-software aspects of the project.

This is not an easy role. You’ll work in complex domains, under real deadlines, and with clients who expect you to bring clarity, confidence, and results. If you find satisfaction in doing hard things well — in solving tough problems, building real systems, and helping others rise to the challenge — you’ll fit right in.

As a client services organization, travel may be required up to 10% of the time. Some clients may also require periodic assignment to 24/7 support rotation.

What You’ll Be Working On

Every engagement at Very is different, but they share one common theme: we build things that matter. From connected hardware and data systems to large-scale web and AI-driven platforms, you’ll:

• Serve as the key technical architect across multiple client engagements, ensuring technical strategy aligns with business goals and measurable outcomes.

• Lead architecture design across frontend, backend, and cloud layers, ensuring scalability, maintainability, and performance.

• Contribute directly to implementation — writing production-grade code that demonstrates the standard of craftsmanship expected at Very.

• Collaborate across disciplines (Hardware, Data Science, and Design) to deliver end-to-end connected and intelligent product ecosystems.

• Partner with our commercial team as a solutions engineer, supporting pre-sales efforts, technical scoping, and estimation for Statements of Work.

• Establish standards for coding, CI/CD, testing, and deployment that enable predictable, high-quality delivery.

• Identify and mitigate architectural or delivery risks early through proactive technical leadership.

You’ll operate in a modern, polyglot environment that includes:

• Frontend: React, Vite, Expo, TypeScript, WebSockets, Progressive Web Apps

• Backend: Java, Dropwizard, Node.js, Python, FastAPI, Django

• Cloud: AWS (Lambda, ECS, Fargate, RDS, CloudFront, CloudWatch, SNS, SQS), Azure

• DevOps: Docker, Terraform, Pulimi, GitHub Actions, CI/CD pipelines

• Databases: Postgres, Redis, TimescaleDB, DynamoDB

• Testing: Jest, Cypress, Pytest, and other automated test frameworks

Outcomes

1. Deliver Successful Programs: Lead 2+ concurrent full-stack client projects to successful, on-time delivery with high client satisfaction.

2. Advance Delivery Standards: Collaborate with Directors and Executives to continuously raise the bar for technical quality and delivery discipline.

3. Architect for Scale: Define architectures that achieve measurable improvements in system scalability, maintainability, and performance.

4. Mentor and Develop Teams: Push others to elevate their technical and delivery maturity — and make them better for having worked with you.

5. Support Growth: Partner with sales and client success teams to secure new opportunities and expand existing engagements.

Responsibilities

• Lead architecture reviews, ensuring technical integrity, maintainability, and security.

• Partner with Product Managers and Technical Leads to translate client needs into technical plans and deliverables.

• Contribute high-quality, production-ready code, modeling best practices for implementation and testing.

• Ensure adherence to Very’s standards for code quality, testing, and documentation.

• Create and maintain automated tests across all layers of the stack.

• Develop and manage deployments, CI/CD pipelines, logging, monitoring, and alerting.

• Support project health through proactive technical risk identification and mitigation.

• Participate in code reviews, offering constructive feedback that improves overall quality.

• Contribute to recruitment, onboarding, and development of engineering talent.

• Represent Very in client meetings and at industry events as a subject-matter expert.

• Lead junior engineers on client programs through development and 24/7 on-call rotation and assist in diagnosing and resolving production issues.

Minimum Qualifications

General Experience

• BS or higher in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related field

• 10+ years of professional software development experience

• 4+ years of experience developing Java based backend applications

• 3+ years in a technical leadership role overseeing cross-functional engineering teams

• Proven success delivering full-stack systems from concept to production

• Demonstrated ability to maintain public facing production systems at scale

• Experience leading complex projects involving platform, backend and frontend development

• Strong client-facing communication and executive presentation skills

• Professional services or consulting experience strongly preferred

Technical Proficiency

• Deep expertise in multiple backend frameworks especially Django and Dropwizard

• Strong front-end experience in React, Expo, Vite, TypeScript

• Skilled in relational and non-relational data modeling

• Extensive knowledge in building from scratch and supporting event driven cloud platforms in AWS and Azure including security, logging, monitoring, observability and performance at scale

• AWS service expertise: Lambda, ECS, Fargate, RDS, CloudFront, CloudWatch, SNS, SQS

• Highly proficient in CI/CD automation (GitHub Actions) and infrastructure-as-code (Terraform or Pulimi)

Requirements

• Must be US-based.

• US Citizen (required).

• Must be able to pass a Federal Personnel Security clearance (company will facilitate).

Skills

• Client Obsessed: Keeps the client’s success front and center. Measures technical choices by their business impact.

• Communicates Effectively: Expert communicator who informs, engages, and aligns diverse audiences.

• Sets the Bar: Holds themselves and others to exceptionally high technical and delivery standards.

• Thrives in the Grind: Finds energy and satisfaction in complex, high-stakes work — and helps others do the same.

• Leads Through Complexity: Brings clarity and direction when projects are messy, high-pressure, or uncertain.

Compensation

Base Compensation: USD $175,000–$185,000 per year, commensurate with experience.

Variable Compensation:
Up to 15% in the first year.

Perks & Benefits:

• 401k match

• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance

• $200/mo cell/internet stipend

• $600/yr home office equipment stipend

• Paid parental leave (95th percentile in the U.S.)

• Continuing education stipend ($2,500/yr after one year)

• Loaned MacBook Pro and other necessary equipment

Why Work for Very

We do not promise an easy ride — we promise meaningful work.

We work hard because our clients’ success depends on it, and we take pride in delivering when others can’t. We collaborate closely, move fast, and stay grounded in results. We take joy in the process — in the problem-solving, the iteration, and the shared wins that come from doing the hard things well.

If you’re looking for a place where every project matters, where the standards are high, and where you’ll grow by pushing yourself and others — welcome to Very.

IMPORTANT:
1. We don't currently provide Visa Sponsorship. Don't apply if you require this.
2. This job is remote but if you’re not located in the region or country mentioned in the post’s title, do not continue. Your application won’t be reviewed.

Interviewing for a new company is a serious time commitment for all parties involved. Please take the time to read this and thoughtfully consider if we would be a good fit for one another.  No contractors or agencies. Seriously. #LI-Remote

**Note: To qualify for this role, you must reside in the US, be a US Citizen and be able to pass a Federal Personnel Security clearance (company will facilitate).

Apply for this position

Required*

First Name*

Last Name*

Email Address*

Phone*

Address*

Resume*

Attach resume or Paste resume

What's your citizenship / employment eligibility?*No answerI am a U.S. Citizen/Permanent ResidentNon-citizen allowed to work for any employerNon-citizen allowed to work for current employerNon-citizen seeking work authorizationI am a Canadian Citizen/Permanent ResidentOther

LinkedIn Profile URL:*

How many years of professional experience do you have developing Java-based backend applications?*Less than 2 years2–3 years4–5 years6+ years

Which of the following Java backend frameworks have you used in a professional, production environment?*Spring BootDropwizardMicronautQuarkusOther Java backend frameworkNone of the above

Have you worked with AWS services in production, including SNS and/or SQS?*Yes, I have used SNS and/or SQS in production systemsI have used AWS, but not SNS or SQSI have not worked with AWS in production

IMPORTANT: This is a client-facing role. A valid, publicly accessible personal LinkedIn profile with a picture is required.
Broken, private, or non-personal LinkedIn links will result in automatic disqualification. (Please double-check your URL before proceeding.)

Is the URL provided above valid and accessible?*YesNo

In your most recent role, which statement best describes your day-to-day responsibilities?*I regularly write, test, and ship production code myself as a core part of my roleI split my time between hands-on coding and people or program leadershipI primarily focus on technical leadership, reviews, and coordination, with limited hands-on codingI no longer write production code

Approximately what percentage of your time in your current or most recent role is spent personally writing, testing, or shipping production code?*75–100%50–74%25–49%Less than 25%

Because this is a highly client-facing consulting role, strong live communication skills are essential.

You may optionally submit a short (60–90 second) video introducing yourself and briefly describing a recent project you personally worked on. This video will be used to assess communication style and client-facing presence.

Applicants who submit a video may be prioritized for initial review.

If you were contacted directly by our team (e.g., via LinkedIn outreach), you do not need to submit a video. Your application will still be prioritized.

Video submissions are entirely optional but they're a great way to differentiate yourself.

In a production environment, which Infrastructure-as-Code tool have you personally used as a primary implementation mechanism?*I have owned production infrastructure using Terraform (writing modules, managing environments, CI/CD integration)I have owned production infrastructure using PulumiI have owned production infrastructure using AWS CloudFormationI have used IaC tools but did not have ownership of production infrastructureI have not used Infrastructure-as-Code tools in production

How would you describe your spoken English proficiency in client-facing settings?*I communicate fluently and confidently in English in executive and client-facing environments, including leading discussions and explaining complex technical tradeoffs.I have full professional proficiency in English but may struggle leading client-facing discussions.English is functional but not fully fluent.

This role requires U.S. citizenship due to client and/or regulatory requirements. Are you currently a U.S. citizen?*YesNo

Do you have hands-on experience deploying and managing applications using Amazon Elastic Container Service (ECS) in a production environment?*YesNo

What best describes your experience with ReactJS in a professional, production environment?*I have built and maintained React applications in production as a core part of my roleI have contributed to React codebases but it was not a primary responsibilityI am familiar with React but have not worked with it in productionI have no experience with React

For this client-facing consulting role, concise and relevant communication is critical. We strongly prefer resumes of 3 pages or fewer. Submissions exceeding this length will not be considered.

Do you confirm your resume reflects this expectation?*YesNo

Human Check*