Careers
Socrata is trying to unlock government and other public data one dataset at a time by making data social. Our Socrata Social Data Platform helps organizations publish and distribute data in ways that are engaging socially. The result is that citizens, scientists and journalists can discover and make sense of public data in ways not previously possible.
We’re looking for a few exceptionally talented and passionate individuals to join the Socrata team:
Director of Marketing
We’re looking for a Director of Marketing to help market our social data sharing services. You will contribute significantly to all stages of marketing and lead generation, working closely with the CEO to plan and implement the company’s marketing strategy. You’ll work very closely with the sales team, ensuring and supporting their success. You must be a hands on, self-directed go-getter who thrives in a fast-paced, startup environment. You’ll be involved in marketing, sales, business development and will even help shape the product. This is a great opportunity to get in early as the company is enjoying early success in a new and blossoming data transparency market.
Responsibilities Include:
- Helping define, shape and evolve the company’s marketing strategy
- Defining the company’s messaging, positioning and value proposition
- Helping define and develop a sales conversion funnel strategy
- Executing marketing campaigns which provide the sales team with abundant, qualified leads
- Working with PR to help communicate the company’s message externally
- Developing collateral material including product videos, datasheets and whitepapers
- Maintain the marketing materials on the company’s website
- Search engine optimization and search engine marketing
- Working with the sales team to help close sales
- Working with the CEO and management to help develop strategic business partnerships
- Develop analytical approaches and systems to measure the effectiveness and success of marketing campaigns
Requirements:
- BA/BS or equivalent experience required, plus a minimum of 7 years professional marketing experience, preferably in software and/or software-as-a-service
- Ability to verbally communicate effectively and confidently with a wide variety of audiences - prospects, customers, management, CEO, board of directors, etc.
- Strong analytical skills
- High energy
- Ability to thrive in a startup environment that includes long hours, frequent randomization, tight schedules, etc.
This is a full-time position based in our headquarters in Seattle, WA. If you are ready to roll your sleeves up and make a huge difference, email your resume and cover note to hr at socrata dot com.
Director of Inside Sales
We’re looking to hire our first Director of Inside Sales to help transition the company from predominantly CEO-led early adopter sales to a repeatable web-based sale. We offer a service that has demonstrated customers can understand and purchase through a sequence of web-based demonstrations and calls. The Director of Inside Sales will help define and develop that repeatable sales process and will build the team of inside sales representatives who will be responsible for meeting the company’s inside sales goals. You must be a hands on, self-directed go-getter who thrives in a fast-paced, startup environment. You’ll be involved in sales, marketing, business development and will even help shape the product. This is a great opportunity to get in early as the company is enjoying early success in a new and blossoming data transparency market.
Responsibilities Include:
- Helping define and develop a sales funnel conversion strategy
- Developing a repeatable sales process (script) which other sales reps can use to successfully engage customers
- Working with the Director of Marketing to help define appropriate lead generation marketing systems
- Contacting potential customers by phone and email
- Conducting web demonstrations
- Writing proposals
- Closing early customers
- Helping the CEO and company management develop appropriate sales management processes
- Recruiting inside sales representatives
- Ensuring that inside sales representatives are adequately prepared
Requirements:
- BA/BS or equivalent experience required, plus a minimum of 7 years professional sales experience including at least 4 years of sales leadership/management experience, preferably in software and/or software-as-a-service
- Ability to verbally communicate effectively and confidently with a wide variety of audiences - prospects, customers, management, CEO, board of directors, etc.
- Sufficient technical ability to conduct web demonstrations and answer basic questions without the support of a technical sales engineer
- High energy
- Ability to thrive in a startup environment that includes long hours, frequent randomization, tight schedules, changing priorities, etc.
This is a full-time position based in our headquarters in Seattle, WA. If you are ready to roll your sleeves up and make a huge difference, email your resume and cover note to hr at socrata dot com.
Senior Software Engineer
We’re looking for an exceptionally strong and accomplished senior software engineer with significant experience in building massively scalable, distributed computing systems to help lead the development of our core service offering. The ideal candidate will have the following attributes:
- At least 8 years of professional software engineering experience including at least 3 years experience as a senior software engineer and/or dev lead
- Demonstrated mastery of at least one strictly typed, object oriented language like C++ or Java
- Proficiency with at least one dynamically typed scripting language like Ruby, Python, Perl or Smalltalk
- Demonstrated excellence working with database technologies including RDBMS, Berkeley DB’s, etc.
- Familiar with distributed hash tables
- Experience developing distributed web applications
- Experience developing distributed database systems and/or distributed storage systems is preferred.
- Comfortable working with XML and JSON
- Comfortable working occasionally on the front-end, including javascript, HTML and CSS
- Comfortable working in a heterogeneous development environment where you’ll be working with multiple development languages and technologies
- Competent developing web services APIs
- Excellent communicator
- Natural mentor and teacher
- Self starter who’s anxious to start producing
- If you can ride a unicycle or juggle or have other krazy circus skilz, you’ll probably fit right in
A bachelor’s degree in computer science, math or physics is required. A masters degree in computer science is preferred.
This position is based in our office in Seattle, WA.
If you are an accomplished senior software engineer with the experience and drive to succeed at Socrata, email your resume to senior_software_engineer at socrata dot com. While we’re reviewing your resume, start thinking about our programming challenge below (at the bottom of the page). We’ll ask you to submit a solution to it before coming in for a full interview with us.
Software Engineer
We’re looking for a strong and accomplished software engineer with experience building scalable, distributed, web-based computing systems. The ideal candidate will have the following attributes:
- At least 4 years of professional software engineering experience
- Demonstrated strength in at least one strictly typed, object oriented language like C++ or Java
- Proficiency with at least one dynamically typed scripting language like Ruby, Python, Perl or Smalltalk
- Demonstrated strength working with database technologies including RDBMS, Berkeley DB’s, etc.
- Familiar with memory-based and/or disk-based distributed hash tables
- Experience developing distributed web applications
- Experience developing distributed database systems and/or distributed storage systems is preferred
- Comfortable working with XML and JSON
- Comfortable working on either the back-end or the front-end, including javascript, HTML and CSS
- Comfortable working in a heterogeneous development environment where you’ll be working with multiple development languages and technologies
- Strong communicator
- Self starter who’s anxious to start producing
- If you can ride a unicycle or juggle or have other krazy circus skilz, you’ll probably fit right in
A bachelor’s degree in computer science, math or physics is required. A masters degree in computer science is preferred.
This position is based in our office in Seattle, WA.
If you are an accomplished software engineer with the experience and drive to succeed at Socrata, email your resume to software_engineer at socrata dot com. While we’re reviewing your resume, start thinking about our programming challenge. We’ll ask you to submit a solution to it before coming in for a full interview with us.
Programming Challenge:
Allow the user to enter two times of the format “[H]H:MM AM”. Mentally picture these times on two analog clocks, each having an hour hand and a minute hand. Without using any built-in date or time routines, calculate the number of degrees the minute hand on the first clock must travel in order to have the second clock show the exact same time as the first clock. Assume that when you move the minute hand, the hour hand moves automatically. The minute hand may only move in the clockwise direction. You may assume that the minute hand always ends up on a perfect minute boundary.
As example solutions, if the two times entered are “10:15 AM” and “12:45 PM” the minute hand must travel 900 degrees (2.5 rotations). If the two times entered are “10:00 PM and 9:00 PM” the minute hand must travel 8,280 degrees (23 rotations).
Solve the problem in any language you like, but write professional quality code as if you were going to check this in to the master branch at Socrata. Your solution to the coding challenge is part of the interview process, designed to give you an opportunity to do your best work without time constraint and with all your tools at your disposal.
