Inside Remote software engineering jobs: how our global team works

Everyone deserves equal access to employment, regardless of where they are based. It’s at the core of what we do at Remote, and our engineering team drives the user experience for each individual who uses Remote.

It’s become easier for companies to tap into talent pools from geographically diverse locations and benefit from increased flexibility. To make it smooth and simple for those who are using our global HR platform, Remote’s products and services should be easy to use and enable as much self-serve as possible.

Our team of software engineers are helping us shape the future of work at Remote by:

• Delivering API connections to make each company's HR tech stack automated

• Creating a user experience that makes it easy to get quick answers from real experts

• Improving features that automate timekeeping, booking time off, contract amendment, and payroll

But work is more than everyday tasks or what’s defined in an employment contract. It’s also about the people you’ll be working with, the things you’ll learn from problem-solving, and your overall growth and career development. If you’re looking for a fulfilling role in engineering, career growth, and development opportunities at a forward-thinking organization in Remote, you’re in the right place.

In this guide, we’ll give you an overview of how the engineering team works at Remote. We’ll also take you through the career path for remote software engineering roles, our recruitment process, and how you can apply for an engineering role at our company.

How do remote software engineering jobs work?

Before considering a role working as a software engineer at Remote, there are some key things to know.

• Our rules. The three laws of engineering at Remote are: Make it work. If you really need to, make it beautiful. If you really, really need to, make it fast.

• Your career path. Every software engineer at Remote, whether you are an individual contributor or a manager, has a unique career path. 

• The Remote Flow. Async first (no daily standups or scrum ceremonies) and bias for action.

Working async lies at the heart of what we do. This means you don’t have to wait to be assigned work. Instead, you use your own judgment to pick the task that has the most impact, from the backlog. 

We use the Kanban workflow to manage our engineering projects, where a simple pipeline flow from left to right helps us manage work from start to finish. Open communication keeps everyone informed and on track. There’s no invisible work at Remote, and it’s best to keep cross-functional teams informed about the daily workflow.

Rather than focusing on deadlines, the engineering team at Remote focuses on execution and optimizes for efficiency. That said, critical tasks such as customer queries or issues take priority, and the team aims to resolve them as quickly as possible.

Unresolved issues are not allowed to pile up, and additional support is brought in to move things along the project pipeline if needed. The software development team works asynchronously, using a simple, focused approach that prioritizes efficiency and communication to get things done.

In short, the Remote workflow is guided by the following principles: 

• Keep it simple: maximize productivity and reduce waste.

• Make small, iterative changes: move more quickly and reduce risk.

• Choose quality over quantity: ship one issue well rather than shipping two issues poorly.

• Be proactive: bias toward action to keep the team productive and shipping.

• Deploy often.

• Write simple, readable code.

Here are some resources that can help you understand more about how Remote’s global engineering teams get stuff done.

Working async as a truly global engineering team: read about how Remote’s customer onboarding team inside engineering — our first async and distributed team across the globe — manages to work efficiently, covering the 24-hour clock. Leading virtual engineering teams in times of hyper growth: this article gives you essential pointers on how to lead engineering teams during a period of hyper growth, drawing from Remote’s own growth journey.

Who is most successful in remote software engineering roles?

Remote’s engineering rulebook sets out the key pillars that impact the way software engineers work at our company.

The top priority is to ship work. If there’s no shipping being done, there’s no one to use the product and no way to improve things. The three laws of engineering are:

• Make it work

• If you really need to, make it beautiful

• If you really really need to, make it fast

We also look for engineers who have a solid work ethic and are capable of displaying the following traits:

• Execution: focus on delivery rather than making things perfect.

• Productivity: because we don’t work to schedules or deadlines, we focus on being highly productive when we work.

• Communication: async work calls for over-communication, so we share information about tasks and new technologies, build things, and push boundaries together.

• Evolution: adapt to new teams, new challenges, new technologies, and different realities. 

• Working with others: complement one another and support one another to do more, get better, and keep improving.

What is the career path for remote software engineering roles?

Remote recognizes the importance of personal and professional growth and has created an engineering career path to set expectations for every engineer at Remote.

There is a main path that is common to all engineers. Over time and as the individual specializes in particular skills or traits that impact the product and business as a whole, they can choose to walk one of two paths as an individual contributor or in a management role.

An individual contributor (IC) works on maximizing impact in their role and through their work. An IC is also expected to plan, share knowledge, and empower others in their role. Some examples of IC roles at Remote include junior engineer, senior engineer, and principal engineer.

People management involves leading individuals and focusing on making a larger impact as a team. These include roles such as associate team leader, team leader, engineering manager, engineering director, etc. 

Remote engineer career paths are designed with the progress of the individual in mind, and engineers are given the freedom and opportunity to choose the track they want to pursue based on their career goals and aspirations.

You can read more about our Remote software engineer career paths in our company handbook, which is public.

Our accessible and inclusive interview process for hiring software engineers

Remote takes practical, proactive steps to ensure all candidates feel comfortable during the interview process. For instance, all candidates can ask for accommodations by emailing hiring@remote.com before their interview. Some examples of accommodations include:

• Taking rest breaks during calls

• Using live captions in calls

• Arranging an informal call with the recruiter before the interviews

• Requesting 1-1 interviews rather than a panel.

Here are some other steps our recruiting team takes to make Remote prioritizes DEI during the recruitment process.

• We hire for values alignment and cultural contribution, rather than culture fit.

• We encourage applicants to share their pronouns with us if they'd like to.

• Our sourcing team reviews internal diversity data to inform our diversity sourcing decisions.

• All members who are part of the interview process undergo internal training on unconscious bias and how to overcome it.

• We collect anonymous and voluntary demographic information from applicants to stay accountable.

We also have internal policies — communication, anti-harassment, and DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) — that help us to promote inclusiveness and belonging in the workplace and during the recruitment process.

Example interview questions for software engineers

Interview questions for software engineering roles assess the candidate’s technical ability, communication skills, and ability to work independently. ​​Here are some example interview questions that can help you prepare for a remote software engineer position:

• What is your experience with remote development tools such as Slack, Zoom, and Trello?

• What programming languages are you most comfortable with?

• How do you approach debugging a complex issue?

• What is your experience with continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) tools?

• How do you communicate with stakeholders who are not technical?

• How do you ensure that you are collaborating effectively with team members who are in different time zones?

• What is your experience with writing technical documentation for remote teams?

• How do you manage your time and stay productive while working remotely?

• How do you ensure that you are meeting project deadlines while working remotely?

How Remote practices diversity, equity, and inclusion in practice

At Remote, each one of us believes in the company’s vision to build a better future of opportunity for everyone. Our distributed workforce is spread across the globe, in more than 75 different countries. We believe that each individual is unique and has a voice. Every person at Remote is a valued member of the team and deserves to feel a sense of belonging at the workplace, no matter their background or location.

Diversity and inclusion is a top priority at Remote. This absolutely applies to our engineering team and is reflected in our recruitment process when we interview candidates for engineering roles. It’s why, as a company, more than 50% of employees use she/her pronouns. We want that same balance across each individual team at Remote.

Helpful Remote resources

Remote has a treasure trove of resources for engineers who are looking for remote work. Here are a few articles that champion our passion for diversity and belonging at Remote. 

Bridging the gender gap in STEM with remote work: this article takes you through the benefits of remote work for STEM professionals, the obstacles faced by women in STEM, and what businesses can do to decrease the gender gap through remote work.

How to build belonging for women in remote work: learn more about how companies can create policies to empower women and promote equality in the workplace.

How to support neurodivergence in the workplace with remote and async work: did you know that remote work is especially helpful for neurodivergent employees? Read this article to know more about the benefits of async work for neurodivergent employees, and how you can build a recruitment process that’s mindful of the needs of neurodivergent employees in the workplace. Understanding and supporting LGBTQ+ inclusion in the workplace: inclusion can be a particular challenge for companies with remote workers. This article discusses LGBTQ+ inclusion and how companies can support LGBTQ+ employees in a global workplace. 

How can you apply for Remote software engineering jobs?

We invest in people at Remote. Our async working style is designed to help you plan your day around your life and promote a life-work balance.

If you’re looking for an engineering role that empowers you to take ownership of your work, while giving you the freedom to work on your own schedule, Remote would love to hear from you.

Head to Remote’s openings page to check our available engineering jobs and apply today!

Apply now for a software engineering role at Remote

Want to join Remote's global engineering team? We're always looking for the best talent no matter the address.

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