Android Engineer

We are looking for someone to create our Android app. And we truly mean create, as in the whole thing, from scratch. You will have the freedom to develop the first version of our app with no technical debt.

Memo Bank is a new, independent bank for European businesses that we have built from the ground up. Our aim is to be the bank of reference for French and European SMEs. We have been working on this project for the past three years and are on the verge of welcoming our first clients. And since our future clients - business executives - are often on the go, we need to offer a top-notch Android app. That’s where you come in.

About the position

The role

Let’s start with a bit of background. Our products are geared towards two types of users: our clients, predominantly SME executives and operational staff within their companies, and our bankers. They already work well on the web, even on small-screened devices; however, we would like to take things a step further by offering a slick Android app for secure 2FA and more.

The role involves breaking ground for our native app. And you’re not just building a simple wall (in keeping with the construction theme), you will be overseeing the entire edifice from the foundation to the rafters, from floor to ceiling, from basement to attic. (You get the picture.) That said, as priorities evolve, the scope of the job may expand into something that goes beyond Android; you may be asked to contribute to projects that do not necessarily pertain to native development and SDK Android.

On the tech side, we have decided to build our own banking infrastructure entirely in-house so that we are not dependant on and limited by off-the-shelf solutions. Our core banking system is written in Elixir, and our back-end was developed using Kotlin.

The team

We believe in peace and quiet for developing both our products and our company. We strive to ensure that everyone has periods of uninterrupted working time in an environment that is designed to promote concentration. The way we organize our work makes it possible to put code into production on a regular basis.

If you’d like to know more about what our engineering team is working on, check out these articles and presentations:

Web Development at Memo Bank — Benoît de La Forest;
Why Elixir? — Jérémie Martinez;
Choosing an architecture — Joan Zapata;
Nos premiers mois avec Elixir — Raphaël Lustin (in French).

We're all working from home for the time being, obviously. But here's our remote work policy in "normal times": several members of our engineering team work from home several days a week. We encourage remote working and communicate in writing most of the time. That said, you must be able to be in Paris on Mondays and Tuesdays. If you live outside of Ile-de-France, we will cover the cost of your train tickets (between Paris and your city of residence) as well as a hotel in Paris as needed.

While we are constantly looking several years ahead, we remain curious and open to new ideas. It’s a conscious effort to keep from stagnating or falling into complacency. Would you like to read a particular book? We will add it to our library. Is there a conference you want to attend? We can cover the fees, travel and lodging.

Responsibilities

Generally speaking, you will:

Conceptualize and develop the first version of our Android app, which initially will be used predominantly for 2FA.
Enhance the first version of the app as our banking services expand so that eventually we can offer a full-feature native app.
Share your expertise with your colleagues by taking part in code review, writing documentation and organizing presentations.
Work with our designers and product managers at every stage of feature development from conception to delivery for mobile and beyond.
Suggest new tools and approaches while also building on the development methods already in place.

About you

Profile

We have created this role because we need someone to take ownership of the delivery of a top-notch Android application. This requires being confident enough in your professional abilities to make decisions and move forward independently. We don’t expect you to know everything right off the bat, but a solid grasp of the fundamentals of software engineering is crucial for getting to grips with our environment as quickly as possible.

Are you curious and enjoy looking in all the nooks and crannies of an app, from the flashiest feature to the most discreet detail? Have you cultivated an appreciation for interfaces and an interest in client-server communications while never losing sight of the importance of the offline UX? Does the opportunity to contribute to other back-end and front-end projects beyond native Android development excite you? If so, this might just be the job for you.

We are aware that the role we’ve outlined here is in fact several roles. In other companies, these responsibilities often fall to wholly separate teams— - conception, design, development, testing, and so on. Of course, we do not expect you to be capable of single-handedly accomplishing as much as a well-established team. We do, however, expect you to make well-informed technical decisions, steer good ideas all the way through to production, continually take stock and plan ahead in order to lay the groundwork for the future.

Our strategy is to hire curious, daring, humble people and then to give them a lot of freedom to learn and create. We're much more interested in what you've been doing since you graduated than in your degree. In our experience, properly-thought-out and well-executed projects tell us more than a piece of paper from even the most prestigious institutions.

Requirements

Ideally, you:

have at least three years’ experience as an Android developer.
have a solid understanding of the Android ecosystem and of Android IDEs (Firebase, Android SDK, Google Play Services).
are accustomed to distributing apps on the Google Play Store including managing their deployment and updates.
have an interest in the development process (test, code review, continuous integration, version management, architecture documentation, etc.)
are comfortable expressing yourself in written English (since all of our documentation is in English).

How to apply

The initial application

If you’d like to join us, simply send your CV (or your LinkedIn) and a message (in French or English) explaining why you are applying. We don’t expect a formal cover letter, but we do want to know what you think you can bring to the team and what you expect from us. Don’t be afraid to let a bit of your personality shine through; your future colleagues will be reading.

You don’t get any bonus points for length, and you won’t be penalized for brevity. Leave out the parts that we might be tempted to skip over and focus on what’s truly important to you.

We know that we are asking a lot. You likely already have a job and/or other occupations. If you are willing to take time out of your busy day to write to us, we genuinely appreciate it. The ball is in your court. We hope to hear from you.

The interview process

Here’s what you can expect if your initial application is successful:

A phone interview with our recruitment team (30 minutes);
A technical exercise to be completed offsite at your convenience and returned to us via email (expect to spend about 2 hours);
A series of video-conference interviews with members of several different teams (4 hours).