Build the programs to help Flexport growThe opportunity:

Flexport is a platform for global trade in an industry that comprises 12% of the global GDP.  We are the first licensed freight forwarder and customs brokerage built around a modern tech stack.  We help the world's fastest-growing brands manage their international supply chains, providing a fully-managed service for moving products between any two places on the planet.

Exceptional software development is integral in allowing us to fulfill our mission of fixing the user experience in global trade. At Flexport you’ll develop products that are at the forefront of reshaping the entire logistics & supply chain industries. You’ll work alongside self-starters interested in solving real-world problems and streamlining the inefficiencies in the complex global trade industry. You’ll have the opportunity to reshape an industry by creating the new operating system for global trade.

The Ocean engineering group is responsible for creating products and workflows that enable us to effectively fulfill and move our clients' cargo. We work closely with our product, business and data teams to solve complex optimization problems around container utilization and route planning to make sure we are able to fulfill the promised transit times while utilizing our supply efficiently.

We are looking for engineers who love learning, are passionate about collaborating, and desire to build solutions with a global impact. This role will be located in San Francisco, CA.

You will:

• Craft the architectural strategy, and own the technical landscape, for a major domain in the world of logistics that powers global trade.
• Design systems that represent the real-world intricacies of logistics entities, such as cargo, routing, customs, and pricing.
• Work closely with business partners and product managers to distill complex business problems into elegant technical solutions.
• Build and launch products rapidly and incrementally. We ship to production dozens of times per day.
• Geek out about shipping and logistics. (We do this often.)
• You play a significant role in the career development of others, actively mentoring and educating the larger software engineering community on trends, technologies, and best practices.
• Drive data accuracy architecture and improvement loops through various subsystems.

What you’ll build:

• Ocean Planner - As our network increases in complexity, planning and routing become exponentially more complex. We will build fully automated planning and optimization technology powered by data science to match demand to the right supply. The planner will trade off the probability of no-shows (due to cargo ready date changes or cancellations) with taking bookings over available capacity to maximize space utilization, while still ensuring a reliable shipping experience for clients. The planner will prioritize clients based on customer lifetime value, incorporate carrier performance to ensure we utilize space we have committed to.
• Instant Quoting - Clients will be able to get an instant quote with a promised "delivered by" date that Flexport is able to achieve with 95% or higher on-time performance. The quote will be based on real-time inventory availability, high confidence ML predicted transit times and dynamic pricing.

You should have:

Basic Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience writing software, and a strong engineering background.
• Experience building large scale, high-performance systems in a complex, multi-tiered, distributed environment
• Knowledge of at least one programming language such as Ruby, C, C++, Java, or Kotlin
• 5+ years of design and architecture knowledge as well as familiarity with object-oriented analysis and design patterns (OOA/OOD)
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related technical field, or equivalent experience

Preferred Qualifications

• A love of simple, well-tested code that is easy to extend and hard to break.
• The ability to convey technical ideas in common terms to business partners, product managers, and engineers alike.
• Understanding of performance tradeoffs, load balancing and operational issues
• Demonstrated ability to mentor junior software engineers in all aspects of their engineering skill-sets
• Knowledge of professional software engineering practices & best practices for full software development life cycle, including coding standards, code reviews, source control management, continuous deployments, testing, and operations
• Non-optional: an aptitude for learning quickly.

Engineering Culture and Values:

Check out our Engineering blog.

About Flexport:

At Flexport, we believe global trade can move the human race forward. That’s why it’s our mission to make it easy and accessible for everyone. We’re shaping the future of a $8.6T industry with solutions powered by innovative technology and exceptional people. Today, companies of all sizes—from emerging brands to Fortune 500s—use Flexport technology to move more than $19B of merchandise across 112 countries a year. 

The recent global supply chain crisis has put Flexport center stage as we continue to play a pivotal role in how goods move around the world. At a valuation of $8 billion, we’re experiencing record growth and are proud to have the support of the best investors in the game who believe in our mission, solutions and people. Ready to tackle global challenges that impact business, society, and the environment? Come join us.

Worried about not having any logistics experience?

Don’t be! Our mission is to make global trade easy for everyone. That’s why it’s important to bring people from diverse backgrounds and experiences together with our industry veterans to help move the global logistics industry forward.

We know this industry is complex. That’s why we invest in education starting day one with Flexport Academy, a one week intensive onboarding program designed specifically to set every new Flexport employee up for success. 

At Flexport, our ability to fulfill our mission of making global trade easy for everyone relies on having a diverse, dedicated and engaged workforce. That is why Flexport is committed to creating and nurturing an environment where anyone can be their authentic self. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, physical and mental disability, health status, marital and family status, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, military and veteran status, and any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

To learn more about what our tech teams have been up to, head to the Engineering Blog.