Director of Software Engineering

About Square Roots

Square Roots is the technology leader in indoor farming. We create meaningful jobs in modern farming, empowering a new generation of leaders in agriculture. With production farms in Brooklyn, NY, Kenosha, WI, Grand Rapids, MI and Springfield, OH (with more to come soon!). Square Roots is on a mission to responsibly bring our locally grown food to people in cities around the world, all year round.

The way we operate our business and operate our farms is better for local communities. Everyone on the Square Roots team—from farmers to engineers, commercial experts to operations specialists—is supported, connected, and empowered to do their best work to help Square Roots achieve its goals as a company.

About the Role:

Square Roots is seeking a Director of Software Engineering who will lead a team of software engineers to build the technology platform that powers our rapidly growing network of indoor farms. This platform features  a wide range of tools & data insights used daily to operate our modular climate-controlled farms  - from production scheduling for farmers to monitoring & alerting on plant health - all of which ultimately enables our farm teams to grow as much food as possible with as few resources as possible.

This person will report directly to the Chief Technology Officer and be responsible for developing the organizational processes and technical strategy to bridge the gap between software innovation and scale. We are looking for an experienced engineering leader who is excited to guide the software team through our next chapter of growth, while building new systems to support more sensors, more users, and more farms across the country.

You Will:

• Lead a team of software, IoT, data, and infrastructure engineers to develop and scale our proprietary farm operating system, The Farmer Toolbelt.
• Develop a strategic vision and software roadmap based on top-level company OKRs.
• Collaborate with multiple teams including Product, Hardware, Plant R&D, and Farm Operations to drive technical implementation, from concept to production.
• Develop and implement a hiring plan and team growth strategy.
• Establish a career development framework and coach engineers towards growth.
• Foster a working environment that promotes collaboration, trust & innovation, while motivating engineers to do their best work.

You have experience with:

• Coaching, recruiting and leading engineering teams to deliver high quality software in an agile development environment.
• Regular deployment of services at scale to support other engineering teams, products, and business outcomes.
• Scaling a software team and developing processes to support the growth of both individuals and the business.
• Scaling a software product from tens to thousands of users.
• (Bonus) Experience with front-end development involving hardware systems or IoT devices.
• (Bonus) Experience with machine learning and computer vision.

You are: 

• Passionate about real, local food.
• Values-aligned.
• A systems thinker with a technical background.
• A clear communicator who can collaborate with external teams and stakeholders.
• A fantastic people manager who understands how to mentor, motivate and inspire.
• Comfortable finding clarity in ambiguity and having a bias for action.

You'll love working at Square Roots because: 

• We're here to change the food system. You'll have the opportunity to play a significant role in our work at the intersection of technology, farming, and the global food industry - and we're only just getting started. 
• Our team is driven by a shared set of values. These keep us aligned and remind us how to show up every day in the face of growth and ambiguity. Whether you’re working remotely or on the farms,  collaboration, respect, optimism, and humility are all embraced, and we seek to empower people at every step. Ask us about the rest!
• Benefits and perks, of course. We're all here first and foremost to play our part in the mission, but medical, dental, and vision coverage, flexible work-life culture, and lots of samples of the delicious food we grow certainly do not hurt. 

COVID-19 Vaccination Policy:

New employees are required to be fully vaccinated prior to their start date. The definition of fully vaccinated includes a booster for those that are eligible.

You are considered fully vaccinated if: 

• You have received a full series of the vaccine recently (meaning 2 doses within 5 months for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, or 1 dose within 2 months for Johnson and Johnson). 
• You received your full series over 5 months ago for Pfizer and Moderna or over 2 months ago for Johnson and Johnson, and have also received a booster shot. 

Proof of vaccination is required during the hiring process, and employees will be required to get booster shots as they become eligible to maintain their fully-vaccinated status.  

As federal guidance on booster shots evolves, the definition of ‘fully vaccinated’ may change.  

In accordance with EEOC guidance, if you are not vaccinated or do not intend to be due to medical reasons or deeply held religious beliefs, you may make an accommodation request and Square Roots will make a reasonable effort to accommodate you, subject to the requirements of the role you are applying for. 

Failure to be fully vaccinated by the start date without a documented accommodation will result in offer rescindment or termination.