Our process

1. Application submission

The process of submitting your application for an engineering role with us is in itself a small technical challenge.

You can start the process by sending an email to challenge@discolabs.com with the subject “I want to be a Disco developer” (no attachments or body required). Detailed instructions will be delivered to your email address.

The application submission is done in your own time, should take no longer than 30 minutes to an hour, and there are no specific language or framework requirements - just knowledge of simple JSON APIs.

2. First technical interview

The first technical interview picks up where the application submission left off. You’ll be asked to use a technique or language of your choice to perform some calculations on some input, and submit your results via an API call.

As with the application submission, there are no specific language or framework requirements, and you do not have to submit any code as part of the challenge (although if you progress, your approach will be discussed with our technical director). This interview step can be completed in your own time and should take no longer than 1 to 2 hours.

3. Initial chat

After reviewing first technical interviews, Disco will invite candidates to have a “getting to you know you” call.

This is an informal chat with Dave (our Technical Director) and one of the other members of our development team. It’ll run for 30 minutes, doesn’t require any preparation, and is focused on us getting to know each other a bit better.

4. Second technical interview

If we both decide we’re a good fit, you’ll be invited to undertake our second technical interview.

Our technical interviews aren’t a whiteboarding exercise or a test of what archaic algorithmic knowledge you have in your head. We want to know what it will be like to work with you on real-world things that actually impact clients.

We’re not just assessing the code you write, but also the way you go about it - the effort you go to to understand the problem domain, the background behind the project, your communication with others, and how well you follow Disco’s standard development processes and practices.

The interview is conducted asynchronously through Github (so you’ll be able to ask questions, do research, and work through it at your own pace - just like real life). We anticipate that the process should take no longer than 4-5 hours of your time, assuming familiarity with standard Ruby on Rails development processes. No Shopify knowledge is assumed.

5. Final interview

Candidates who complete the technical interview to a high standard will be invited to a final round interview.

This will consist of an hour-long discussion with Dave, our Technical Director, where he’ll dive deep with you on your the technical interview and answer any additional questions you may have about the technical side of Disco.

In order to frame this discussion, we ask candidates to come prepared with:

• a copy of their solution to the initial technical challenge; and
• an example of a piece of code that they’ve authored that they’re particularly proud of.

There’ll also be a second hour of 20-minute calls to get to meet some of the other team members - engineers, project managers, and our CEO Gavin. In addition to learning more about your potential future teammates, you can ask them any questions you may have about Disco.

As part of this final round of interviews, we’ll also contact your references.

6. Offer

After we’ve had the chance to talk to everyone, our hiring panel will contact references and send out offers to successful candidates.

Timeline

We know that great candidates have lots of options, and we want to respect your time. We aim for our entire application process, from submission to offer, to take no more than three weeks.

Here’s what you can expect at each stage:

• Application submission: You’ll receive instant confirmation from our API and via email when submitting your application. You’ll be able to move straight to the first technical interview.
• First technical interview: You’ll receive instant confirmation from our API and via email once you’ve submitted your first technical interview. You’ll receive feedback from us within one to two business days. Successful candidates will be invited to schedule an initial chat at their convenience.
• Initial chat: You’ll receive feedback from us within one business day. Successful candidates will be invited to undertake the second technical interview, which can be undertaken at your convenience.
• Second technical interview: You’ll receive feedback from us within three business days. Successful candidates will be invited to schedule their final interview at their convenience.
• Final interview: Pending prompt turnaround time with referee checks, we will be in a position to make an offer within three to four business days of your final interview.

Apply now

Ready to go? Start the process by sending an email to challenge@discolabs.com with the subject “I want to be a Disco developer” (no attachments or body required).

Detailed instructions will be delivered to your email address.