NearbyNow is always interested in speaking with A+ engineers with experience in search, AJAX/Javascript, Python, large-scale data integration, digital advertising, and mobile development.

To apply, send a cover letter outlining your skills and a current résumé to jobs@nearbynow.com. NearbyNow, Inc. is an equal-opportunity employer, with offices in Los Altos, California.

Open positions include:
Search Architect
User Interface Engineer
Search/Integration Engineer
Quality Assurance Engineer
Field Representative

Internships are also available.

Search Architect

Job Description
NearbyNow, Inc., is looking for an entrepreneurial Search Architect to help us design and build next-generation search technology for a new Web and mobile local shopping experience. This service allows shoppers to search the inventory and sales of all the stores in a shopping mall from home (via the mall Web site) or while in the mall (via the mobile phone), and is charting territory in location-based search and advertising. This is a highly technical position.

As the Search Architect, you will champion our technical strategy, improve relevance, and align our architecture with our business needs. You should be comfortable with developing new technologies in a start-up environment (ie, rapid prototyping, shared design/build responsibility, high energy), be able to lead a cross-functional team, and be highly self-motivated. You will be comfortable with search technologies, new Web and mobile technologies, and determine when and how packaged applications and open source solutions should be blended with our original technology. It is up to you to design and operate a high quality consumer experience that meets business objectives.

Specifically, you will:

  • Champion our search experience and vision, including display, relevance, measurement, and navigation for Web, mobile Web, and text messaging environments.
  • Determine our technical strategy and architectural approach based on business objectives, team input, A/B testing, and direct consumer feedback.
  • Be the technology expert for the company, leading the architecture and development vision and strategic direction.
  • Focus on developing a search experience that is relevant, unique, and compelling
  • Invent, design and develop consumer search and interaction technology for Web, kiosk, and the mobile environment in cooperation with our product management and technology teams. This is not a "hands off, I develop guidelines" kind of job; this is a "roll up the sleeves and build something cool" kind of job.
  • Clearly communicate the technical strategy internally and externally.
  • Work with our search, merchant, and advertising partners to optimally integrate our technology.
  • Refine your solutions based on success metrics.
  • Collaborate with product management to refine and prioritize new requirements and features.
  • Document your solutions, including participating in patent applications.

Qualifications
The successful candidate will have the following qualifications:

  • A minimum of 5 years software engineering experience developing consumer facing Internet or mobile solutions, including formal roles as a technical architect.
  • Demonstrated success in developing and tuning search algorithms, particularly for shopping-related searches.
  • Successful deployment of Internet solutions using Python, C/C++, and/or PHP (Python experience a plus)
  • Demonstrated knowledge of overcoming the technical challenges associated with large-scale consumer Internet sites.
  • Outstanding communication skills and a track record of achieving success in a dynamic environment.
  • BS/MS in Computer Science, or equivalent.
  • Preferred skills in information retrieval algorithms, search, computational linguistics, human/computer interaction, location-based geo-targeting, and consumer shopping solutions.
  • The right to work in the United States.

User Interface Engineer

Job Description
NearbyNow, Inc., is looking for a senior user interface engineer to help us build a new Web and mobile local shopping experience. NearbyNow makes shopping malls "searchable" by pulling inventory from all the stores in a mall, then allowing shoppers to access from home (via the mall Web site) or while shopping (via mobile phone). We have recently finished our large nationwide expansion, leveraging our exclusive relationships with the world's largest shopping mall operators. This year we are focus on building up our consumer and retailer web and mobile sites. We have recently closed Series B investment, so this is a great time to join and make a large impact in our technical strategy. This is a highly technical position.

You should be comfortable with developing new technologies in a start-up environment (ie, rapid prototyping, shared design/build responsibility, high energy), and be highly self-motivated. You will own a large portion of our consumer experience, developing a high quality experience using OO JavaScript, HTML, CSS, DHTML, DOM and server-side templating. Specifically, you will:

  • Drive the development of one of our many product offerings.
  • Fulfilling project requests while meeting tight deadlines.
  • Develop and maintain interactive web applications focusing on the client-side.
  • Establish and promote software engineering best practices.
  • Collaborate with product management to refine and prioritize new requirements and features.
  • Full-cycle software development experience including design, implementation, system integration, testing, documentation, production environment deployment and maintenance.

Qualifications
The successful candidate will have the following qualifications:

  • A minimum of 3 years software engineering experience developing web software.
  • Expert HTML, DHTML, CSS, OO Javascript, XMLHttp and DOM.
  • Solid understanding of browser compatibility issues.
  • Creating and optimizing web pages for download efficiency.
  • Experience with Object-oriented programming.
  • Strong familiarity with server-side programming.
  • Good knowledge on server-side templating methodology.
  • Excellent sense of clean design and Web site design best practices.
  • Hands on experience with OOAD, debugging, testing, consumer-facing application development.
  • Familiarity with software development processes and the software product lifecycle.
  • Able to operate with little supervision to develop plans and implement solutions on schedule.
  • Excellent problem solving and communication skills.
  • BS/MS in Computer Science, or equivalent.
  • The right to work in the United States.

Plus

  • Experience in developing mobile web software.
  • Worked with open source software.
  • Worked with database.
  • Worked with Python.
  • Worked with Flex.

Search/Integration Engineer

Job Description
NearbyNow, Inc., is looking for an entrepreneurial Integration/Search Engineer to help us build and manage a new Web and mobile local shopping experience. NearbyNow makes shopping malls "searchable" by pulling inventory from all the stores in a mall, then allowing shoppers to access from home (via the mall Web site) or while shopping (via mobile phone). We have recently begun a large nationwide expansion, leveraging our exclusive relationships with the world's largest shopping mall operators. NearbyNow is a well-funded start-up (Series B) but is still a small company, so this is a great time to join and make a large impact in our technical strategy. This is a highly technical position.

The Integration/Search Engineer will develop spidering, crawling, and data extraction, and data integration systems to help us manage the retailer inventory that we collect. You should be comfortable with developing new technologies in a start-up environment (ie, rapid prototyping, shared design/build responsibility, high energy), and be highly self-motivated. You will be in charge of one of the central pieces of our solution . integrating and normalizing product data from thousands of our retail partners. Specifically, you will:

  • Invent, design and develop integration technology (including crawling, categorizing, sorting, data enrichment, dashboards, etc.) in cooperation with our product management and technology teams.
  • Own your solutions through the full software lifecycle . concept, prototype, build, test, A/B testing, deploy, and measure.
  • Refine your solutions based on success metrics.
  • Collaborate with product management to refine and prioritize new requirements and features.
  • Document your solutions, including participating in patent applications.

Qualifications
The successful candidate will have the following qualifications:

  • A minimum of 3 years software engineering experience developing either: search/spidering, back-end server systems, consumer facing Internet or mobile solutions
  • Successful deployment of Internet solutions in a Linux/UNIX environment, using Python, LAMP, Ruby, XML, flat file, and other structured data formats; a passion for open source programming a plus.
  • Experience or familiarity with large scale data integration environments, including ETL / data load and mapping techniques from flat file, relational, and web services data sources;
  • Demonstrated knowledge of overcoming the technical challenges associated with large-scale consumer Internet sites, including practical applications of caching tiers, database/app partitioning, and reusable object-oriented design
  • Good at troubleshooting.
  • Outstanding communication skills and a track record of achieving success in a dynamic environment.
  • BS/MS in Computer Science, or equivalent.
  • Preferred skills in information retrieval algorithms, search, computational linguistics, human/computer interaction, location-based geo-targeting, and consumer shopping solutions.
  • The right to work in the United States.

Quality Assurance Engineer

Job Description
NearbyNow, Inc., is looking for an entrepreneurial Quality Assurance Engineer to help us design and build next-generation search technology for a new Web and mobile local shopping experience. This service allows shoppers to search the inventory and sales of all the stores in a shopping mall from home (via the mall Web site) or while in the mall (via the mobile phone), and is charting territory in location-based search and advertising. Specifically you will:

  • Validate requirements, design, develop, and release software.
  • Stage test environments on a Centos system.
  • Execute SQL commands to insert, update, delete, and validate rows in a test database environment.
  • Create and execute test plans.
  • Test Web, mobile Web, and text messaging products on Windows, Mac, and mobile platforms.

Qualifications

  • Deep understanding of quality assurance processes and techniques.
  • Detailed oriented, versatile, and a flexible team player with the ability to work in a fast-paced environment with minimal guidance.
  • Knowledge of browser platforms for Windows and Mac including FireFox and IE and knowledge of Web site design best practices.
  • Knowledge of browser technologies including HTML, JavaScript, SOAP, and AJAX.
  • Knowledge of database schema and complex SQL queries.
  • Linux/Unix tools and shell scripting.
  • QA automation
  • Knowledge of Python and other open source software.
  • Familiarity with Web API's using JSON.
  • Familiarity with SMS.
  • Good communication skills.
  • The right to work in the United States.

Field Representative

Job Description
NearbyNow, Inc., is looking for full time Field Representatives with a passion for retail and the Internet to be part of the Retailer Operations group. NearbyNow has recently developed a consumer service that allows shoppers to find any product, brand, or sale in a shopping mall. They can do this from their home (from the mall Web site) or while shopping (using text messaging). This connects online shopping with in-store purchases . a trillion dollar trend that is much bigger than all online shopping.

The NearbyNow service requires that we develop and maintain strong relationships with our retailer partners at both a corporate and store level. Our Field Representatives collaborate daily with retailers to ensure that inventory data is accurate, collected correctly, and best represents the store offerings. The Field Representative will work with the Retailer Operations group, which is responsible for data acquisition, data integration, data integrity, and scaling these processes to roll out to 100+ malls per year.

A successful candidate will have a strong understanding of retail, merchandising, fashion, and Internet shopping. You should have exceptional oral and written communication skills, be very detail-oriented, possess the urgency required in a start-up environment, and be highly self-motivated. You should be willing to roll up your sleeves and help design a better experience for our retailers and consumers, and not stop until NearbyNow becomes a habitual part of every shopping experience. You will also play a major role in assisting marketing and sales operations, and may be asked to work directly with our mall owner partners.

Qualifications
The successful candidate will have the following qualifications:

  • B.A./B.S. with strong academic credentials
  • Basic understanding of web based search applications
  • Strong ability to multi-task and meet deadlines, and follow process in detail
  • Proven skills at handling roadblocks/issues via phone and email
  • Proactive team player and ready for a startup environment

Pluses

  • Phone and e-mail interaction experience, such as sales or customer support
  • Understanding of retail industry, trends, and comparison shopping engines
  • Familiarity with online shopping, text messaging, or social networking (such as Facebook, MySpace, etc.)