Rails Job

Systems Leve SW Engineer for Cloud Computing Platform Company

Posted 2 months ago at 26 June 2008

Description:

JOB TITLE
Software Engineer ~ Help Shape the Evolution of Cloud Computing

WHAT WE NEED
This is work ideally suited for the developer who’s done systems level work or language level work or framework level work. Meaning you’ve written a database, or application server infrastructure. There are a number of roles and these are some of the projects in the near or mid-term in which you could be involved depending on your interest and experience.

1. Writing a database, charting, letting it replicate in a secure way across a distributed environment, getting scalability, adding features in a query language.

2. If you’re strong in Java or C++ you might work on the application server, the grid framework and the management framework, addressing needs in failure recovery and scalability.

3. Those strongest in Ruby will have a key role to play with the Ruby and Ruby on Rails communities where we’re intimately involved.

10gen’s platform is an application server that can run multiple languages concurrently; one is Ruby. 10gen has its own implementation of Ruby and Ruby application developers can run their programs much better using the 10gen platform. We implement the Ruby language as well as the Rails framework. We can carry much larger loads at a more economical cost than the existing Rails framework.

We’ll need someone who’s a web developer and understands how to build applications using RoR. Developers will find 10gen to be a cool solution when they want to build their apps into production. We’ll be able to demonstrate a commanding difference in the performance of those applications. We’re re-writing parts of the Rails framework to accomplish what we do because our application server is written from the ground up for use in Cloud deployments.

BACKGROUND ON ALLEYCORP AND 10GEN

To see Kevin speaking about AlleyCorp and 10gen
http://www.centernetworks.com/kevin-ryan-alley-corp

WRITE-UP ON CLOUD COMPUTING
Former DoubleClick Inc. Chief Executive Kevin Ryan is starting his sixth Manhattan-based tech firm in the past three years, a company called 10gen that will offer Web sites low-cost infrastructure services.

Through 10gen, a so-called cloud computing firm, Web site developers will no longer have to buy and manage expensive servers, data centers and other hardware required to power applications or sites. They will be able to tap into virtual servers and data centers by connecting to the Internet.

According to Ryan, who co-founded 10gen with Dwight Merriman, former DoubleClick chief technology officer, the service will save companies between $100,000 and $200,000 in hardware costs and allow them to focus on things that make money for the business.

“Chief technology officers spend half their time scaling their sites; now they can spend more time adding features,” said Mr. Ryan.

Messrs. Ryan and Merriman have seeded the company with $500,000 and will begin raising a round of venture capital financing this year. The start-up currently consists of eight programmers and business development professionals who have been creating the technology.

Online publication Silicon Alley Insider, 10gen’s sister company, has been the only site so far to use the cloud computing service, which will be commercially available before the end of the year. Mr. Ryan did not outline how much 10gen will charge customers, but said fees will be based on usage. For instance, Web sites usually need more server capacity to support increased traffic during certain times of the year or for a limited period.

“Cloud computing offers all kinds of cost saving advantages,” said Allistair Croll, a senior analyst at research firm Bitcurrent. “You can run a site without the headaches of running and paying for physical machines that may sit idle most of the time.”

“I feel good about what we are building here,” said Mr. Ryan. “I am very bullish on cloud computing.”

The start-up is a part of AlleyCorp, a network of Internet companies founded by Mssrs. Ryan and Merriman. AlleyCorp consists of five other local tech firms such as Gilt Groupe, a luxury online retailer which was launched about six months ago, and ShopWiki, a two-year-old international shopping search engine. The company, which does not disclose financial figures for each firm, is projected to generate $50 million in overall revenues this year.

END

Required skills:

System level development work on application servers or frameworks.
10gen’s platform runs Ruby and coding in skills in Ruby and/or Rails will be key.

Desired skills: