Software Services Engineer

Description

Customer Support Function to Engineering Career Track

Location: Wexford, PA – Hybrid

About the Role

Would you like to launch your software engineering career alongside some of the brightest, most talented engineers in Pittsburgh while making a recognizable impact in a profitable, established, and growing software solutions company? At Lucas Systems, we’re changing how we grow software engineers, and it starts with you.

Every Lucas software engineer begins in a customer support function, building the foundation for a long and successful engineering career: learning our codebase, architecture, and application logic from the inside out; understanding our development and deployment processes; getting to know our customers’ unique requirements; and gaining real expertise in the warehouse and supply chain industry we serve. You’ll see the direct results of your work in action while helping customers keep their operations running, and you will have the satisfaction of knowing you’re doing meaningful work.

From this foundation, you’ll have the opportunity to grow into any of our engineering disciplines: Quality & Release Engineering (QRE), Project Engineering, and Product Engineering, or expand your role within Software Services. 

In a Customer Support Function, You Will:

• Learn Lucas’ codebase, system architecture, and application logic by working hands-on with our software.
• Debug and analyze complex issues in existing software, providing timely and effective resolution, including database and code maintenance and hardware issues such as printers, wireless accessories, smartphones, tablets, and handheld devices.
• Have an opportunity to design, develop, and manage software enhancement projects.
• Configure and maintain development and test environments and assist QA with integration and regression testing.
• Work closely with other engineering teams across all phases of the client project lifecycle.
• Deploy software directly to customer environments.
• Manage customer relationships through clear, regular, and exceptional communication as you convey complex technical topics to both IT personnel and non-technical end users.
• Serve as an after-hours technical resource on emergency production system issues.

As You Grow -- Engineering at Lucas  

As you develop, you'll take on increased responsibility across our engineering teams. Depending on your path, this may include:

• Designing and developing software, database components and modules for Lucas’ products.
• Extending Windows services, IIS, and multi-threaded server and mobile client applications.
• Designing and developing host interfaces using various transfer methods (e.g., REST APIs, TCP sockets, FTP).
• Building and maintaining containerized services with Docker.
• Working with project managers, customers, software services, and product stakeholders to gather requirements and design functional specifications that solve real operational challenges.
• Developing architecture diagrams, software specifications, and prototypes for R&D evaluation.
• Coordinating and conducting user testing and training and evaluating new software tools.

Travel, On-Call, and 24x7 Support Applies to ALL of the Above Roles

Our customers run around the clock, and so does our commitment to them. Every member of our engineering organization, across Software Services, QRE, Project and Product Engineering, shares in this responsibility. Throughout your career, you can expect to:

• Travel to customer sites, sometimes on short notice.
• Support our customers’ 24x7 operations.
• Participate in a rotating on-call schedule (able to be done remotely).
• Serve as an after-hours technical resource during production emergencies.

Our Technology Stack

C#/.NET, React, Angular, Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL, Android mobile applications, object-oriented design, Docker, REST APIs, Windows services and IIS, and software running on leading-edge mobile devices.

Requirements

• Associate or Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field or relevant certifications with equivalent experience.
• Foundation in object-oriented programming, ideally C#.NET (other OOP languages considered), through coursework, internships, or practical experience.
• Good understanding of relational databases, preferably MS SQL Server and/or PostgreSQL.
• Familiarity with Microsoft OS, Linux and Docker Containers.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to convey complex technical subject matter to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Strong troubleshooting and problem solving skills demonstrating  an innate curiosity to get to root cause.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment, both independently and collaboratively, and prioritize.
• A genuine desire to learn our business, our industry, and new technologies is a must.

Additional Valued Experience:

• Experience with Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) or other supply chain software solutions.
• Experience with systems that include mobile devices; Android development.
• Experience with Angular 6+ and event-driven microservice architecture.
• Bilingual (fluent Spanish/English) is a plus.

About Us

Lucas Systems helps companies transform their distribution center operations and continuously adapt to changing market dynamics. We dramatically increase worker productivity, operational agility, and accuracy, while reducing the need for labor. Lucas solutions are built on 25-plus years of deep process expertise and smart software using AI-based optimization technologies. Our solutions feature Jennifer, the brain, voice, and orchestration engine that drives performance improvement gains. We help customers make the smartest moves at the lowest cost with Jennifer.

Founded in 1998, Lucas is a growing and consistently profitable organization with an expanding global customer base and offices in North America and Europe. We offer a dynamic, collaborative, innovative, and entrepreneurial work environment that embraces diversity and continues to create opportunities for both personal and professional growth for high-performing individuals throughout the United States and Europe. 

Our culture has been as carefully managed as our growth and our products. We believe in what we do, as much as we believe in each other. We believe in rewarding great thinking and initiative. We attract high-quality people who like to work hard, and they stay with us for many years.