✅ You’ve designed and shipped APIs at scale, and have a clear point of view on what makes a great one
✅ You can take a loosely-defined problem and turn it into a clear technical plan, working independently - weighing technical rigour against business impact along the way
✅ You think in systems: you can trace how a decision in one part of the stack ripples into others, and design with those knock-on effects in mind
✅ You want to keep writing production code as a senior engineer, not move away from it - this role is hands-on for the long run, not just at the start
✅ You’ve mentored engineers or helped them do their best work, and take real satisfaction in others reaching the bar you hold yourself to
✅ You communicate clearly, articulating what you’re working on, why, and the reasoning behind your tradeoffs, in a structured way, to a variety of internal and external stakeholders.
✅ You thrive collaboratively - you believe in your methods but stay open to feedback and suggestions, and know when to stand by your approach and when to compromise