We’re Hiring

Last.fm is seeking an executive owner for technology strategy. The VP Technology has several key responsibilities and deliverables:

• Hire, develop, and motivate a world-class technology and engineering team. A key strength of Last.fm has always been its engineering talent, and this position needs to continue to build on that strength.
• Drive continued innovation in technology. Develop reliable, scalable, low-cost solutions to business critical issues.
• Set a high bar. Continue to improve user experience through setting a high bar for quality and experience. Improve measurement of output, and use feedback to drive improvements.
• Own and maintain core development processes to deliver results and scalability at traffic levels that will continue to multiply
• Exploit technology opportunities across CBS Interactive Music to improve user experience across the group as a whole through integration and knowledge sharing.

The ideal candidate will have 10-15+ years experience leading world-class software engineering and technology teams. The individual will have track record of hiring and developing the teams of the highest quality. In addition, they will have significant experience owning and delivering complex projects in fast growth, high volume environments. Significant open source experience is a must, as well as experience with agile development methodologies.

Personality:
• Ability to define the task at hand and take action with minimal direction
• Enjoys working in a high-growth environment, with all the opportunities and challenges that presents
• Knows that flexibility is paramount to Last.fm, but also can take a stand when it’s necessary
• Creative, innovative, visionary
• Can be hands on as needed
• Strong communicator, open with information, clear and concise
• Analytical; quickly identifies and resolves problems, obsessive attention to detail
• Strong sense of personal ownership and prefers working as part of a team
• Desire to keep abreast of developments in the industry

The role is based in Last.fm’s offices at Old Street, London (N1). Some US travel will be required.
Applications should be sent to jobs@last.fm, with VP Technology in the subject line of your email.

We do not accept CVs submitted by any agencies except those on our preferred suppliers list.

Last.fm is looking for an experienced Java developer to work on the
services powering the biggest music site on the planet. You should be
capable of working on all aspects of the software development cycle from
architecture, coding and testing through to deployment. You will be
working on services related to the Last.fm music catalogue including
importing and managing music and related metadata as well as making this
information available to other internal systems. You should have strong
relational database and SQL skills including prior work involving a
complex database schema. You will work on maintaining and extending
existing systems as well as creating new ones. You will need to be able
to code systems that are distributed, scalable and fault-tolerant under
heavy load. You will need a working knowledge of the core Java libraries
and various third party open source libraries as well as experience with
multithreading and design patterns.

We do not believe in matching developer CV's against list of buzzwords -
we look for smart people with good general programming skills as we
believe that clever developers can learn new technologies quickly and
well. However it wouldn't hurt if you have some experience with any of
the following:

- Object Relational Mapping tools (e.g. Hibernate, Ibatis).
- XML (your applications will probably need to process a lot of this).
- Unit testing (we take Quality Control seriously - see here for more:
http://blog.last.fm/2008/08/01/quality-control).
- PostgreSQL, mySQL (we use both these databases extensively).
- Java application servers like Tomcat.
- Linux (all our servers run Linux so you'll need to be comfortable with
a command line shell).
- API design.
- JMS.
- Spring.
- Last.fm (being a user of the site doesn't hurt ;) ).
- Foosball or table tennis.

The role is full time, and based near Old Street, London.

Purpose of Role
Last.fm is looking for a Web Developer with a combination of strong PHP / SQL, software design principles, and hands-on architectural / framework expertise, as well as knowledge of XHTML, CSS and Javascript.

The Web Developer will join a team of PHP and front end web developers that deliver high quality software following an Agile development process.
The ideal candidate will be enthusiastic and innovative, good at “getting things done”, and have experience using Last.fm / AS.

Deliverables and Responsibilities

• Designing and implementing core software components for new Last.fm website features
• Improving our internal PHP tools and frameworks
• Identifying bottlenecks and profiling Last.fm's existing PHP codebase
• Improving development practices at Last.fm
• Technical mentoring of developers
• Ensuring software delivered by the team is of requisite quality

Key Relationships

• Web Development Team
• Design Team
• Technical Operations
• Product Management
• Director of Software Engineering

Skills and Experience

• An intimate familiarity with object-oriented PHP & standards-compliant SQL
• Experience with XHTML, CSS and Javascript
• 5+ years experience working on high-volume PHP websites
• 2+ years experience in Agile software development, preferably Scrum
• Expert knowledge of Agile engineering practices including Test Driven Development
• Independent problem solving skills, ability to write code that scales well
• Understanding of how the web works, from low to high levels
• Familiarity with a wide range of relevant technologies and web standards
• Flexibility: we are small company, but we move quickly

Desirable

• Experience with C / PHP internals
• Smarty templating system (smarty.php.net) and extensions
• Subversion
• Memcached
• Web services and syndication
• Linux CLI
• Experience with PostgreSQL, MySQL
• A preference for vi over emacs
• Certified Scrum Master

Education and Qualifications

• Honours degree level education in relevant discipline, or equivalent demonstrated knowledge

Behaviours & Personality

• Willingness to commit to a goal
• Ability to focus on job in hand
• Openness and clarity in communication
• Ability to work well in a collaborative team environment
• Desire and drive to deliver

Purpose of Role
We are looking for a dedicated, self-motivated, highly-skilled Quality Assurance professional to join our team of engineers building high-end web, client and mobile applications.
Successful candidates will have a solid technical Quality Assurance background and a demonstrated ability to be "hands on" in setting up testing systems, quality processes and building excellent teams.

Deliverables and Responsibilities

• Interviewing and hiring for new team members as necessary
• Lead, manage and motivate a team QA engineers once hired (coach, manage 1:1s, set / review objectives, support)
• Drive automation testing wherever possible (to reduce the need for manual interaction)
• Support your team with the generation of test preparation and test execution estimates
• Work in an Agile environment to help define sprint scope based on estimates produced by your team
• Ensure the application of proven Quality Assurance techniques
• Develop, maintain and execute test cases when required
• Develop efficient and comprehensive test plans, deployment plans and test strategies and encourage your team
• Working with your team and the Development Lead, define test entry, test suspension, test resumption and test exit criteria
• Support your team in the acceptance testing process for software deliverables, for example, encouraging user acceptance testing and business-focused delivery
• Support Development Team in Test Driven Development activities
• Manage QA activities during the deployment of software changes to testing, staging and production environments
• Ensure that the regression test pack is maintained and software changes or enhancements are communicated effectively following software releases
• Assess product usability and reliability and provide feedback and recommendations for improvements to developers and product managers
• Participate in multiple concurrent projects, offering Quality Assurance services across a number of projects
• Coordinate with customer support, operations and software development staff
• Identify opportunities for process improvements within Last.fm and encourage a 'right first time' culture

Key Relationships

• Development Teams
• Design Team
• Technical Operations
• Product Management
• Director of Software Engineering

Skills and Experience
Essential:

• Team leading experience
• Experience of testing web sites
• Understanding of the importance of user experience
• Understanding of browser compatibility issues
• Proficiency in test case generation and execution
• Experience of different software development methodologies
• Experience in rational decision making with sound reasoning

Desirable:

• Agile or iterative software development methodologies
• Experience of leading software projects from a QA point-of-view
• Interest in music

Education and Qualifications

• Honours degree level education in relevant discipline or equivalent experience

Behaviours & Personality

• Willingness to commit to a goal
• Ability to focus on job in hand
• Openness and clarity in communication
• Strong leadership
• Ability to work well in a collaborative team environment
• Desire and drive to deliver

We are looking for a Software Engineer with wide experience
troubleshooting problems across large scale distributes systems. You
will have experience with analysis and problem resolution on production
systems, and will be comfortable working under pressure, as the role
will involve safeguarding the availability of our most popular services.
You will also take a pro-active role in contributing to the development
of the systems architecture.

Responsibilities

* Dealing with problems on production services
* Assisting internal and external developers with their use of Last.fm
services
* Safeguarding service reliability and availability at the software
layer
* Pro-actively assisting with defining the direction of systems
architecture
* Performance analysis and optimisation of backend services
* Documentation of the service architecture and data flows


Desired skills

* Linux/Unix background, deep familiarity with standard Unix tools
* Expertise in coding, analysing and troubleshooting distributed systems
* Experience in a high-volume or critical production service environment
* Experience with PHP, including Smarty templating system
* Experience with one or more of: C, C++, Shell, Perl or Python.
* Experience with memcache, MogileFS, perlbal would be strong advantages
* Experience with relational DB systems and distributed key/value stores
* Good understanding of IP networking
* Ability to handle periodic on-call duty, as well as out-of-band
requests
* Good written and verbal communication skills are strong assets

We are looking for a database architect, who will be responsible for the
maintenance and development of our database systems. Proficient with
Postgres and MySQL, you will be responsible for the operation and
maintenance of our main database system, along with several smaller
application specific databases. You will also take responsibility for
the database schema, working with developers to implement features
necessary for the business, while guarding the overall performance and
reliability of the systems.

Responsibilities

* Operation and maintenance of production database systems
* Ownership of database schema
* Performance analysis and management of database systems within
hardware capabilities
* Provision of a development database environment that accurately
mirrors production systems
* Documentation of the data model and database systems
* Pro-active evolution of the data models to meet business requirements

Desired Skills

* Linux/Unix background, deep familiarity with standard Unix tools
* Deep knowledge of PostgreSQL and MySQL database software
* Experience with high volume database systems and scalability
constraints
* Experience with PostGIS, Slony, pg_queue, pg_bouncer
* Expertise in SQL coding, optimisation and performance analysis
* Experience in PL/pgSQL
* Experience with one or more of: C, C++, Shell, PHP, Perl or Python.
* Experience in a high-volume or critical production service environment
* Good understanding of IP networking
* Good written and verbal communication skills are strong assets.

We are looking for a systems engineer who will take reponsibility for
administration and development of our systems. You will have a keen
interest in Linux and networking, and in the use of open source software
solutions to provide enterprise class reliability in service delivery.
You'll be working within our operations team to maintain and expand the
systems and tools that keep Last.fm running.


Responsibilities

* Monitor and evaluate system requirements and pro-actively work to
resolve potential problems
* Liaise with developers and systems vendors for commercial and open
source products, especially with regard to problem diagnosis and
resolution
* Hardware installs and bringing new equipment online at our datacentres
* Development support
* Research current and new technology for enhancing performance and
functionality of the environment.
* Enhance and extend in house and open source tools used in running
Last.fm, feeding patches to open source tools back upstream where
needed
* Document tools and processes used


Desired Skills

* Expert Linux knowledge
* Fluency in one or more of C, C++, Shell, PHP, Perl or Python.
* Knowledge of PHP, memcache, Perl
* Experience with high scalability environments
* Experience in a high-volume or critical production service environment
* Deep understanding of IP networking, including ability to analyse
network issues with tools like tshark/wireshark and tcpdump
* Experience of open source monitoring systems Nagios, Cacti, Ganglia
* Good written and verbal communication skills are strong assets
* An urge to automate everything

Purpose of Role
Collaborate closely with software development, product management and brand marketing to develop cohesive user-centric solutions for Last.fm’s UI across the web, desktop and mobile platforms.

Responsibilities
Contribute to shipping great product by providing holistic solutions for web and application UI design and visual direction.

• Develop design strategy, concepts and prototypes from user flow analysis to final execution for products from features to branded experiences.

• Design user interfaces for the website, desktop and mobile products with the team in an agile environment (scrum methodology)

• Use a wide range of design techniques including (but not limited to): sketching, wireframing, storyboard creation, animation, mocking-up designs to pixel perfection, and prototyping (through pair programming with a developer) to illustrate ideas and turn them into reality

• Produce final UI assets including iconography, illustration, animation, typography and layouts

• Use data (ie. Omniture) and user testing to inform UI decisions, and promote the importance of UI internally and externally (with our partners)

• Collaborate with external developers, manufacturers and agencies to ensure that the last.fm user experience is consistent across a wide range of platforms and contexts

• Help define and document house standards for UI components and visuals; UI guidelines; and brand tone & manner to educate both internally and externally (with our partners)

• Manage multiple projects and deliver them on time, to spec and with an appropriate level of communication.


Skills and Experience
Essential:
• 3-5 years of design experience in a commercial environment
• Experience working closely with a development team in order to get products shipped
• Proven ability of overcoming browser/platform considerations
• Familiarity with modern web standards and limitations for front-end development (HTML, CSS, Javascript)
• User observation and/or user testing skills and methodologies
• Proficiency in candidate’s chosen design tools
• Strong project management and communication skills

Desirable:
• Experience with interface copywriting and SEO
• Familiarity with agile/scrum methodology
• Experience with using data (ie. Omniture) and user testing methods and software (ie. Silverback)
• Experience with IAB standards and different types of web advertising products
• Good presentation & business skills
• Experience working with multiple teams (in and out of house), freelancers and interns
• Experience of working in the online music space
• Experience of UI design outside web/software/mobile, (ie. Hardware, games)

Education and Qualifications
• Bachelor’s (Honours) degree or equivalent in Design
Behaviours & Personality
• Creative; innovative and visionary
• Inquisitive; continually asks “why?” and keeps abreast industry developments
• Comradely; a team player
• Industrious; good at getting things done
• Diplomatic; knows when to compromise and when to take a stand
• Communicative; open with information and concise
• Analytical; can take a fuzzy spec or requirement and make it very clear-cut
• Conscientious; attentive to the details as well as the big picture
• Pragmatic; adaptable, able to find your way through ambiguity

Other Information
Candidates must provide at least 3 samples of user interfaces they’ve designed as well as their CV for consideration. Please send your application to jobs@last.fm, and put User Interface Designer in the subject line.

We do not accept applications from agencies other than those on our preferred suppliers list.

Last.fm is always interested to hear from experienced online digital media sales people. You will have experience of direct client contact as well as liaising with agencies. You have a proven track record of growing a client base and generating repeat business.

You are the kind of person who loves to dive in at the deep end and make things happen. You have a professional demeanour as well as being fun to work with. You're creative, intelligent and use this to make the whole team look good. You are passionate about the potential of digital music and Last.fm in particular. You are a natural networker. Your music taste is not important, but you have to have an opinion.

In return, you will receive a very competitive package comprising of a base salary + sales commission. You'll be working as part of our talented sales team, developing relationships between our very cool client brands and the best music service in the world.

Purpose of Role
Foster, support, and expand the Last.fm community, provide support for the CSM to ensure that Last.fm provides a first class customer support experience for its users.

Deliverables and Responsibilities
• Support the community via forums and incident management software
• Timely reporting of issues affecting the community to the appropriate team
• Documenting resolved cases in a manner useful for future reference, both internally and externally (e.g. FAQS)
• Supporting other team members and moderators in moderating user-generated content and community support issues.
• Other tasks as assigned, such as testing new site features and assisting the Labels and Artists team with resolving support tickets
• Holiday cover for the CSM

Skills and Experience
Essential:
• 3 + years Community/Customer Support experience in an online environment
• 2 + years experience of Online Community Management in related field e.g. Games/Music/Tech/Social Media
• Strong technical problem solving skills, familiarity with PC/Mac/Linux operating systems, browsers, media players, and last.fm associated plugins would be a bonus.
• Excellent writing and communication skills.
Desirable:
• Fluent German
• Long time Last.fm user.

Key Relationships
• Customer Services
• Web Team
• Artist and Label Management

Education and Qualifications
Essential:
• Honours degree level education or equivalent work experience.

Behaviours & Personality
• Ability to use own initiative and work with minimal supervision.
• An enthusiastic, positive thinker
• Communicative, open with information and concise
• Quickly identifies and resolves problems, ability to be pro-active to head off issues which will affect the community

We do not accept applications from agencies other than those on our preferred suppliers list.

Last.fm is looking for an intern to join our Customer Support team. This position is a full-time internship for three months, based in our London office.

What you’ll be doing:

• Responding to enquiries received from members of the community, through support tickets and in the support forums.
• Capturing and forwarding new support issues to appropriate parties within the company.
• Documenting resolved cases in a manner useful for future reference, both internally and externally (e.g. FAQ).
• Investigating and troubleshooting technical problems and escalating these to the technical team if necessary.
• Supporting other team members and moderators in moderating user-generated content and community support issues.
• Performing other related tasks as assigned, such as assisting with quality assessment of upcoming site features and software releases.

Requirements:

• Experienced user of Last.fm with a very good knowledge of our products.
• Excellent writing and communication skills.
• A positive customer service attitude.
• Willingness to investigate technical issues and follow through.
• Ability to use own initiative and work with minimal supervision.
• Good computer software use and basic problem-solving knowledge of software needed to use Last.fm, incl. the Last.fm desktop client and supported web browsers is desired.
• Knowledge of at least two of the three major computing platforms supported (Windows, Macintosh, UNIX) is advantageous.
• Previous customer services or IT support experience is advantageous.
• Experience with helpdesk and support ticket systems such as OTRS and JIRA is another plus.
• Loving music is a must :)

If none of these roles take your fancy, take a look at our other London based roles within the rest of CBSi. http://www.cbsinteractive.co.uk/jobs/