Talk to us if you are good at information technology and want to contribute to goodness in society
People who start working for us do not quit. There is a reason for that. We have a good working environment, but we also deliver some software platforms that are world-class in their fields. It is not everywhere that you get the privilege of participating in something like this. We are a small company, but our systems have a turnover of almost NOK 2 billion a year for our customers. What we contribute is critically important for our customers, and even more important for those whom they are set to help. Our products are also part of what is classified as "critical public infrastructure" in several places in the country. That is why we need good, reliable people who like to build things over time and who like to do things properly.
We build platforms
Roughly speaking, one can divide software developers into two groups. Some create solutions to specific problems for specific customers, while others create more general products that solve a wider range of problems for a much wider customer group. If the product is general enough and the problem solving that is solved is broad enough, then one tends to call the product a platform. Creating platforms is one of the most difficult things you can do, but it is also one of the most rewarding. We create platforms in the CRM / ERP category for the voluntary and public sector.
To illustrate these two types of application developers with a picture from gardening: the solution developer mows the lawn while the platform developer plants a tree. Both roles are important, but they are extremely different. The solution developer does something that solves an immediate problem, and moves on to the next problem in a week or a month. The platform developer creates something that can live, renew and mean a strategic difference for decades. Both are necessary, but our position is the last.
We tackle challenges together
In order to be able to handle such large tasks, we depend on many people working together. And with us, we solve the problems in teams with several nationalities, mother tongues and competence profiles. We play on each other's strengths. An African saying goes:
"If you want to go fast, then go alone. If you want to go far, then go together."
This is true for our philosophy. If we are to continue our analogy from the world of trees, then let us be fascinated by the giant California Sequoia trees that can be seen in the picture to the right. They are the world's largest trees, but instead of each tree taking deep roots and shooting at the sky in solitary majesty, they twist their roots into each other and grow even taller and stronger on their mutual support from each other.
Where can I work?
We like the flexibility of a home office, but as a general rule we want to offer a permanent workplace where you gather physically with colleagues. At the same time, we work a lot virtually via Slack, Zoom, Teams and Whereby as well. We have four offices with modern facilities in Askim, Trondheim, Moscow and Kiev, respectively. The working language is English, and most work teams are linked across these physical offices. We own the office buildings in Askim and Moscow.
What are we looking for?
We have many needs to fill, but first and foremost we are looking for the right people. It is good people who make all the difference, and it is our people who shape our direction. You do not have to be A4 or fill in an exact job description. It is more important to us that you have a sharp head with good knowledge and a warm heart with good values. When this is in place, we will probably always be able to help you adapt to our customers' needs and teach you what you are missing. So, if you are a senior systems architect with a doctorate and 20 years of experience or if you are an engineering student with a desire for a summer job and perhaps an industrial bachelor's or master's thesis, then we are interested in meeting you. Whether you work best as a front-end developer, with middleware / API or as a back-end developer does not matter much to us. We need everything. Or maybe you have full stack experience, then it is also a good starting point, even if you may want to specialize a bit in meeting our larger platform developments. We also need people on DevOps, interaction design / UX, testing / QA. And as we get more and more customers, we also need you who like to talk to them and who like to help people use our systems. So, whether you like working with customer support, as a key account manager, as a consultant or as a partner manager, or on the course and training side or with SOME, you should not ignore the fact that you can also fit in with us. We are growing, and you can grow with us.
What is our stack?
We have the most faith in good system developers with a broad toolbox that is adapted to the problems they face. Which programming languages are used and which frameworks are used are dynamic with us and change over time. Believing that one programming language is superior to all others in every application and in every context is as inappropriate as a carpenter wanting no tools other than a hammer. As we develop long-term platforms, it is actually more important to understand these and their internal architecture and terminology. Whether you have a background from Java, C #, Node.js, Swift, Python or Go when you start with us, is not so important. You will receive training, and you can be sure that after five years at work, half of the tools will be replaced anyway. But for those who are curious, these are some of the languages and tools we currently use: AWS, RDS, CDN, PHP, MySql, Nginx, Solr, GraphQL, Jenkins, GitHub, Jira, Docker, Javascript, Vue.js, Bulma / Buefy, Go, RabbitMQ, Ansible, Codeception, Swift and Java.
Our Haugian heritage
If you have read about our vision and our values, then you will have understood that we are an ideologically based company. With humility we like to see our daily work in light of the legacy of Hans Nielsen Hauge who wandered around Norway over 200 years ago, spread the word of God, and planted dozens of businesses. In our offices, all employees are invited to pray daily before lunch. This is of course voluntary, but we want to be clear on who we give the credit for our lives and our successes. And we seek God's guidance in how we can better use our resources to help our customers and solve the challenges we face. The following quote from Hauge himself, says it probably best:
In our businesses we will seek to shine for the world ... that it may be possible to be a child of God in all necessary deeds.
Hans Nielsen Hauge (1771-1824) in "Christendommen Lærdomsgrunde, third issue, p. 141"
Who should I contact?
Maybe you think this was interesting? Whether you are looking for a job, want to be in our CV base, or want to tip us about someone, just get in touch. Maybe a coffee cup or a Zoom call one day, or a link on Linkedin. You meet our general manager on Linkedin HERE, or you can send him an email at anders@kommunion.no.