The Framework for Software Developers
Unsurprisingly, our conference software, Converia, is at the heart of our work as software developers in Weimar. And it’s paying off: organizers frequently tell us that the effort involved in managing their conferences has dropped significantly since they started using Converia. When they also mention how much they enjoy using the software, our development team deserves a lot of the credit.
Events have changed quite a bit since 2020 due to the pandemic, and Converia wants to respond to this even more comprehensively in the future. To strike the right balance between established features and upcoming innovations, we are looking for reinforcements.
Since this post is primarily about what it’s like to work as a software developer with us in Weimar, we won’t provide a detailed presentation of our product's individual features here. However, because it is still relevant, we recommend taking a look at our feature overview, which summarizes the essentials nicely.
The Developer Experience
Our team consists of people working both full-time and part-time. Both are possible, and working hours can be adjusted later by arrangement, whether you want to increase or decrease your hours. What we don’t like are excessively long workdays. If overtime does occur, it is balanced out on other days.
Individual workdays are also flexible. If you need to step away from your keyboard for an appointment or can’t log in until late morning, just let everyone know via Slack so no one schedules a meeting during that time.
Meetings happen whenever it’s necessary to coordinate as a team, get an overview of progress, or set new goals. Therefore, shifting your working hours entirely to the night wouldn't be a good idea. Also, the conferences we support usually take place during the day, and sometimes the Customer Success team needs help from the development department to quickly resolve a technical issue on the client side. In those cases, it’s great to have someone available to help out.
As the name suggests, our Customer Success team handles support for event organizers. For developers, this means having time to focus on the software without being constantly interrupted by calls and emails.
We are also flexible when it comes to your workplace. Working from home was an option for us even before COVID and is the best choice for anyone who doesn't want to move to Weimar for a software development job or prefers working outside the office. However, the office has its perks: bright rooms, height-adjustable desks, fresh fruit, and, most importantly, great colleagues you run into on the way to the coffee machine, which often leads to interesting conversations. The office is also located right in the heart of Weimar, so there are plenty of options for lunch. If you can’t decide which option is better, you can combine both by working from home a few days a week and coming into the office for the rest. It also helps that we moved away from desktop PCs years ago; all developers receive a MacBook when they start—regardless of whether they work in Weimar or not.
Team Interfaces
We are a small company with about 30 employees. We all know each other personally, and the atmosphere is correspondingly informal. This makes getting started quite easy, as the individual areas are quick to grasp, there are no opaque structures, and new team members find their way around quickly.
Because we find a flood of internal emails to be a hindrance, we prefer to communicate via online tools. For example, we use Jira to manage software-specific tasks, Asana for cross-team projects, Aha! to support the development of Converia features, and Slab to pool our knowledge. The latter is also a great help for onboarding new team members.
Anyone joining our team in Weimar as a software developer doesn't have to read up on everything and teach themselves; they receive comprehensive training. The manageable team size offers another advantage here: everyone is always approachable, and there are no rigid communication structures, which usually allows questions to be resolved quickly and directly.
Every now and then, we do things together outside the office, like going hiking or bowling. For those who work primarily from home, this is a great opportunity to meet the people from the Zoom meetings in person again.
Otherwise, we always pull together as a team. With Converia, we share the goal of enabling researchers to exchange ideas effectively and using our software to pave the way for successful conferences that help everyone involved.
We aren't changing course; after more than 15 years, we haven't been a "start-up" for a long time, and our goal isn't to attract investors or grow at record speed.
The Repository
While we do hope applicants have some experience in software development, we don't expect every single point in the job profile to be checked off. If someone brings PHP basics and fundamental knowledge of frameworks, that’s a solid foundation. Our development team has had good experiences with both career starters and seasoned professionals. We don't prioritize grades or the number of degrees. A GitHub profile, for example, will pique our interest even if you didn't finish your computer science degree 😉
What matters most to us is your willingness to get to grips with complex software. Converia is feature-rich and will continue to grow, which requires a bit of initial training. Once you've mastered it, however, it pays off, as we work exclusively on Converia. Unlike in an agency, you won't be constantly starting new projects or jumping from one deadline to the next. Working as a software developer with us in Weimar allows you to dedicate yourself to a product long-term, experiment with ideas, and refine them over time—always with the goal of providing our users with the best possible experience.
If you enjoy working independently and coming up with your own solutions, you’ll find Converia more rewarding than someone who prefers to do everything as a team. Of course, no one works entirely in isolation; we hold regular meetings, and the team discusses things before anything is implemented. If you need feedback, you can get it at short notice.
Ready to commit? Become a software developer with us
If you're interested, now is the perfect time to get in touch. Find out more about us and get the email address for your application here. When applying, we are primarily interested in your skills and previous experience—we don't expect multi-page cover letters. Everything else will be covered in the interview. We are also happy to answer any questions about open positions or working as a software developer at Converia in Weimar, even if you aren't applying yet. We look forward to hearing from you!
