Test Double's mission is to improve the way the world builds software. This means more than code. It means the industry.
Software job titles are over-inflated. Progression and promotion processes are extremely biased and are not transparent. We are committed to proving that there is another way.
Years ago, all our consultants shared the same job title, with salaries that varied by person. Starting salaries were based on negotiations, and raises depended heavily on those starting salaries. While this is a common practice in the tech industry, any study will tell you that cisgender white men tend to benefit from this arrangement the most.
Our mission is “improve the way the world builds software,” not “stick with the status quo.”
To align with this mission, we've overhauled our hiring and promotion practices to increase equity, both in hiring and in upward mobility within the company.
We worked to understand the variety of talent we had, find ways to group those with similar skills and abilities, and create salary bands that align with each job title. This work was arduous and we learned a lot of lessons, but the increased equity that resulted was well worth it.
Today, we have distinct roles: three software consultant roles, two DevOps consultant roles and three product management roles. Each is based on skill and ability, and each comes with their own non-negotiable salary bands.
Our practices still aren’t perfect. We refuse to allow perfection to be the enemy of progression. Therefore, we continue to iterate and improve.
Here’s the overview of how we approach consulting at Test Double.
What does consulting look like at Test Double?
Our mission is to solve the toughest software problems — from root cause to strategy to execution — in an empathetic and inclusive way.
As consultants, we provide a trusted outside perspective and apply learnings from other clients facing similar problems. We validate the why and the business value behind the story, and we test assumptions.
Whether you work in software development, DevOps or product management, all consultants at Test Double have four pillars of success:
- Meet client expectations
- Leave clients in a better state
- Are always growing in their careers
- Are connected and contributing members of Test Double
For that third pillar, we ask our consultants to set aside 10 percent of their time each week as Growth Time. Each consultant also receives 1 week of conference attendance and up to $3,000 in expenses annually.
They can use this time to dig into their client’s codebase, learn new skills and dive into any other self-directed learning that helps them grow professionally.
Software consultant roles
There are three distinct roles for software developer consultants. Here's the overview of each:
Senior software engineers
The primary focus of a senior software engineer is to deliver maintainable and well-tested software that aligns with our client's expectations.
That means having a clear understanding of what a client expects and delivering to their standards (or identifying blockers and communicating early and often about those challenges).
In their growth time, senior software engineers spend time deliberately growing their technical skills in one of our core languages (currently Ruby with Rails and Javascript with React or Node), shoring up deficiencies and expanding on their biggest strengths, acquiring new skills.
We also ask them to take advantage of our extensive pool of talented and experienced consultants by actively participating in our internal events, Slack channels, and other means of connecting.
Senior software consultants
Senior software consultants work on the more complex problems presented by our clients across various areas of the application at a larger scale. They often assist in breaking down the larger problems into more manageable work.
We always strive to leave our client better than we found them, and this is where exceptional senior software consultants really separate themselves. They build trust, dive into root causes of problems, share their observations and guide the client toward a better state.
In addition to development, we also ask our senior software consultants to contribute to Test Double within their areas of interest — like writing blogs, contributing to our qualification process or helping other consultants get unstuck.
Senior software consultants make up the bulk of our development team.
If you’re interested in hearing directly from consultants about their work day-to-day, check out this blog post about making the shift from developer to consultant or this guide to effective software consulting.
Staff software consultants
Staff software consultants solve the hardest technical challenges for our clients. They continually deliver and build trust, never running away from the challenge.
They take on leadership responsibilities of the Test Double team on a client engagement. That includes communication and organization, interviewing incoming candidates, as well as mentorship and support of the other consultants.
A staff software consultant’s individual contributions and the success of all consultants on their engagements will ultimately be the measure of their success.
DevOps roles
There are two distinct roles for DevOps consultants.
All DevOps consultants are also qualified in and staffed on software development projects in the absence of DevOps projects. Candidates will be qualified in one of our primary languages: Ruby with Rails, Javascript with React or Node, Java, or Python.
Senior DevOps consultant
Senior DevOps consultants are responsible for delivering primary DevOps solutions to clients. They create high-quality infrastructure to meet the needs of its users and businesses
They increase the confidence our clients have in us by communicating what and when we will deliver for them and helping them adapt as the project progresses.
The most successful senior DevOps consultants separate themselves by leaving their client better than they found them. That means building trust, diving into root causes of problems and guiding the client toward a better state.
Staff DevOps consultant
Staff DevOps consultants address the most complex and significant technical challenges in client environments, up to and including architectural and design challenges on large teams (20+ people).
They play a lead role in client development activities and system architecture, leading and guiding the delivery efforts of a team of agents for a client.
Staff-level consultants also take on leadership responsibilities of the Test Double team. That includes communication and organization, as well as mentorship and support of other consultants on the engagement.
They collect the input of the broader team into a set of opportunities and solutions that Test Double can provide to provide our client with a significant and lasting impact.
Product management roles
All roles on our product management team own a customer problem end-to-end: creating the vision, setting strategic direction and successfully delivering key product outcomes.
They use data and analytics, research and testing to understand customer pain points and help guide decisions on future improvements and optimizations.
Associate product manager (APM)
Our APM role was created as a way to provide up-and-coming product leaders with additional support and mentorship structures in place.
In their capacity as a full-time product manager, they are a partner to engineering, design, marketing, sales and customer success teams to build solutions that increase customer satisfaction and grow the client’s business.
Senior product manager
Senior product managers have a proven track record of creating product roadmaps from conception to launch and an ability to achieve strategic goals. They have knowledge of multiple functional areas across engineering, UX/UI, sales, customer support, finance and/or marketing.
Senior product managers know how to encourage, empower and support a team to get things done.
Director of product management
A director of product management has at least 10 years of experience in product leadership and driving product strategy as a product manager.
Like senior product managers, they know how to encourage and empower a team. They also have an ability to lead and influence teams at all levels within a client’s organization.
Ready to join our team?
We seek voracious learners: software engineers, DevOps engineers and product managers who find ways to deliver value quickly. Deep thinkers who uncover root causes and glean useful insights to push our clients (and our practice) forward.
Oh, and we’re fully remote and 100 percent employee owned.
Sound amazing? Join us! See Test Double’s careers page here.
