Software Developer (Python)
Location: Calgary, Alberta
About Us:
We're SES, a software startup in Calgary. We build software that helps engineers estimate the capital cost of building large industrial and process plants — the pumps, compressors, vessels, piping, and structures that go into a facility before anyone breaks ground. It's work that's traditionally slow, manual, and scattered across countless spreadsheets, and we're replacing it with something fast, rigorous, and genuinely good to use. We're a small team, heads-down, preparing to commercially launch our product.
A note, because it filters for the right person: industrial cost estimation is never going to trend online. There are no viral demos here. On the surface it's deeply unglamorous — which is exactly why we love it. Underneath the "boring" label is a genuinely hard, high-stakes problem that almost nobody has built good software for, with real users who have real budgets on the line. If that makes you a little curious instead of a little sleepy, keep reading.
This is a broad role. Our product is a Python desktop application, and you'll work across all of it — the user-facing interface, the logic beneath it, and the data that drives it. We care a great deal about the experience people have using the software, so strong UI development is a major part of the job — but you won't be boxed into a single layer. You'll own features end to end and write Python across the whole stack.
What You'll Do
- Build and ship features end to end — from the interface people click on down to the logic and data behind it.
- Design and build the desktop user interface: responsive, intuitive screens, clear data visualization, and reporting users can act on. This is a large part of the role.
- Work across the whole application rather than one layer — application logic, data handling, and the everyday plumbing that keeps a desktop product solid.
- Investigate and fix issues wherever they live, and keep the product fast, stable, and pleasant to use.
- Take part in code review and hold a high standard for clean, maintainable code.
- Spot the rough edges nobody assigned you and fix them, instead of filing them away as someone else's problem.
What We're Looking For
- Strong Python, used in production on real software you've shipped.
- Real strength in UI development — you've built and shipped user-facing interfaces, you've sweated layout, interaction, and the details, and you genuinely care how software feels to use.
- A generalist's instinct — comfortable working across the whole application rather than staying in one lane.
- A genuine problem solver who self-manages: you can take an ambiguous goal, own it end to end, and deliver with minimal hand-holding.
- Proactive by default — you see a gap and close it without waiting to be told.
- High standards you hold yourself to first — you push your own work further than asked, prefer simple over clever, and notice when something is "fine" but not good.
- Drive, energy, and a track record of shipping and pushing what's possible — you'd rather move quickly and adjust than deliberate forever.
- Clear communication and a good attitude — you say what you mean, kindly and directly, in writing and in a room.
- A degree in computer science, engineering, or a related field — or equivalent proof you can do the work.
Bonus Points
- Experience building desktop applications (Qt / PyQt or a comparable UI framework).
- A strong eye for design and data visualization.
- Experience packaging and distributing software for Windows.
- Comfort working with databases and data-heavy applications.
- Any background in engineering, construction, or cost estimation — enough to speak your users' language — or the appetite to learn the domain cold.
Who Thrives Here
Read this as a credo, because it's how we actually work. Everything starts with the people who use the software — we design backward from them, not forward from whatever's easiest to build. We're direct with each other: we listen closely, we say the hard thing instead of the comfortable one, and we're quick to admit when we've gotten something wrong. We treat simplicity as the goal, not a nice-to-have — the best change is usually the one that takes complexity out, because complexity is a bill someone always pays later. We argue honestly when we disagree, and once a decision is made we get behind it completely, whether or not it was our idea. We go looking for the evidence and the viewpoints that might prove us wrong, because we'd rather be corrected early than confidently mistaken. We keep the big picture in view while sweating the small details — the half-second of lag, the awkward click — that decide whether software feels good. We're resourceful by nature, and tight constraints make us inventive rather than stuck. And we expect everyone to feel responsible for the whole product, not just their own slice of it.
We'll be honest: it's early, the ownership is real, and the grind is real. You won't be handed tidy tickets — you'll find the gaps and close them. If you need a big organization to tell you what to do next, this won't be a fit, and your goals should genuinely line up with building this company. But if you've been waiting for a place where your judgment actually moves the product and your standards aren't "too high," this might be exactly the one.
Our Interview Process
Our process is short and human, and it runs in three steps. First, an in-person chat — we'll talk about what we're building, your background and experience, and a few questions about how you've approached work in the past. Next, a take-home assignment you can work through on your own time. And if all goes well, a final interview where we'll work through a live problem together at the whiteboard. That last part isn't a gotcha or a memorized-algorithm quiz — it's how we see the way you think and reason out loud, and just as much your chance to see how we work.
Work Location: In Person
Apply: Send your resume (and anything you've built that you're proud of) to [email protected]. Tell us, in a line or two, why a "boring" industry doesn't scare you off.
Benefits:
- Casual dress
- Dental care
- Life insurance
- On-site parking
Work Location: In person
