Application Guide
How to Apply for Back-end Developer
at 3E
🏢 About 3E
3E is a mission-driven company focused on Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) solutions, helping organizations worldwide improve safety and sustainability while reducing environmental impact. Their work at the intersection of technology and environmental responsibility makes them unique, offering developers the chance to contribute to meaningful global challenges through software.
About This Role
This Back-end Developer role involves building and optimizing Clojure-based systems that process business logic and data for EHS applications, with a strong focus on MySQL performance tuning. You'll directly impact how companies manage safety and sustainability by creating scalable, efficient back-end solutions that handle complex environmental data.
💡 A Day in the Life
A typical day might involve collaborating with renewable energy architects to design data processors for environmental metrics, profiling and optimizing slow database queries in Clojure services, and participating in code reviews with multidisciplinary teams to ensure solutions meet both technical and domain requirements.
🚀 Application Tools
🎯 Who 3E Is Looking For
- Has 3+ years of professional Clojure experience OR substantial open-source Clojure contributions that demonstrate equivalent expertise
- Can provide concrete examples of identifying and resolving performance bottlenecks in Clojure applications with MySQL databases
- Has experience maintaining and evolving a product over multiple years, including refactoring legacy codebases
- Thrives in collaborative environments with diverse teams including scientists, engineers, and renewable energy specialists
📝 Tips for Applying to 3E
Highlight specific Clojure projects where you optimized MySQL performance—include metrics if possible (e.g., reduced query time by X%)
Demonstrate your understanding of EHS or sustainability domains, even if tangential, to show alignment with 3E's mission
Prepare examples of refactoring Clojure codebases while maintaining product functionality over time
Mention experience with multidisciplinary collaboration, especially with non-technical teams like scientists or engineers
If you lack 3 years of professional Clojure experience, emphasize your open-source contributions with links to specific repositories
✉️ What to Emphasize in Your Cover Letter
['Your specific experience with Clojure performance optimization in MySQL environments', "How your background aligns with 3E's mission of environmental sustainability and safety", 'Examples of maintaining and improving a product over multiple release cycles', 'Your ability to collaborate effectively with diverse, cross-functional teams']
Generate Cover Letter →🔍 Research Before Applying
To stand out, make sure you've researched:
- → 3E's specific EHS solutions and how they help companies with environmental compliance and safety
- → The company's client base and industries they serve (manufacturing, energy, etc.)
- → Recent news about 3E's projects or partnerships in sustainability
- → Technical blog posts or talks by 3E engineers about their Clojure stack
💬 Prepare for These Interview Topics
Based on this role, you may be asked about:
⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Applying without Clojure experience or significant open-source contributions in Clojure
- Focusing only on technical skills without showing interest in 3E's environmental mission
- Presenting generic optimization examples instead of Clojure/MySQL-specific performance improvements
📅 Application Timeline
This position is open until filled. However, we recommend applying as soon as possible as roles at mission-driven organizations tend to fill quickly.
Typical hiring timeline:
Application Review
1-2 weeks
Initial Screening
Phone call or written assessment
Interviews
1-2 rounds, usually virtual
Offer
Congratulations!