Engineering at Chewy: A Q&A with Rodney Lucas, Senior Software Engineer banner image

Engineering at Chewy: A Q&A with Rodney Lucas, Senior Software Engineer

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Chewy is revolutionizing the pet industry as one of the fastest growing retailers of all time. We offer a convenient way to shop for pet supplies within a highly personalized e-commerce experience that’s fueled by superior customer care.

We connected with Rodney Lucas, Chewy's Senior Software Engineer, to learn more about the engineering organization at Chewy and much, much more.

Interested in joining Chewy's engineering team? Take a look at all of the company’s openings on the list to the right!


Can you share a summary on what Chewy does?

Chewy provides one-stop shopping for pet parents. Our focus is on providing the best customer experience from the quality of our products to the quality of our service. We want to be the most trusted source for all your pet needs.

Chewy team culture

What are some of the different technologies that the engineering team gets to work with and at what scale?

  • We work on so many it is hard to list. Essentially, engineers at Chewy are exposed to all the tech necessary to plan, design, implement, test, and support features. 
  • The core technologies I use are related to development frameworks. Generally, I get to work on the tech components that impact our customer experience. Sometimes that means new features and sometimes that means improving on existing ones that offer new services to our site. I focus a lot on User Interface frameworks, design patterns and tools. It’s a great opportunity and it is a sweet spot of interest for me.
  • Customers, Customers, Customers!
  • Everything is based on impact to our customers and is a constant priority.  All of our ideas and technology must add up to this challenge. This can’t be stressed enough and is just in our DNA.  

What are some of the interesting projects that the engineering team is tackling?

  • Behind the scenes
    • One project I’m working on right now will enhance our release process and gives us better testing capabilities. It gives us enhanced tools and process which in term enhances our confidence in each release cycle.
  • Customer Experience
    • We are in the design phase of adding the ability to compare products side by side with other related products. It’s interesting because we can dynamically acquire recommended products that make sense and compare them to attributes which are also dynamic.

What is the culture like at Chewy for the engineering team?

  • Very fast paced
  • We work very well together. We’re always learning from each other and easily helping one another when needed.
  • We succeed or fail together. This attitude makes flexibility and helpfulness a common occurrence.

What can a potential employee expect during the interview process?

We focus on understanding your core interests and capabilities. 

Chewy Team Culture

Are you involved in any local tech organizations or Meetups?

Yes. On behalf of Chewy, we often sponsor meetups. I tend to attend most of them and helped one of our presenters who was on our team. 


Rapid Fire Q&A 

What’s on tap?

For me, just the cold brew in the kitchen.

Star Wars or Star Trek?

Tough choice, but Star Trek. I still love both however!

iPhone or Android?

Android is what is in my pocket, but I have been known to crossover.

Coffee - hot or iced?

Generally, hot.

Favorite employee perk?

Every Monday we have a breakfast provided in the office.

What TV show describes the engineering team’s culture?

I’m not much of a TV watcher, but I have been known to stream college football - War Eagle!

What music is playing in your office?

We generally don’t have music playing out loud, but I have a bit of a mix myself.

  • Ice Cube
  • Dr. Dre
  • Marvin Gay
  • Al Green
  • Bruce Springsteen
  • Public Enemy

View from your office 

We are on Congress Street, but the best view is of the Hood Milk Bottle Plaza, Boston Tea Party / Congress Street Bridge and Harborwalk.

About the
Company

At Chewy, our mission is to be the most trusted and convenient destination for pet parents and partners, everywhere.

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