The role

AddressFinder is looking to expand its diverse team of developers, and that might be you. You will be working in a small but growing company ten people strong, with a flat structure, you will report directly to the CTO and be encouraged to bring your skills, thirst for knowledge and curious mindset to this role.

The company

AddressFinder is an established address search service with strong presence in both New Zealand and Australia. We pride ourselves on providing fast and reliable service with professional but friendly customer support.

Join our growing team in an exciting SaaS company based in the Cuba Quarter of Wellington. We promise social events, table tennis, team lunches, fruit and great coffee. We also promise a real focus on learning and development, supporting our people in the growth of their knowledge and careers. You will also have the opportunity to participate in the financial future of the company through our generous Employee Share Ownership Programme.

Our team values of Continuous Improvement, Do the Right Thing, Support & Respect For All and Sustainability are at the heart of everything we do.

The job

Tech stack you are going to work on:

• Web apps written in Ruby on Rails
• Background data processing written in Elixir
• PostgreSQL and ElasticSearch for storage and fulltext search
• Interesting cloud architecture using AWS, Azure and local providers
• Github for code hosting
• Local development done in Docker on MacOS

You

Learn new skills on the job. Grow your existing knowledge of web technologies. Be coached and guided, as you work alongside more experienced developers, and collaborate on new features and improvements. You’ll be enthusiastic about being involved at all stages of development including solution planning, designing best-fit technical solutions, and coding. Bonus points for being comfortable talking to our customers and being able to speak their language.

Required

• Familiarity with web development
• Comfortable with a back-end programming language
• Familiarity with relational databases
• Should have a relevant qualification such as a Computer Science degree or EDA course
• Must be a NZ resident and have a good level of written and spoken English

This is what your day might look like:

• Start your day with stand up
• Use Linear.app to pick work from the backlog which you have helped scope and design
• Pair program with one of our experienced devs, switching between driving and navigating as you go
• Work independently on tasks within your grasp
• Participate in code reviews as the reviewer and reviewee
• Work with our customer success team to diagnose a customer problem
• Communicate efficiently over Slack about things you are working on and/or need input on

What next?

If this opportunity excites you, and you think you’d be a good fit for this role, please send the following to jobs@addressfinder.com

• Cover letter
• CV

Our office is closed from 23 December 2021 and reopens 6 January 2022. Any enquiries will be responded to when we return.

Applications close: 17 January 2022

Salary range: $60,000 — $90,000

Hiring: Junior Developer was originally published in AddressFinder on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The role

Working in a small but growing company with a flat structure, you will report directly to the CTO and be encouraged to bring your skills and innovative mindset to this role.

This position will suit someone with a keen interest in coaching and mentoring others, while continuing to grow personally. Ideally you will have an interest in infrastructure and be able to support our CTO with some goals in this area. No Scaled Agile and other buzzwords, no death by meetings.

The company

Join our growing team in an exciting SaaS company based in the Cuba Quarter of Wellington. AddressFinder shares office space with our sister company, Abletech. We promise social events, table tennis, team lunches, fruit and great coffee. We also promise a real focus on learning and development, supporting our people in the growth of their knowledge and careers. We are remote friendly, providing a generous budget to set up your home office (we still want to see you in the flesh from time to time though. How else are you going to eat all that great food and coffee we provide?). You will also participate in the financial future of the company through our generous Employee Share Ownership Programme.

Our team values of Continuous Improvement, Do the Right Thing, Support & Respect For All and Sustainable are at the heart of everything we do.

Our Purpose

AddressFinder’s purpose is to provide online markets an efficient, dependable, premium address solution at a fair price. By doing a great job of understanding our customers’ requirements and then exceeding their expectations, we maintain beneficial long-term relationships and high levels of advocacy.

The job

Tech stack you are going to work on:

• Web facing apps written in Ruby on Rails
• Background data processing written in Elixir
• PostgreSQL and ElasticSearch for storage and fulltext search
• Github for code hosting, CI, and CD
• Local development done in Docker on MacOS (you will get a brand new M1 Macbook), production environments run on Ubuntu.
• We use AWS services such as Route53, EC2, Cloudfront, SQS, and Lambda, but you can find a few of our servers hosted in Azure and even outside of cloud

This is what your day might look like:

• Start your day with stand up
• Use Linear.app to pick work from the backlog which you have helped scope and design
• Pair program with others, providing constructive feedback in code reviews
• Spot opportunities where you can help your team members grow by coaching and mentoring them
• Work with our customer success team to diagnose a customer problem
• Communicate efficiently over Slack about things you are working on and/or need input on

Job Description

Click here for our full job description detailing the role and responsibilities.

What next?

If this opportunity excites you, and you think you’d be a good fit for this role, please send the following to jobs@addressfinder.com

• Cover letter
• CV

Our office is closed from 23 December 2021 and reopens 6 January 2022. Any enquiries will be responded to when we return.

Salary range: $120,000 — $139,999

Applications close:17 January 2022

Hiring: Senior Developer was originally published in AddressFinder on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

I recently read about this in Danny van Kooten’s blog post on the CO2 emission reductions he achieved through reducing the size of his Wordpress plugins.

I was inspired to see what efficiencies we could also make with our AddressFinder plugin. This story follows our investigation, challenges and how we were able to reduce our plugin size by 25%.

Can we reduce our file sizes too?

That got me wondering if AddressFinder could also make similar improvements. This would align with our company goals of having a reduced impact on the planet.

Could we reduce the file size of our Javascript code, and consequently reduce the emissions generated through network traffic and CPU utilisation?

When our customers use AddressFinder, they will typically download our Javascript library that runs the autocomplete service on their website. Until now, this library was 23.5 kB of compressed Javascript. The internals of this library include:

1. An autocomplete library
2. The AddressFinder business logic
3. A cross-browser HTTP client
4. Several Javascript polyfills

We realised that it may be possible to remove the HTTP client and the polyfills. These were included in the library to allow the service to work on very old browsers, including Internet Explorer 6 (which surprisingly is still used).

Challenges in supporting older browsers

Our desire to reduce the Javascript payload size, while also maintaining support for older browsers, was becoming a challenge. A new approach was required.

The solution is to freeze the library at the current version. This frozen version would be returned to Internet Explorer (version 6, 7, 8 and 9) users.

This would then allow us to drop the support for those rather ancient browsers in the current version, and as a result the HTTP client and the polyfills could be removed.

Result

We were able to carve off 5.9 kB with an end payload of 17.6 kB (compressed). A savings percentage of 25%

Emissions reduction calculation

Each month, our main Javascript library is downloaded 7.9 million times.

The total download reduction in gigabytes is:

7.9 million * 5900 bytes * 1,000,000,000 = 46.6 GB network traffic

Danny’s blog post outlines an approach for calculating the amount of energy needed to transfer 1 GB of data across a modern network connection. He selected an average figure of 0.5 kWh of electricity used for each GB.

46.6 GB network traffic * 0.5 kWh/GB = 23.3 kWh electricity

Most of our customers are in Australia, so we will use the federal average emissions figure:

23.3 kWh electricity * 0.9 kg CO2 / kWh = 21 kg CO2 each month

What does 21 kg of CO2 look like?

Danny compares his emissions with those emitted by driving his car. Funnily enough, his car is a Toyota Yaris — which Matt also drives.

The Yaris has an efficiency of 158.5 g CO2/km.

To emit 21 kg of CO2, you would have to drive this far in the Yaris:

21 kg CO2 / 0.1585 = 132.5 km each month

Savings

We reduced our Javascript payload by about 6 kB. Every month ongoing, our service will have reduced CO2 emissions by the equivalent of 132 km of driving. Not bad.

And, as the use of AddressFinder continues to grow, that 6 kB of Javascript reduction will have greater significance.

As Danny says:

the most important thing is to realise that the choices we make in developing for the web have consequences that really add up at scale

Saving the planet, 1024 bytes at a time was originally published in AddressFinder on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Here’s a closer look at the impact of today’s 1pm update from Jacinda Arden and Ashley Bloomfield.

Usually caused by an event

Today’s event was the Covid-19 update from Jacinda Arden and Ashley Bloomfield which started at 1pm.

It arrives suddenly

Load started to grow at 1:15pm.

By 1:20pm, we were peaking at around 7,500 RPM until about 1:25pm.

And leaves just as fast

By 1:28pm, we were back to our usual daytime load of around 1,500 RPM.

Load grows by 500%

This load was shared between our primary and secondary API servers, which are based in Sydney with Amazon Web Services. Our third production server is based in Hamilton with Catalyst Cloud. It was down for maintenance today.

As you can see in the chart above, our system has adequate capacity for these kind of events. It’s difficult to see any impact in response times.

Becoming more common

These sort of events are becoming more common. We have sufficient capacity assigned to the AddressFinder API servers, and we intend to expand this over the coming year.

Anatomy of a Covid spike was originally published in AddressFinder on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

AddressFinder is running as normal.

We’re fortunate to be an online service

We don’t have physical branches or deliveries. We can support AddressFinder from both our office and from home.

You can continue to search and verify addresses as you always do.

We’re busy doing what we usually do

We continue to refresh our data sets in both Australia and New Zealand, with the freshest address data. We expect this to continue every month.

We continue to provide both email and phone support for our customers. The incoming phone lines are diverted, so that we can answer calls from home.

We have activated our BPC (business continuity plan) and made adjustments to deal with the specifics of this event.

We have good redundancy

We have API servers running in both Sydney and San Francisco. We intentionally use different hosting providers - Amazon Web Services and Digital Ocean.

The system is configured, and regularly tested to handle faults and deal with them automatically and gracefully.

We hope it won’t be long till we’re all back to living our lives to the fullest. Until then, be smart and stay safe.

AddressFinder and Covid-19 was originally published in AddressFinder on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

I’ll write some more about this later, but in the meantime my own content is now hosted at https://nigel.ramsay.org.nz.

I’ll need to keep my Medium account open, so that I can continue to contribute to the Abletech blog, which is still hosted here on Medium.

The TLDR summary is: cheaper, larger, good enough.

ZS EV

They are offering these for about NZ $50 grand. That’s cheaper than a Leaf, Tesla, Kona, eNiro, Zoe. And that’s for a car with a 44.5 kWh battery.

Teslabjorn seems to like them:

Electric cars are getting cheaper! Yay!

Great to see NZ based battery replacement and upgrade services available for older Nissan Leafs. See this YouTube clip showing how they do it:

The company that offer the upgrades is EVs Enhanced.

The goal for this trip was fewer charging stops

Today, we have returned from a lovely summer holiday near Taupō. The driving distance was 342 km, with an expected driving time of 4:40.

Unlike our previous journey, this time we set out to charge the fewest number of times.

Stop 1: Mangaweka (7 mins)

We really wanted to stop in Bulls (191 km) — this was well within driving range, but (like last time) we wanted to avoid the possibility of being stuck awaiting a busy charger.

So instead, we stopped at the town beforehand (Mangaweka) for 7 mins and added 5.4 kWh of energy (cost $3.31). This would allow us to stop at our desired charge location of Bulls, but if the charger was in use, we could drive onto the next town (Foxton).

Stop 2: Bulls (44 mins)

The charger was not in use. We stopped here for morning tea. The aim was to get to 80% charge, so that we could drive all the way back to Wellington without stopping.

Bulls is a great place to stop. Unlike many of the central North Island towns, there’s plenty of life, and new developments happening. We went to Mint Cafe at a little strip mall.

We ended up spending longer at the cafe than expected, and the car charged up to 89% adding 21.2 kWh for $16.56.

Summary: Easy drive

The drive home was easier, with fewer stops.

Total cost was $19.87 for a four and a half hour drive.

Further reading

• Driving to Whakapapa in a Nissan Leaf
• Travelling to Palmy in an Electric Vehicle
• EV Q&A — Do the cars cost more than petrol cars?
• EV Q&A — Charging: do you need a special plug at home?
• EV Q&A — If I go up a hill, do I gain power when I go down?
• EV Q&A — Is this EV thing just a fad?
• EV Q&A — Is it gutless on the hills?

We are on our way to Whakapapa for a few nights. We have a 2017 Nissan Leaf with a 40 kWh battery, which is good for about 200 km of highway driving (5 people with luggage).

The driving plan today is ‘smaller, frequent top-ups’ rather than ‘fewer, longer charges’. The goal is to avoid arriving at a charger that is in use, but being forced to wait as the next charger is too far away.

Wellington to Levin

We departed Wellington on a full 100% charge level. Terrible traffic around Otaki adds about 20 minutes to the journey.

The ‘Pro Pilot’ feature in this car makes congested driving much less tiring. It takes charge of the steering and speed.

Arrival battery: 63%

We need lunch, so have stopped at Levin for some bakery food. Parked at the ChargeNet charger at the New World car park.

Back in the car after 15 minutes selecting our lunch. Battery now at 83% for $6.02

Next stop will be either Bulls (56 km), Mangaweka (117 km), or Taihape (137 km). We will stop to eat our lunch, so will see how long we last.

Levin to Bulls

Quite a bit of holiday traffic on the roads. Average speed is about 95 kmph.

The speed has picked up again. Passed a couple of motor homes who were slowing traffic down.

We got too hungry waiting so we stopped at Bulls. The charger is on a quiet side street.

Arrival battery: 55%

Pies, sandwiches and cakes for lunch. Cake of the day goes to the caramel pecan slice (massive).

Back in the car as soon as we’ve finished our lunch. While we were eating, the car charged up to 83% again ($6.78).

Total waiting so far: 0 minutes

As we leave Bulls, the range ‘guess-o-meter’ says 190 km. There are quite a few charging options ahead – Waioiru (109 km), Ohakune (137 km) or National Park (172 km).

We will need to do a final top up at National Park, as there’s no public charging at Whakapapa. As National Park is a bit dull, I think we’ll stop in Ohakune and do a little grocery shopping there. Charge there, and then only spend 5–10 minutes doing that final top up at National Park. That’s the plan.

Bulls to Taihape

The roads are certainly getting quieter. Average speeds are increasing to close to 100 kmph.

Got to Taihape with 33% charge. The charger was free, so seemed like a good idea. Means we can skip the Ohakune charge if that charger is in use.

The distance to National Park from here is 93 km, so we will keep charging here until we have 110 km predicted range.

This is the first time we’re actually waiting for the car. Departing with 55% charge ($5.41)

Waiting time: 15 minutes

Taihape to Ohakune

Arrived with 23% so it’s time for grocery shopping at New World. Ideally we leave here with enough energy to drive to Whakapapa Village and then onto Turangi a couple of days later.

That driving distance is 111 km, so 60% or more should do it. Am currently on 65% so that’s enough. Time to depart for our final destination.

Turns out the kids have not had enough time at the playground, so will delay unplugging for a few more minutes.

Okay, the kids are ready to cruise now. We have 73% charge, which is plenty. This top up cost $14.70. I’d say actual car waiting time was about 10 minutes, as the rest of the time was shopping and playground fun.

Total waiting time: 25 minutes

Off we go.

Ohakune to Whakapapa Village

Arrived with 38% which is plenty to get to Turangi. We are staying at the Skotel here, and they’ve let us top up – very kind.

In summary, I think the plan of charging more frequently has worked well. We never had to wait for anyone else to finish charging, and we managed to have plenty of activities to do along the way that avoided us feeling inconvenienced by the charging.

A good trip.