Technical Services Tools: Embracing Modern Frameworks and Influencing Efficiency

The Technical Services Tools team at MongoDB plays a pivotal role in ensuring efficiency throughout the customer lifecycle. Led by experienced engineers like Jarrod Hinson, the team leverages advanced technologies such as generative AI and modern frameworks like MERN and MEAN to develop tools that enhance security, streamline support processes, and integrate seamlessly into MongoDB's ecosystem. By prioritizing collaboration and innovation, the team not only supports internal stakeholders, but also delivers significant value to MongoDB's customers, setting new standards in technical service excellence.

Read on to learn more about working on the team from Jarrod’s perspective.

My journey as a Technical Services Tools Engineer at MongoDB

Hey there, I’m Jarrod, a Staff Software Engineer on MongoDB’s Technical Services Tools team. Before joining, I worked as a Salesforce engineer, tinkering with custom Full Stack technologies like MERN and MEAN stacks. My background includes stints in healthcare software engineering and service in the US Army. I initially joined MongoDB as a Salesforce engineer in 2017, transitioning to the Technical Services Tools team in 2022 to delve deeper into Full Stack development and engineer applications using gen AI.

Influencing tools and security practices

In my role as a Staff Software Engineer at MongoDB, I influence internal tools and security best practices across the entire customer lifecycle. Central to my role is ensuring the secure storage of sensitive data and strictly controlling access to resolve customer issues. I craft robust authentication, authorization, and logging systems that track interactions with customer data from both ends, upholding rigorous standards of security and accountability.

Embracing modern frameworks and gen AI

My work involves extensive use of modern frameworks and gen AI. We deploy the MERN stack with Next.js and MongoDB's Leafygreen UI framework, complemented by Salesforce architecture for our data needs. Leveraging cutting-edge technology with gen AI, we employ MongoDB for databases and vector stores. Customer and internal support is enhanced through our work with assisted gen AI which refines Technical Services case work to boost efficiency and satisfaction. For example, our public Support Portal lets customers chat about any issues they’re experiencing with responses provided through Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) system results pulled from the MongoDB Technical Services Tools database. We utilize RAG for documentation, knowledge base articles, cached entries, and corrective guidance from our custom-built LLM feedback responses.

Cross-collaboration opportunities

Collaboration thrives at MongoDB. Within our network of customer-facing teams, we work together to define new features and capabilities. For example, we incorporate diagnostic tools into our frameworks through integration efforts with the broader Technical Services team, while partnerships with Cloud and CRM Tech teams manage user permissions across sites.

We’ve worked closely with Professional Services leadership to identify existing use cases and seamlessly implement the tools their teams built into our infrastructure. Plus, we’ve helped them identify overlapping customer engagements, quickly understand projects, and enhance customer consultation experience through custom AI summarization.

This collaborative approach ensures our tools are robust, secure, and aligned with stakeholder needs, ultimately providing our customers with the best possible experience.

Addressing internal stakeholders

Engaging with stakeholders across MongoDB presents unique opportunities and challenges. Our projects focus on optimizing processes and enhancing internal capabilities to deliver value to the company and our customers. This role fosters deep cross-departmental relationships, allowing us to solve complex problems with custom tools that drives efficiency across the organization. We provide improved AI triage assistance, case summaries, and next steps to help engineers quickly gain context and engage with customers. We've generated over 100,000 case summaries and have offered triage assistance on over 40,000 cases.

Team dynamics

Our team is uniquely skilled and operates under a product-oriented delivery (POD) engineering framework broken into five technical areas: Front End, Back End, AI, Salesforce, and Infrastructure. This framework promotes collaboration and efficiency in an effort to drive successful projects.

Led by Team Leads and Senior Engineers and guided by our Engineering Manager Lila Brooks, our structure supports continuous learning and engineering best practices. Paul Rooney, our Senior Director, leads by example and takes a hands-on approach with the team's most challenging engineering goals. In my role as a Staff Engineer, I drive multiple projects and aid PODs in achieving their objectives. This structure makes delegation efficient and empowers POD members to make decisions as needed.

Why join our team?

Our global, primarily remote team embraces flexible work. Yearly in-person offsites encourage team bonding, while the rest of the time, we communicate asynchronously to accommodate global time zones, with essential meetings aligned for overlap. Our leaders prioritize work-life balance and support individual needs to ensure flexibility for all team members. I’ve also found support through MongoDB Veterans, which is an employee resources group that guides veteran applicants to a role within the company aligned to their military experience and brings together a community of supportive co-workers.

In terms of day-to-day work on the Technical Services Tools team, what’s most exciting is our specialization in cutting-edge AI applications involving MongoDB processes and data. With rapid expansion, we explore areas like QA, security, AI, Full Stack, and Salesforce, fostering diverse skill sets and knowledge sharing. Projects span intriguing domains from AI applications to custom MERN stack development and Salesforce integration. By joining the team, you’ll have the opportunity to grow your skills, dive into modern frameworks, and join a community of inspiring and talented people!