> We're looking for a brilliant senior full stack developer.
How about just a "solid, hard-working senior developer"? When you say "brilliant", most good, competent developers think of a truly 1 in 1000 brilliant developer we know, and think of how short we fall from that.
In truth, unless you're doing some kind of advanced machine learning or cutting edge software work, you likely don't need a brilliant developer. And indeed, looking at your site, you probably aren't doing anything of the sort.
Instead, a company like yours requires a dependable, competent, team-player.
Why not ask for that?
Edit: Jesus H Christ, is this really that controversial to merit 4 downvotes in the first 5 minutes? OK, have at it all you brilliant devs. I remember being in my early 20s, too...
Also, have you geniuses considered that the job post above is addressing a man who's a bit down on his luck at the moment? Perhaps putting up a post asking for a "brilliant" developer isn't the best approach? Unless, of course, the OP isn't the actual target of the comment, but instead he's advertising to HN at large (which is my guess).
>How about just a "solid, hard-working senior developer"? When you say "brilliant", most good, competent developers think of a truly 1 in 1000 brilliant developer we know, and think of how short we fall from that.
no one thinks that because it's pr speak. i've never met anyone deterred by "brilliant" or "ninja" or "10x" or etc.
> i've never met anyone deterred by "brilliant" or "ninja" or "10x" or etc.
I'm deterred from such job ads. But in fact you're right, it's not because of what I wrote above. Instead, it's because I've found a high correlation between those job ad keywords and dev work doing nothing but CRUD apps under the micromanaging eye of dysfunctional management.
But I tried to explain that in a more rational, diplomatic way, rather than just assume his company sucks.
Yes, such terms in a job description - or in my case, in initial contract meetings - are red flags for me. Red enough to either never apply or show myself out with some excuse. Because my definition of "brilliant" may not match their definition of "brilliant" in terms of capability or efficiency, and I don't want to find out how high the expectations are after the agreement's signed.
this is a good response, if he were a brilliant engineer he probably wouldn't be on here with this post. Or he's a troll and then is possibly brilliant somehow??
That's not necessarily true. There are plenty of brilliant engineers who don't have special pedigree or flashy work history so they appear average and it's only when you start working with them that you realize that they're actually brilliant.
These people have a hard time because they might have started programming from a young age and have been learning and refining their skill nonstop for over a decade but they never got a lucky break in their careers.
You're spot on, the attitude displayed in the parent is toxic. HN is pretty rough when it comes to pro-employee sentiment from my experience. Wear the downvotes with pride.
1. I asked the OP to apply - I assume he is really good.
2. I use the brilliant as a shorthand to say we need people that are very talented.
3. We need very talented people because the code we have, while it looks simple, is very challenging. I was on the Win95 core team at Microsoft - our code is more challenging.
4. We don't do brain teasers in our interviews, they are not an indicator of how effective you'll be (read Word Rules). We mostly have you walk us through your code. And we'll ask you to walk us through how you would approach certain problems.
5. Any workplace is not for everyone. We try to be upfront with applicants as to what they'll be doing here and what the culture is like here. This includes a final "interview" where I go through what they'll be facing here and answer any question of theirs I legally/ethically can. So they come in knowing what to expect.
And hey, if we're not the right place for you that just means you're looking for something different. Never let a job interview define you. And never let a series of no's get you down.
Thank you for letting OP know about the opportunity. I do hope your interview process is more streamlined than some of the horror stories we hear about on HN. OP is probably not going to be benefited by having to jump through many hoops.
this right here is why i don't have a job yet -- suddenly being a good programmer isn't enough, you have to be a good algorithmic competitive programmer. Code challenges with intensely difficult algorithms (i'm talking 3 to 8 per interview) are making all of you employers pass over good devs, and making me homeless. This is the new brainteaser and 5 years from now people will look back and realize its a terrible judge of someone who will be programming a fucking website.
edit: i'm not going to post my resume or portfolio here, but if you saw what i'm capable of and where i worked in the past you would be shocked that i'm having issues finding employment.
also i should note: i'm 36... but i'm sharper and know more now than when i was being paid 96 to 105k in my 20s.
I want you to know you're not alone. I've been programming for 30 years and I cannot find work. I have hundreds of hours of video showing what I can do and it doesn't matter. Because I don't approach toy problems on the whiteboard like companies expect, I'm a loser.
This is something the HN community should really start paying attention to. You may be employed now and it may be great but something rotten is happening in the industry and it's only getting worse.
I have a MacBook Pro from circa 2013 I can donate to you if you need it. I'll make sure my email is in my profile. Otherwise, if you'd just like to speak with someone who understands (some) of what you're going through, let me know.
We mostly have 2 people/office. We would have done individual offices but the office space we found to rent was perfect except the offices were larger and so it was a LOT cheaper to use the existing build-out.
It is working well. People mostly are heads down getting their work done. So add Windward Studios to the list where all developers get offices.
We have the best group of developers I have ever worked with, and that includes when I was on the core Windows 95 team at Microsoft. Very smart, motivated, and work really well with each other.
We want rock stars who work well with others.
Our existing code is Java and C#. We're presently creating an equivalent of Word + AutoTag in the browser using typescript & Sencha (for the U.I.).
