Ask HN: Who is hiring? (October 2024)
October’s “Who is hiring?” thread on Hacker News showcases hundreds of openings across startups and established tech companies, with strong concentrations in AI, developer infrastructure, fintech, healthcare, and climate tech. Roles range from founding engineers and staff-level specialists to data scientists, ML researchers, product managers, and designers, with a mix of fully remote, hybrid, and on‑site positions across North America and Europe. Alongside the listings, commenters highlight recurring pain points in today’s job market, such as unclear “remote” definitions, opaque or slow hiring processes, and concerns about filter-heavy application forms.
Overall themes in the thread
- Broad range of roles: lots of AI/ML, infra/platform, developer tools, fintech, health tech, climate/energy, robotics, and crypto.
- Many early‑stage or seed/Series A startups alongside some large, established companies.
- Tech stacks mentioned heavily feature TypeScript/React, Python, Go, Rust, Java, cloud (AWS/GCP/Azure), and various data/ML frameworks.
Remote vs. onsite, location, and visas
- Repeated confusion over what “fully remote” means when restricted to the US (or a region); several commenters suggest clearer phrasing like “Remote in USA only.”
- Some companies are asked to clarify whether “remote” includes non‑US residents or specific countries; answers vary, often tied to time zone overlap or legal/employment constraints.
- Multiple posts explicitly state no visa sponsorship; others highlight visa support as a selling point, which draws questions from candidates abroad.
Hiring practices and transparency
- Complaints that certain companies post month after month but appear not to hire or respond, or reject quickly despite seemingly strong alignment.
- Some applicants report submitting detailed applications and receiving either no acknowledgment or an instant automated rejection.
- Moderators occasionally detach strongly negative comments but also note that companies should follow better practices.
- One candidate asks if a company sends acknowledgment of receipt; the company is prompted to respond.
Compensation and geo‑arbitrage
- A small debate erupts around a founder’s candid statement that non‑US engineers are hired partly due to lower cost; commenters push back on tone and fairness.
- Counterpoints argue that same‑pay for international talent can be competitive and that dismissing them as “cheaper labor” risks missing strong candidates.
DEI / mission‑alignment questions
- A nonprofit’s application question about centering racial equity and anti‑racism in work feels confusing or off‑topic to some developers.
- The organization explains they want awareness of how technical decisions affect underserved groups (e.g., “Matthew effect” in ed‑tech).
- Further discussion notes that the wording may unintentionally favor candidates skilled at “spinning a story” over those with limited direct experience but honest answers.
Technical and process issues
- Several job posts contain broken emails or dead job links; commenters flag these, and some companies acknowledge and fix them.
- One company’s career page says “not hiring” while they are posting roles, causing confusion.
- An applicant calls out Workday as having poor UX; asks why companies continue to use it.