Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (November 2024)

Hacker News Discussion ↗

Hundreds of engineers, data scientists, designers, product managers, and technical writers from around the world are advertising their availability for new roles, spanning everything from low‑level systems, embedded and Rust to LLMs, data platforms, DevOps, game development, UX, and engineering leadership. Many emphasize experience in startups, remote and distributed work, and end‑to‑end ownership of products, with a notable concentration in Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, cloud platforms, and AI/ML. The thread highlights both the depth of senior talent currently on the market and the continuing shift toward remote‑first, highly specialized technical work.

Overview of the thread

  • Monthly “Who wants to be hired?” with hundreds of self-intros.
  • Mostly individual candidates advertising availability; one or two meta-comments about relative volume vs “Who’s hiring?” and a multi-role ML consultancy posting.
  • Little debate; it’s essentially a talent directory, but with clear themes about roles, tech, work preferences, and values.

Roles and experience levels

  • Wide range from interns and fresh grads to 20+ year veterans, former CTOs, founders, staff/principal engineers, and executives.
  • Common roles:
    • Backend, full‑stack, and frontend web engineers.
    • Infrastructure/SRE/DevOps/platform engineers.
    • ML/AI/LLM engineers, data scientists, and data engineers.
    • Mobile (iOS, Android, React Native, Flutter) and game developers.
    • Embedded/firmware, robotics, systems and low‑level engineers.
    • Product managers, product engineers, technical writers, UX/UI and product designers, security engineers/red teamers.
    • Engineering managers, VPs, and technical leaders.

Technologies and stacks

  • Web/backend: Heavy on TypeScript/JavaScript (React, Next.js, Node.js, Vue, Angular), plus Java, C#, Go, Python, Ruby/Rails, PHP/Laravel, Scala, Elixir, Rust.
  • Data/ML/AI: Python (PyTorch, TensorFlow, scikit‑learn, Pandas), Spark, Airflow, dbt, cloud ML stacks; many highlight LLMs, RAG, and MLOps.
  • Systems/embedded: C/C++, Rust, assemblers, Linux kernel/embedded, RTOSes, FPGAs, networking, security, and cryptography.
  • Infra: AWS, GCP, Azure, Kubernetes, Docker, Terraform, CI/CD tools, and observability stacks.
  • Datastores: Postgres, MySQL, SQL Server, MongoDB, Redis, DynamoDB, various warehouses and lakes.

Remote work, location, and relocation

  • Candidates are globally distributed: North America, Europe, UK, LatAm, Africa, Middle East, and APAC.
  • Strong bias toward remote or remote‑first; many are flexible on time zones.
  • Some insist on local/hybrid; others will relocate “for the right role” (often within specific regions).

Domains and motivations

  • Frequent domain interests: fintech, trading, healthcare/biotech, automotive/ADAS, games, devtools, cybersecurity, climate/energy, education, and socially impactful work.
  • Many express preference for:
    • Early‑stage or small teams, high autonomy, and “no BS” environments.
    • Meaningful impact, real customer problems, and high engineering standards.
    • Non‑VC or non‑“crunch” cultures in some cases.
  • Several emphasize mentoring, documentation, and cross‑functional collaboration as strengths.

Market and engagement patterns

  • One comment notes more “Who’s hiring?” than “Who wants to be hired?” posts in another month, but here the candidate thread is very dense.
  • Mix of people seeking full‑time, contract/freelance, fractional leadership, or short projects.