Ask HN: Who is hiring? (November 2026)

Hacker News Discussion ↗

A monthly Hacker News hiring thread showcases hundreds of open roles across startups, big tech, research labs, and nonprofits, with a heavy emphasis on AI/agentic systems, cloud infrastructure, and full‑stack engineering. Many companies highlight remote or hybrid flexibility, equity, and meaningful domains such as healthcare, energy, education, and climate, while also signaling preferences around time zones, visa status, and hands-on builders who can work directly with customers. A recurring theme is the expectation that candidates use AI tools thoughtfully in their work—but write their own applications and demonstrate real projects they’ve shipped.

Overall hiring landscape

  • Extremely broad range of roles, skewed toward:
    • AI/ML and “agentic” systems (consulting, infra, product, ops, safety).
    • Infra/devops/platform for GPU clouds, Kubernetes, storage, and bare metal.
    • Fintech/insurtech and B2B SaaS (legal, marketing, healthcare, logistics, payroll, HR).
    • Robotics, aerospace, fusion, nuclear, and other hard‑tech domains.
  • Many small, profitable or recently funded startups; also a few large incumbents (banks, big tech, trading firms, public orgs).
  • Multiple “founding engineer” or “first X hire” roles with high ownership and equity, often onsite or in one city.

Remote vs onsite, hours, and location constraints

  • Wide spread from fully remote worldwide to strict in‑office expectations.
  • Several posts stress hybrid models (e.g., 2–3 days in office) and specific metros.
  • Some explicitly rule out relocation or visa sponsorship; others offer relocation, visas, or emphasize EU/US‑only hiring.
  • One company explains that “full‑time” can mean 32h or even 24h, with pay pro‑rated.
  • A few candidates ask about sponsorship or non‑advertised roles (backend/AI).

Compensation perceptions

  • Salaries range from modest for junior/contract roles to very high for senior/staff and niche infra positions.
  • At least one commenter flags a Netherlands‑based salary as low for the market and a step down relative to similar roles.

AI in work and hiring

  • Many roles expect heavy daily use of AI coding/agent tools; some companies describe entire stacks or org practices built around them.
  • A few employers stress wanting human‑written applications and explicitly ask applicants to avoid AI when writing answers.

Hiring processes and responsiveness

  • Several posts describe streamlined processes (few rounds, paid trial days, no LeetCode).
  • Some commenters complain about unresponsive employers despite promises to “reply to everyone,” or long‑standing postings without follow‑up.
  • One UN‑related role is praised for its concept but criticized for a high‑friction application flow requiring redundant data entry and document uploads.

Ethics, politics, and employer reputation

  • One GPU cloud provider is compared to collapsed early‑2000s companies; another commenter suggests the broader context makes recruiting difficult despite compelling role descriptions.
  • A self‑described non‑partisan policy institute draws strong pushback; commenters cite its stated agenda and characterize it as clearly aligned with one side.
  • A highly opinionated open‑source company criticizing “walled gardens” is challenged for insisting on onsite work; the company defends this as essential for speed, learning, and culture.
  • One commenter warns that a specific firm may “ghost” applicants and characterizes it as academic with limited real‑world business experience (uncorroborated in the thread).