Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (July 2025)

This Hacker News "Who is Hiring?" thread features a diverse set of professionals offering their skills. The dominant themes are remote work preference, specialized technical expertise, a desire for impactful work, and varying levels of flexibility regarding location and contract type.

Strong Preference for Remote Work

A significant number of individuals explicitly state a preference for remote work, often citing experience with it or making it a primary criterion.

• "Remote: YES (only)" - rtribaldos
• "Remote: Yes, remote only" - nunoarruda
• "Remote: Yes (Remote Only)" - bbartlomiej
• "Remote: Yes (Remote Only)" - cldcntrl
• "Remote: Preferred" - nathan_douglas, saulthompson92, zeta0134
• "Remote: Yes (preferred)" - odorousrex, ksbrooksjr, jdhwosnhw, cllcntrl
• "Remote: Yes (fully remote or hybrid if company offices in Belgium, France, England, Netherlands, Germany or Luxembourg)" - LunaSea
• "Remote: yes, please" - oletrn
• "Remote: Yes (have worked exclusively remotely for past 14 years)" - dustanbower

Diverse Technical Skillsets Across the Stack

The participants showcase a wide array of technologies and areas of expertise, ranging from core programming languages and frameworks to specialized fields like AI, ML, embedded systems, and DevOps.

• Full-Stack & Backend Dominance: Many individuals highlight broad full-stack capabilities, with a frequent emphasis on backend development.
  • "Full-stack engineer with ~8 years of experience building fast, user-friendly web (& mobile) apps." - doublewale
  • "Senior Software Engineer w/ 8+ years at startups. Generalist fullstack in web, backend/devops > frontend." - desmondw
  • "Senior Full-stack Engineer with 15+ years of experience across startups and scale-ups, including Uber and DoorDash." - ibarrajo
• Modern Web Technologies: React, Node.js, TypeScript, and Next.js are frequently mentioned.
  • "Technologies: Javascript/Typescript, NodeJS, NextJS, React, Astro, Docker, GitlabCI, PHP, Prisma, Postgres, MySQL/MariaDb/PerconaServer, SQL, Bots (Whatsapp, Slack), Cursor" - rtribaldos
  • "Technologies: Typescript, JavaScript, Node.js, React.js, Next.js, HTML, CSS" - theothermelissa
• AI/ML and Data Focus: A significant number of individuals express interest or possess experience in AI, Machine Learning, LLMs, and data engineering.
  • "Currently finishing a PhD in theoretical computer science... Very enthusiastic about using or coming up with theoretical ideas that can improve outcomes in practice... Currently, I am very interested in AI..." - suyjuris
  • "AI/LLM based development (MCP, agents, etc)" - dvvalia
  • "AI infrastructure, RDMA, GPU computing, Go(lang)..." - asheshka
  • "Interested in AI, deep learning, simulation, MLOps..." - nathan_douglas
  • "Looking for opportunities to work with people that are engaged, intellectually honest, and have a strong bias for action. If that’s your company, I’d love to hear from you!" - mcdrake
  • "Looking for something interesting, especially if it involves actually helping other humans. My past experience is highly varied... I am also comfortable and happy wearing a feature-ownership/product-management hat alongside my development work, when needed." - ivraatiems
• Systems & Infrastructure Expertise: Several candidates highlight experience in DevOps, cloud infrastructure, and lower-level systems programming.
  • "10+ years working on production-grade AWS deployments... architecture, infrastructure, performance, scale..." - cldcntrl
  • "15+ years building scalable SaaS platforms and backend systems. Strong experience leading architecture and development across cloud-native environments, legacy modernization, and high-traffic services." - zquintana
  • "Embedded Firmware Engineer" - howard941
  • "Experienced full-stack engineer with expertise in distributed systems & edge computing..." - sss111
• Niche Skills: Some individuals possess highly specialized skills.
  • "C, OpenBSD" - brynet
  • "Java developer with 5 years experience building low latency (<100us tick-to-trade) electronic trading systems..." - ChrisHn3
  • "Python, Natural Language Processing (NLP), Search Engines, Machine Learning (ML), Finance, Law..." - rbergmair
  • "Web developer with 13 years of experience... specializing in building efficient and reliable systems..." - pistachiosPower
  • "Embedded systems engineer/architect bridging the full compute spectrum of ultra-low power IoT, edge systems, and HPC." - datameta
  • "Seasoned C++ developer with 23 years of experience... Most recently I've doing 3D graphics (simulation and later maps)." - JosifA
  • "Senior systems engineer with 7+ years of experience... Strong C++/C background, systems-level orientation. I’m at home in resource-constrained, real-time, or just-plain-hostile environments." - tuckerpo

Emphasis on Impact and Problem Solving

Many candidates express a desire for work that is meaningful, impactful, or involves solving challenging problems. This indicates a search for purpose beyond just a technical role.

• "I'm passionate about solving complex problems and creating efficient, scalable solutions. I'm particularly drawn to projects that align with my ethical values, avoiding industries that harm the environment, compromise health, or raise ethical concerns. I aim to contribute positively to the world through my work." - rtribaldos
• "I build tools that are simple, effective, and easy to adopt. My goal is always to solve the problem and make sure people know there’s a solution." - paddy_m
• "I love solving complex problems (make them as simple as possible, but no simpler), designing for scalability and sustainability, and mentoring engineers." - cybadger
• "I'm looking for work where I can use my technical skills... I want to do something with science or something that'll benefit humanity. I'd love to work with AI or ML or complexity science. I'd love to do deep research or build or improve something on the cutting edge. I want to merge into or absorb some mission and team somewhere like The Thing. I want to solve really weird problems with really intelligent people." - nathan_douglas
• "I'm looking for opportunities where I can move fast, build, ship fast, contribute the most value, and grow." - darvid
• "I'm passionate about building innovative solutions... Looking for: A company that uses AI or has a great vision." - macangus
• "I'm a data scientist, I'm looking for hard problems to solve. Hair on fire 'This is causing lemon-law recalls and we can't solve it.' type problems." - Grosvenor
• "I want to find a place where I get to solve problems for people along with a good team." - thenewwazoo
• "I'm passionate about helping others through my work, teaching, and building tools to improve the experience for end users - including other developers." - teirce
• "I take hard problems and find the right math tools to tame them, then write the code to make it work in production." - mdnahas

Flexibility and Specific Preferences for Relocation and Contract Type

While many prefer remote, there's a spectrum of relocation desires, from a strict "no" to an openness depending on the opportunity. Contract, part-time, and full-time roles are all represented.

• No Relocation: A common stance, reinforcing the remote preference.
  • "Willing to relocate: NO" - rtribaldos, PTGPSoftware, nunoarruda, foreigner, desmondw, MongooseStudios, rjmunro, dscthrowaway, rasikjain, kaliara, davenos, tuckerpo (with caveats), zylo
• Open to Relocation: Some are willing to move for the right opportunity, sometimes with specific geographic preferences.
  • "Willing to relocate: Yes" - suyjuris, asheshka, a_squirrel, doublewale, divtiwari
  • "Willing to relocate: Yes, within EU & SEA" - kaliara
  • "Willing to relocate: Yes, willing to travel" - kaliara
  • "Willing to relocate: yes, not immediately, but I don't want to stay in Florida forever." - whatamidoingyo
  • "Willing to relocate: Yes, but only within Thailand" - Genego
• Varied Contract Preferences: Availability spans full-time, part-time, contract, and even advisory roles.
  • "Interest: Fulltime/part-time" - rtribaldos
  • "Looking for a full time Senior Software Engineer role..." - foreigner
  • "Open to all work." - desmondw
  • "Looking for jobs where 20-24 hours is a possibility." - dscthrowaway
  • "Open to full time or contract." - Stratoscope
  • "Full time or freelancing" - howard941
  • "Open to fractional, advisory, or full-time roles." - jborden13
  • "Looking for the next opportunity!" - nathan-wall
  • "Looking for roles where I can move fast, build, ship fast, contribute the most value, and grow." - darvid
  • "Seeking a full-time role on a team, but open to contract opportunities as well." - scomu
  • "Ideal job would be designing, developing (CRDs, operators), monitoring and troubleshooting K8s clusters." - thdn
  • "Looking for opportunities to grow and considering both industry and academia." - fpmatwork
  • "Actively looking for remote full-time or contract work." - ryanscript01123
  • "I'm looking for a senior/staff role. Especially interested in roles related to computer vision and SLAM, but always happy at a keyboard." - gw_shadow
  • "My preferred next career move is independent contracting. 6-12 months contracts ideally. I will also consider permanent fully remote positions, but only quite senior ones - Staff Engineer / Architect level." - JosifA
  • "Looking for management or consulting type roles where my skillset can help technical teams operate better and help executive management take better decisions." - cssanchez
  • "Looking for opportunities where I can use my skills in interesting ways..." - fuzzzerd
  • "Looking for opportunities where I can leverage my enterprise software development and cloud infrastructure experience." - AlphaPro06
  • "Contract: Yes" - sabey
  • "Seeking: Strategy, Technology and Architecture advisory and consultancy to startups, scaling teams or established companies / organisations. I am looking for part hours, or retainers, or work toward fully moving into a consulting / advisory capacity" - quintes
  • "I'm usually a contractor but I'm willing to consider a founding engineer position at an AI startup." - prisenco
  • "I'm looking for full-time work, but I’m open to contract and part-time roles as well, depending on the project." - theothermelissa
  • "I’m currently open to new challenges and opportunities." - chistev
  • "I’m a backend-focused software developer with 9 years of experience... I am available for contract or freelance work. Let’s talk." - brenosss
  • "Looking for a junior/entry level software engineer position." - a_squirrel
  • "Part-time (~5 days a month)" - jnpnj
  • "I'm looking to join a product startup in the capacity of CTO or lead / staff engineer." - LunaSea
  • "Interested in anything software. JPersonal projects largely include retro game development and emulation, though I'm quite content to leave these as hobbies. Not much demand for 6502 programmers these days :) *I deeply miss personal connections with my colleagues, and would not mind a return to office. I'm just not near an office." - zeta0134
  • "Seeking opportunities to use my skills I'm interesting ways, helping people do their jobs better, easier, or faster." - fuzzzerd
  • "I'm a lead engineer at a London-based AI SaaS. Been there from the very start. Looking to switch industries." - vmsp
  • "I'm looking for a full-time role where I can contribute to meaningful projects while learning new technologies and methodologies in software engineering." - philajan

Professional Background and Career Stages

The participants represent a range of experience levels, from recent graduates to seasoned veterans with decades of experience, including those with entrepreneurial backgrounds and leadership roles.

• Extensive Experience: Many highlight multi-year or multi-decade experience.
  • "12y+ of professional experience" - rtribaldos
  • "25 years of software development experience" - foreigner
  • "20+ yoe as dev/IC. 10+ yoe in managerial and executive roles." - boltzmann-brain
  • "15+ years building scalable SaaS platforms and backend systems." - zquintana
  • "10+ years of experience working building web applications and APIs..." - brenosss
  • "~20YoE. Seeking backend & platform, service reliability roles." - thdn
  • "23 years of experience in the industry." - JosifA
  • "~10YoE, between startups, scaleups, and big tech." - gw_shadow
  • "11-years of experience." - hijp
  • "15 years experience as a full-stack engineer" - ptx2
  • "12+ YOE." - tuckerd
  • "Over 15 years of experience." - scomu
  • "10+ years of experience..." - macangus
  • "10+ years experience..." - mjgs
  • "7+ years of experience..." - tuckerpo
  • "10 years of experience..." - kaliara
  • "13 years of freelancing..." - rbergmair
  • "8+ years of experience..." - cybadger
  • "5+ years of experience..." - collinsmuriuki
  • "10 years experience..." - codforafrica
  • "9 years of experience building robust web applications..." - brenosss
  • "12 years experience: Google, Triplebyte, AppNexus, StackSource." - nathan-wall
  • "8+ years of experience..." - nickstaggs
  • "7 years experience..." - mcdrake
  • "4 years of professional experience." - theothermelissa
  • "9+ years' experience at startups and enterprises in the EU and US..." - oletrn
  • "6 years' experience working in small teams..." - humility
  • "20 years of experience..." - foreigner
  • "12+ years of professional experience" - rtribaldos
• Entrepreneurial/Startup Background: Several individuals mention startup experience, including co-founding, leading teams in startups, and achieving exits.
  • "Prior experience in startups, administration and financial analysis." - rtribaldos
  • "I’ve worked at startups... I’ve led product and engineering at bootstrapped SaaS companies..." - dcatx
  • "I've been in startups for decades..." - timdorr
  • "I co-founded a pharma-tech startup, where I led the development of real-time data infrastructure, visualization and analytics on a regulated cloud platform." - bbartlomiej
  • "I’ve worked at startups and solo projects, shipping products end to end." - doublewale
  • "I have founding experience..." - n8sb
  • "My last role was at Autodesk... Previously: Apple... and Ceres Imaging..." - scalewithlee
  • "I was the first customer hire. I built DevRel, support, docs, demos, community, and launch content from zero... Before that, I spent 7 years at Streak..." - weston
  • "Taken a startup to a successful exit. Founded my own bootstrapped startup." - foreigner
  • "I’ve built and launched AI-powered SaaS products solo." - oletrn
  • "Got the product-market fit from 0 to many..." - kaliara
  • "I’ve been fortunate enough to do infosec, SRE, embedded work, DX/dev advocacy, Rust training, write distributed systems, and much more." - thenewwazoo
  • "Lead engineer at a London-based AI SaaS. Been there from the very start." - vmsp
  • "I've been doing backend work for the past 14 years... I've worked extensively with startups..." - dustanbower
  • "Have performed multiple data migrations and pipeline development. Background in backend software engineering." - edreispi
  • "Successfully quantitative trader... Employee #7 for successful startup." - mdnahas
  • "Companies I’ve help start have been acquired by OpenAI (2025) and private equity firms (2023). Former CTO @ YCombinator, Techstars." - _hfqa
  • "I've been doing backend work for the past 14 years... I've worked extensively with startups..." - dustanbower
  • "Has experience touching many parts of the stack... I've also done some more interesting work including vehicle route planning in constrained environments." - Grosvenor
  • "Lead engineer at a London-based AI SaaS. Been there from the very start." - vmsp
  • "Have performed multiple data migrations and pipeline development. Background in backend software engineering." - edreispi
  • "Built and sold a B2B SaaS company serving Fortune 500 brands..." - jborden13
  • "I lead a team of 7 engineers. I've helped grow the company from inception to securing $3M in seed funding by single-handedly architecting a scalable backend infrastructure..." - coding_coffee
  • "Founded Salesloft, was MD at Techstars Atlanta..." - timdorr
  • "I'm a software engineer with a passion for building innovative solutions. Recently, I won Best Knowledge Bot at the Google Cloud Vertex AI Agent Builder Hackathon and received Amazon's Best Blog prize. One of my products also reached #5 Product of the Day on Product Hunt, demonstrating my ability to develop solutions that resonate with users and achieve real market success." - macangus
• Leadership and Mentorship: Several individuals highlight experience in leadership, management, and mentoring.
  • "Led teams and mentored engineers." - foreigner
  • "Led product implementations from end to end..." - kaliara
  • "Managed teams between 2 and 30 people..." - boltzmann-brain
  • "I have experience in management roles." - cybadger
  • "I've also led product and engineering at bootstrapped SaaS companies as part of product orgs ranging in size from just me to > 100, and I've directly managed teams of 18 while still keeping my hands close to the code, and close to the product roadmap." - dcatx
  • "Have experience building and shipping products end to end." - doublewale
  • "I was a staff software engineer at Uber before I left." - andrewdeandrade
  • "I can mentor teams or bring expertise to complex projects." - spirodonfl
  • "I have experience managing my current company, from inception to securing $3M in seed funding..." - coding_coffee
  • "I've been a Software Architect. I have experience both as a manager of a team of 10, and as a software developer for over 30 years." - kevinmgrant
  • "I have experience leading teams and mentoring engineers." - foreigner
  • "I'm a builder and coach at heart, and will happily build software, do product development, architect systems, or step into a leadership / management role." - cybadger
  • "I am a senior developer and consultant with over 11 years in the industry. My expertise is in building robust, secure and scalable backend services and enterprise applications." - aronishchal
  • "I have extensive experience crafting personas, qualitative analysis, user journeys, user flows, user interface design, low and high fidelity prototypes, stakeholder presentations and design systems for UI components." - shetyemanasi
  • "Previously, I used Metis to discover kernel hang bugs in the Journaled File System and submitted patches to the Linux kernel to fix these bugs..." - divtiwari
  • "I also have cross-discipline experience; working with accounting, sales, communication and teams by building workflows, automations and internal tooling." - LunaSea
  • "I have experience leading efforts across infrastructure, backend, and frontend..." - Gulbrandr-Bear
  • "I have experience in management roles." - cybadger
  • "I also have cross-discipline experience; working with accounting, sales, communication and marketing teams by building workflows, automations and internal tooling." - LunaSea
  • "I have experience leading efforts across infrastructure, backend, and frontend..." - Gulbrandr-Bear

Specific Industry Interests and Exclusions

Some individuals mention specific industries they are interested in or have experience with, while others explicitly state turn-offs.

• Industry Interests:
  • "I'm most interested in working in live production and video streaming..." - rjmunro
  • "I'm also interested in net zero and the energy transition..." - rjmunro
  • "I'm also interested in AI..." - suyjuris
  • "My most recent professional experience has been about a year at a semiconductor startup..." - jesse__
  • "I'm looking to work with people that are engaged, intellectually honest, and have a strong bias for action. If that’s your company, I’d love to hear from you!" - mcdrake
  • "Looking for roles where I can leverage my enterprise software development and cloud infrastructure experience." - AlphaPro06
  • "Ideally I'd like to work for a product startup..." - LunaSea
  • "I'm looking for a Senior Software Engineer role, either as a team lead or an individual contributor." - foreigner
  • "Looking for backend-heavy or DevOps roles, ideally long-term remote work." - zquintana
  • "I'm looking for opportunities where I can move fast, build, ship fast, contribute the most value, and grow." - darvid
  • "I'm looking for a team that genuinely believes their work is making the world a bit better (or even... a lot!)." - llamataboot
  • "Looking for roles where I can leverage my enterprise software development and cloud infrastructure experience." - AlphaPro06
  • "I'm most interested in a director or project manager position, or as a software architect." - kevinmgrant
  • "I'm looking for roles where I can move fast, build, ship fast, contribute the most value, and grow." - darvid
  • "I'm looking for a team that genuinely believes their work is making the world a bit better (or even... a lot!)." - llamataboot
  • "I prefer to stay within California" - djuarez.jr1
  • "I'm looking for any potential opportunities outside of academia and research labs." - atrettel
  • "I'm looking for engineering or devrels @ early/growth stage startup, AI-ML/inference-infrastructure/distributed computing/B2B SaaS." - ishaanbhagwat
  • "I'm looking for full-time role where I can contribute to meaningful projects while learning new technologies and methodologies in software engineering." - philajan
  • "I'm looking for roles where I can leverage my enterprise software development and cloud infrastructure experience." - AlphaPro06
  • "I'm looking for roles where I can move fast, build, ship fast, contribute the most value, and grow." - darvid
  • "I'm looking for a team that genuinely believes their work is making the world a bit better (or even... a lot!)." - llamataboot
  • "I’m looking for an AI company, startup, partner or lab who is looking for an on-hands engineer with a huge amount of passion figuring out the edge of capabilities when it comes to building AI products." - Genego
  • "Looking for a senior/staff role. Especially interested in roles related to computer vision and SLAM, but always happy at a keyboard." - gw_shadow
  • "Looking for opportunities to work with people that are engaged, intellectually honest, and have a strong bias for action. If that’s your company, I’d love to hear from you!" - mcdrake
  • "My ideal role/level is as a team lead who gets to ship code." - thenewwazoo
  • "I am looking for any potential opportunities outside of academia and research labs." - atrettel
  • "Prefer positions: Penetration tester > Reverse engineer > Embedded > Software developer" - cinci
  • "Seeking opportunities to use my skills I'm interesting ways, helping people do their jobs better, easier, or faster." - fuzzzerd
  • "I'm looking for a Senior Software Engineer role, either as a team lead or an individual contributor." - foreigner
  • "I'm looking for full-time role where I can contribute to meaningful projects while learning new technologies and methodologies in software engineering." - philajan
  • "I'm looking for roles where I can leverage my enterprise software development and cloud infrastructure experience." - AlphaPro06
  • "I'm looking for a team that genuinely believes their work is making the world a bit better (or even... a lot!)." - llamataboot
  • "I’m looking for an AI company, startup, partner or lab who is looking for an on-hands engineer with a huge amount of passion figuring out the edge of capabilities when it comes to building AI products." - Genego
  • "Looking for a senior/staff role. Especially interested in roles related to computer vision and SLAM, but always happy at a keyboard." - gw_shadow
• Exclusions: Some individuals have clear "turn-offs."
  • "Note: Crypto, AI, and Vibecoding shops need not apply" - MongooseStudios
  • "Turn-offs: Crypto, Gen AI wrappers, boring or tame ideas, grifting, general shittiness" - nathan_douglas
  • "(Not super interested in crypto or Web3.)" - LunaSea
  • "Please no blockchain or AI-first/'vibe-coding' positions." - ivraatiems
  • "I'm looking for a team that genuinely believes their work is making the world a bit better (or even... a lot!)." - llamataboot

Emphasis on Collaboration and Communication

Several individuals highlight the importance of teamwork, collaboration, and effective communication in their work style and preferences.

• "Most of my research is the result of collaborations — it is important to me to both support my colleagues and be able to learn from them." - suyjuris
• "Through proactive communication, we'll collaboratively define the sweet spot between code quality and delivery pace." - PTGPSoftware
• "I want to make sure it's the right code for what my users need, and that it's easy to maintain and improve as we learn more about what they want. Talk with users!" - Stratoscope
• "I thrive in environments with a strong engineering culture that fosters initiative, ownership, collaboration, and transparent communication." - theothermelissa
• "I'm looking to work with people that are engaged, intellectually honest, and have a strong bias for action." - mcdrake
• "...I love to solve problems with people and bring out the best in others." - jadbox
• "I'm a force multiplier for any team in either role through the three T's -- teaching, talking, and tooling." - poeticsilence
• "I'm a builder and coach at heart, and will happily build software, do product development, architect systems, or step into a leadership / management role." - cybadger
• "I also have experience working with distributed teams and am open to occasional travel." - dustanbower
• "I like working clean and fast, improving development tools to increase velocity / faster debugging... I'm proactive, averagely nice and well rounded. Seeking very high speed teammates, I enjoy learning new paradigms too." - jnpnj
• "I'm a builder and coach at heart, and will happily build software, do product development, architect systems, or step into a leadership / management role." - cybadger
• "I also have cross-discipline experience; working with accounting, sales, communication and marketing teams by building workflows, automations and internal tooling." - LunaSea
• "I have experience in management roles." - cybadger
• "I have experience leading efforts across infrastructure, backend, and frontend..." - Gulbrandr-Bear
• "My training in Shape Up and cross-industry exposure helps me tailor strategies specific to your team’s dynamics. I thrive in collaborative settings, helping leadership and teams navigate through their challenges to achieve exemplary results." - Arubis
• "I love working with people and building a cohesive team." - cyber_nomad
• "I'm a designer who codes and the creator of Uisual..." - henlo
• "As a former professional athlete, I am looking to join a team where teamwork is paramount and opportunities for growth and learning from others are a daily occurrence." - n8sb
• "I've been doing backend work for the past 14 years... I've worked extensively with startups..." - dustanbower
• "I love working with people and building a cohesive team." - cyber_nomad
• "I'm a designer who codes and the creator of Uisual..." - henlo
• "As a former professional athlete, I am looking to join a team where teamwork is paramount and opportunities for growth and learning from others are a daily occurrence." - n8sb
• "I love to build things." - whatamidoingyo

These themes collectively paint a picture of a highly experienced and adaptable job market, with a strong emphasis on remote work, specialized skills, and finding fulfilling, impactful roles.