FreshBooks: Software Developer

FreshBooks is looking for a Software Developer.  Normally, I’d segueway right into a description of the job here, but there’s a pleasing backstory here that’ll set up the rest of this post.  A few months ago, I wrote about the job of Agile Web Development Manager for FreshBooks, and Corey Reid saw that posting, responded, and got the job, which he seems to be enjoying.

Now that he/they are looking to grow the team by adding a Software Developer, he’s come full circle by letting me know there’s another job at FreshBooks open, if I’m interested in posting about it.  And, indeed, I am.  Partly because of the backstory: A toronto technology jobs reader gets one of the posted jobs, then comes back to suggest new postings for the new company.  But also, because I’m impressed by FreshBooks.

Here’s what they’re looking for:

We need fresh-thinking, disciplined developers who don’t sneer at scripting languages but also know their enterprise-level design. In return, we supply a stable, creative environment (want a Mac? got Ubuntu? No problem!) with a competitive compensation package, and the sort of collaboration that comes out of just wanting to get things done, not from the latest IEEE-mandated “best practice”.

[D]esigning and developing our popular online application and the tools we use to run our business behind the scenes — you should be able to figure out what that entails. You’ll learn hands-on about our industry and our customers, and you’ll be figuring out how to make them happy, and then going ahead and doing it.

• 3 years’ experience building online applications
• 2-3 years experience with object-oriented development
• Serious SQL chops
• Communication skills like whoa (you better be able to talk to customers on the phone (yes, we talk to our customers on the phone))

FreshBooks describes themselves this way:

Love the fast-paced and creative environment of a start-up, but could do without the stress and chaos?  FreshBooks has been around for more than five years now and has a fanatical fan base of over 400,000 people who use our groundbreaking Web 2.0 application.

Personally, I’ve used FreshBooks’ product, found it easy to use and more than capable for the simple tasks I threw at it.  I think they’ve done an excellent job getting potential customers in the door through the freemiuim model, and then potentially getting revenue as their little fish grow in the way they use the product.  I’m inclined to believe that if FreshBooks keeps at it, they’re almost certainly going places (although perhaps they’re already “getting places”, I can’t say.

The Good
First and foremost, I think FreshBooks is an interesting company that stands a reasonable chance at success.  And, although I’ve only had a few conversations with him, Corey Reid seems like a nice enough guy, with a sense of humor, but also an earnestness about making a difference.

Secondly, because their application is public and easy to access, you can try the thing out before you apply for the job.  That’s rare, in Toronto.  Using it and building it are different, but it’s nice to get some sense of what you might be working on.

The Bad
Well, it’s a startup, so even with reasonable funding, there’s a question as to the compensation.  Although “competitive compensation package” implies it might not be awful, that also doesn’t mean it’s good.  They’re not looking for tons of experience, so that might be another cue with respect to the salary.  You’ll have to talk to them to sort this out.

And, despite some gentle prodding from me, there are still things I don’t know about the job, some of which might matter to you.  For instance, there’s limited references to specific technology.  Last I heard, this was a PHP shop, but there have been occasional Ruby references, so it’s hard to feel like I’ve got a concrete story to tell you in that regard.  The role, company and work seem to get reasonable descriptions.

YMMV
The location’s probably good for some, bad for others.  At roughly Glencairn and Dufferin, I’m inclined to say that it’s not ideal for a TTC commute.  If you’re not already midtown, uptown, or in the burbs, that location’s probably both inconvenient and lacking in the little touches that a great neighbourhood can offer.  That said, if you’re vehicle-commuting, or not too far away from that location already, it might be a good fit.  Besides, in your lunch hours, you can do some shopping for design stuff on Castlefield and deals up on Cartwright and Orfus.

Working in a startup’s not for everyone.  If you’re hoping for the kind of environment where you can spend a week surfing Slashdot before someone notices you’re done the last thing they asked you to do, you want to work for a bank, not FreshBooks.  I’m not going to go on and on about the differences between a startup job and an enterprise job, but they exist, and there are both good and bad sides to the coin.

In Summary
If this sounds good to you, and the location works, then I’d be happy to recommend you drop them a line.  I’ll let Cory Reid know when this post comes up, so if you have questions you want to fire off here, feel free to post a comment, and I’ll see if I can get him to respond.

Fiver Media: Technical Team Lead

So far, no WWDC announcements of new mac-book pros, so I may have to choose between the great high-res screen of the large 17″ MBP and the less-great, but less-expensive screen on the reasonably-sized 15″ MBP.  Once that happens, posting rates should uptick again.

Fiver Media is looking for a Technical Team Lead:

Design, develop, and manage all technical aspects of the project, including:

• Development and review of technical requirements
• High-level design and architecture
• Assignment of work to team
• Coach and mentor other developers
• Conduct performance reviews
• Represent team in management meetings
• Code reviews as well as doing some coding yourself

Fiver Media seems anxious to portray themselves as fun:

There was a small team that tried “dress-up Thursdays” and that only lasted a few weeks!  The last thing we want is a working environment where eight bosses are asking for “TPS” reports, like yesterday. Fiver is professional, but never corporate. In fact we don’t even like saying that word. It’s evil. We laugh and play hard, but always work harder

The Good
Companies that work hard to be fun are often, in fact, fun places to work.  I’ve worked at a few, and I enjoyed many aspects of that environment.

There’s not a lot of information on the technology, but this employee testimonial from their website implies they might be doing some interesting things:

“I find myself working with things I had only read about and never expected to use, like massively virtual environments and extreme density blades.”

Then again, the only hit on ‘extreme density blades’ is their website, so perhaps that testimonial doesn’t go as far as I’d like, even if blade density is something that vendors talk about.

They’re located over by Wellington/Simcoe, which is both pretty central and yet still in a nice area for shopping, food, etc.  They’re on the 16th floor, so they may have nice views.

The Bad
The thing that stands out right away is that their website is directed to the potential employee.  They don’t talk about their clients, and they don’t talk about the work.  That’s often indicative of an industry that not everyone wants to work in (e.g. gambling, porn).  I don’t know what Fiver Media does, but I’m suspicious of anyone who isn’t busy trying to tell me what they do.  Looks like it’s a gaming shop, affiliated with bodog with all that entails.

There’s not much information.  The role is reasonably well described, the work, the compensation are barely mentioned, and the process, while it does rate a mention, doesn’t get much more than that.

YMMV
Your mileage will definitely vary when it comes to working for a gaming company.  I know people who are dead-set against it, and others who don’t really know what they think.  I’ve heard my share of war stories from a colleague who used to work for a company that did online poker.

Some companies work hard to be fun because they’ve elected to use that, rather than cash, as a motivating factor.  As a result, some of those companies don’t pay very well compared to their corporate brethren.  Other companies work so hard to be fun that they’re willing to continue to employ people who aren’t getting the job done, which can be frustrating.  I don’t know that Fiver Media is or isn’t like that, but those are some areas where your mileage may vary.

Ultimately, as a gaming shop, my first instinct is that they pay reasonably well and are a reasonably fun place to work in an industry that’s a little sketchy and not to everyone’s taste.

In Summary
If working for a company involved in online gambling doesn’t bother you, Fiver Media might be your thing.  They’ve got a nice location, and they imply that they’re a fun place to work.  There’s not a lot of detail, but if that much sounds good, you could certainly inquire about the rest.

Logitech: Sr. Manager, Software Program Management

Logitech is looking for a Senior Manager, Software Program Management, and apparently feels strongly about Scrum:

He/She will be responsible for building a high performance, agile project management and engineering services organization. This senior role is a member of the Customer and Platform Services group building leading edge internet-based customer services for the Logitech Harmony Remote product lines.

The Good
It’s a chance to work closely with a large company on a successful product line. It sounds like a serious and transformative role where you may get the opportunity to really drive Scrum at Logitech, or at least at this location. Assuming you do so successfully, this seems like a good resume-builder.

The Bad
As far as I can tell, you’d have to work in an industrial park in Mississauga. I’ve worked in that area before, and it’s a bit of a wasteland. You’d have to be a vehicle-commuter, and you’d probably want to be coming from the west or northwest.

If you’re willing to work out there, you might also want to ask yourself if you’d rather work for Wishabi, or RIM.

Then there’s the usual lack of detailed information. The role, process and technology have some definition, although not tons. The work, compensation and location are almost completely undefined, although I’ve obviously guessed about the location.

YMMV
There’s a .NET reference in there. Some of you might be enthused about .NET, some not.

If you’re coming from the west or northwest, possibly even the north, this might be a convenient, if dull, location. For the rest of us this location is both very inconvenient and dull.

I don’t imagine there’s much hands-on development in this role. For some, that might be a concern.

In Summary
If you believe strongly in agile processes, know a bit about Scrum and .NET and live in the west, north or northwest, this may be just the thing for you.

mdlogix: Ruby on Rails Software Engineer

mdlogix is looking for a Ruby on Rails Software Engineer:

You will be embedded in a small Scrum team, working closely with your teammates, the Product Owner, and the Scrum Master to leverage Ruby on Rails and deliver innovative medical research support software. You will use your exceptional skills and experience in web development to create dynamic functionality.

The Good
They’re a relatively small company using Ruby on Rails to work on medical research software, which seems like a good cause.  They’ve got some expertise with Rails in-house, including Virtuous Code’s Avdi Grimm (’Monkey-Patching is Destroying Ruby‘).  And they’ve just brought on a soon-to-be-ex-colleague of mine, who’s a nice chap (yes, he has some British background), so you could work with him.

The Bad
Well, for starters, there’s not a lot of information in their posting.  Where’s the Toronto location?  What kind of compensation do they offer?  What might you be working on?  What’s their process like in detail?  There’s a pile of things a candidate would like to know, and clearly you’re going to have to open discussions before you’ll find out.

Secondly, after some initial conversations, I was able to determine that while mdlogix salaries are pretty good compared to many Rails salaries in Toronto, they still lag behind the high end of the positions for doing Java work, so depending on your background, you might need to verify or alter your expectations.

YMMV
Your mileage may vary about having to start a conversation with mdlogix before you can find out the basics about where they are and what you might be working on.

I believe they’re located near Queen and Spadina, right next to b5media.  As I said for b5:

Their location’s good and bad; Spadina and Queen is a fine place to hang around, get lunch, have some fun.  Depending on where you live, though it’s an awkward place to commute to.  The Spadina car and Queen car are both sluggish during rush hour, and it’s just far enough from the subway line to make walking a healthy, yet time-consuming exercise on a twice-daily basis.  It’s not incredibly far from the highways, but it’s far enough and on a slow-enough thoroughfare that getting from the Gardiner to Queen/Spadina is often irritatingly slow.

In Summary
If you want a Rails job in Toronto, I wouldn’t suggest you leave stones unturned, and I suspect you’ll find that mdlogix isn’t a bad choice, but ultimately, you’re going to have to talk to them to find that out.

FreshBooks: Agile Web Development Manager

FreshBooks, a local web startup for invoicing, is looking for an Agile Web Development Manager:

The Good
It’s a local startup. Their product (a slick, yet simple invoicing system) is easy to use, seems to have built up a community, and has a lot of potential to expand. There’s a lot of promise in all of that. They seem to use agile methods to aim for high-quality, frequently-shipped software in Ruby on Rails. By aiming to do more with less, it feels like the kind of company that will pay attention to principles like YAGNI, and ‘the simplest solution that will work’ rather than building up a large and unwieldy team to develop features that nobody really wants.

The role seems to be a rolled-up combination of agile coach, product manager and development manager. In a large organization, I’m not sure I’d agree that this is a perfect combination, as there may be some conflicts of interest, but for a startup, it’s probably a necessary kind of role-compression. As long as they find the right candidate, it should be doable. It is, at least, senior, and a chance to shape a startup development team.

The Bad
Many people would probably consider their location out-of-the-way. It’s basically at Glencairn and Dufferin. While this isn’t horrifically far off the subway line, it’s pretty far Northwest for people in downtown or midtown, and even those in uptown locations that aren’t easily on the University/Spadina subway line might be less than enthused. I don’t know the area, so I can’t speak to it. If you’re near the University/Spadina line, particularly north of Bloor, or north of Glencairn, even, it might even be a good location.

They don’t talk about the work much — so unless you’ve used FreshBooks before, you may have no idea what the work actually is. Even having used their software, the posting doesn’t make it clear that you’re going to be working on their invoicing product.

There’s no talk of compensation, and although they’re four years old, they still seem to feel as if they’re in startup mode, so it’s not clear that compensation will be a strong point. Worth probing further.

YMMV
Your mileage may vary on the location; if you’re northwest yourself, this might appeal. Some people aren’t looking for a startup atmosphere, although I prefer that atmosphere myself.

In Summary
Frankly, if you can stomach the location and you’d like to be managing an agile team in Ruby, this sounds pretty good. This is tempting to me, and I really don’t like their location. I’m assuming someone in the Northwest will be all over this. Do find out about compensation before you get too deep, and feel free to report back for the rest of us.

Little Bites: Oyster Tech, East York, CPNI Agile Tester

Oyster Tech is out of Massachusetts, but looking to fill an Architect position in Toronto.  Odd.  If I had more telecom background, I might inquire just to learn why.

Inteqna is helping someone look for a Senior Java Developer in East York.  I’m curious who the company is, since East York might be awfully convenient for some people I know.

I won’t pretend I know what Test Engineers are looking for in a job, and this location (Burnhamthorpe/427) is just awful for me, but there’s enough little bits of interest in CPNI’s Agile Software Test Engineer to pass it on to those of you looking for something just like that.

Oracle/OnDemand CRM: Software Development Manager

Oracle is looking for a software development manager to work with their OnDemand CRM team:

We are looking for an experienced, energetic manager to lead our applications team (approximately 12 developers). This person should share our passion about creating industry changing applications that are focused on our end users.  This position will entail responsibility for end to end application development and delivery including development, QA, PSR, & Operations. This role will also require close coordination with many other groups in Oracle including Product Management, Customer Care, Legal, etc.

The Good
From the sounds of things, it’s a senior role in a good-sized team of people working on relatively modern technology to deliver large-scale products that people are interested in, that the large company that owns this team supports, using agile methods.

There’s a lot to be impressed by, in that list.

The Bad
First of all, there’s not a ton of detail.  What’s the team like, what are the projects, are people really interested in them, and does Oracle really support them.  What’s it like to work at this location, is it really a small-company feel with big-company resources, or a big-company feel with small-company resources?  What’s the compensation?

And to the specifics — there’s a reference about multiple time zones.  If you’ve got a team of twelve and you’re managing them in an agile fashion, why are time-zones a requirement?  Is this agile team of twelve spread about the globe?

YMMV
First and foremost, the location is steeles and the 404, which is well outside of Toronto, and depending where you live, either convenient, or ludicrous.  For me, it’d be the latter.

Well, although your immediate connection is with the local team, the overall company is Oracle.  For some people, that might sound just-about-perfect: the resources of the big company when you need it, and a small place to hang your hat and make a mark.  To others, that might sound like the sort of place where your office is too small to offer daycare and free meals, but there’s thirty-sheets of paperwork to fill out any time you want to shift one developer from one project to another.  One of you is likely more right than the other, but I can’t tell you which one.

Finally, Flex: it’s an interesting technology, and I expect we’re all going to see more of it, but it’s a bit of a bear to work with in automated testing, which could be a problem for an agile team.

Summary
This looks tailor-made for someone who’s uptown already (or at least mid-town) when they start their day, and is willing to work for a company that sounds like Oracle.

Decisioning Solutions: Senior Java/J2EE Developer

Decisioning Solutions is looking for a Senior Java/J2EE Developer:

• Translate functional and non-functional requirements into robust implementations
• Enhance the design of the existing code base
• Perform implementations to specification in a timely fashion
• Ensure exceptional code quality and thorough testing (both at unit and system integration level) on every newly developed feature
• Participate in the design and planning process with the Development Manager and the rest of the Development team
• Regularly liaise with Project Management and Senior Business Analyst teams to ensure customer needs are met and highest level of service and support maintained

The Good
The location’s pretty good. Central and easily accessed by TTC, good shopping and food about. Not ideal for motorized transit (or cycling). The compensation is, they claim, industry-leading. There’s some implication that the process might be agile: “Extreme Programming (TDD, Continuous Integration/Build, Weekly Iterations, Retrospectives, …).”

The Bad
There’s not a lot of detail there about the compensation, beyond the ‘industry-leading’ bit. There’s not a lot of detail about the project work involved.

The company website looks as if it’s been populated with stock photos and gives the impression of a small company that doesn’t really know how to market itself (company name, product names), but at the same time, they seem to be successful enough, at least from their news feed. It’s hard to really get a feel for the company and their work.

I’m a little worried that the developer position talks about agile methods, but the IT Project Manager position doesn’t seem to have the same kind of descriptions. Hard to imagine that it’s easy to do a good job of XP if you’re being project-managed by someone with PMP education and no agile leanings.

Conclusions
Although the compensation is claimed to be ‘industry-leading’, there’s not a lot of detail about what that actually means. Personally, I think salary has to be >= $100k to justify that title, but that’s because I know there are occasionally developer postings listed (and accepted) at $110k-$120k in Toronto. Alternately, the remainder of the compensation has got to be pretty stellar, say six weeks vacation and RSP matching.

If you’re looking for a senior developer position, this is a moderately interesting one. If the compensation is, as they suggest, ‘industry leading’, then it might well be worth closer examination.

Little Bites: .NET/Java Technical Lead, Intelliware Architect, Java Developer

Robert Half is looking for a Technical Lead with good experience in both .NET and Java, with decent listed compensation. There’s not a lot of details there, and the technology stack leans toward .NET, but if that’s your bent and you’d like to consider getting paid $90-115k, I’m sure Robert Half would like to hear from you.

Looks like Bevertec is trying to help Intelliware find that architect.

This posting seems to be casting the net pretty wide.  A Java developer looking for a fun working environment with some basic technology requirements.  If anyone responds to this, do let me know what it is, I’m morbidly curious.

Technical Lead (via Dunhill)

Dunhill is helping someone (company unspecified) look for a Technical Lead:

• [T]o manage an existing software development team building large, high volume solutions using J2EE technologies
• A SCRUM-Master certification, XP-coach, or other experience with agile methods is necessary, complemented with software engineering knowledge
• Extensive experience with Java, J2ME, JUnit, Fitnesse, JMS, EJB, Web Services, Web Applications, Hibernate
• Strong technical and non-technical communication skills: familiarity with presenting and explaining technical concepts to a variety of audiences
• Experience working with company executives, shareholders, and directors an asset

The Good
There’s not a lot of detail about the technology stack, but what’s there looks good, for the most part.  (I’ll touch on EJB in the next section).

It looks as if they take testing seriously, and agile methods, both of which are positive signs.

The Bad
The base problem is that there’s not a lot of information.  What’s the company?  What do they do?  What’s the project?  Is there an existing team?  Are they any good?  What are the details of technology and process?  What’s the location?  What’s the compensation like?
As far as technology goes, there’s a reference to EJB here.  EJB’s not a technology I’m overjoyed to use, although if it’s EJB 3.0, I could possibly live with it.  I’m not sure if this is legacy code they have in place, or a long-term technology choice.  If they take testing seriously, EJB is a bit of a bear because it tends to require in-container testing, or strategies to mitigate the fact that it’s difficult to test enterprise java beans.

I’m also a little concerned about this phrase: “excellent opportunity for a highly skilled technical person with some management skills to move to the next step.”  That phrase could imply that they’re looking for someone with less experience that they can get at a lower cost.  Or they may just be willing to consider people with more talent than experience, it’s hard to say.

Conclusions
Not much detail here, but what’s here is interesting, for the most part.  You’d need to probe more to form an informed opinion: learn about the company, the project, the team, the location.  Still, if you can get past EJB, it feels like the basics might be sound.