Unspecified: Ruby on Rails Developer

Some unspecified company is apparently looking for a Ruby on Rails developer in Toronto:

We are a Toronto-based software development company looking for someone who is passionate about writing software. You will be working with a small team of Ruby/Rails developers where your input will have a direct impact on the outcome of a project.

Inquiring to get a little more information got me nowhere; not sure if this is a sign that there’s no-one on the other end, it’s email harvesting, or there’s a live job, and they just don’t want to give me any more information.

The Good
Rails, git, Merb, JQuery.  Ruby’s your thing, sounds like a reasonable stack.

The Bad
Who are they?  What are they doing, and what are they using to make it happen?  Where would you fit in?  What do you get in return?  It’s all open to question.  Plus, the complete lack of response to inquiry is mildly suspicious.

YMMV
For some, Ruby on Rails is already off the beaten track, and Merb is over the cliff.  That said, if you weren’t interested in being on the edge, why would you be looking at a Ruby job at all?  No matter how much it’s grown, it’s still not the ’safe’ choice.

In Summary
I’m a little wary the lack of response to my email, but if you’re looking for a Rails and Merb job in Toronto, you might have to take what you can find, and perhaps you’ll have more luck than I did.  If you do, report back and let us know what you find, willya?

“Web 2.0 Shop”: Java/Ruby Developer

A company who describes themselves as a “Web 2.0 Shop” is looking for a Java / Ruby developer:

You will be developing web 2.0 type applications for the web and mobile handsets using Java/J2EE/J2ME and Ruby on Rails primarily in an Agile (paired-programming, test-driven development) environment. You will also be using other new technologies such as AJAX in order to deliver the richest user experience possible.

The posting describes the company as follows:

a small, growing Web 2.0 development shop that also has a venture fund component to their business. They are investing in, and helping clients/partners rapidly bring products to market

The Good
What’s actually there sounds reasonable. A startup environment, Java/Ruby technology. Venture-funding might imply there’s backing finance.

The Bad
There’s not a lot of information here. Agile rates a mention, but it doesn’t go much deeper than that. The posting seems to have been written by someone who’s aware of a variety of technologies, but it’s not clear how GWT and Ruby on Rails would be assembled into a single application in a useful way (it can be done, but I’m not entirely sure it’s a good idea). There’s literally no clear reference to the company, the compensation or the work.

YMMV
Not everyone wants a startup, and not everyone’s fond of J2ME. Those are areas you’ll want to ponder. There’s also a mention of 25% travel, which could be quite a bit (e.g. a week a month, or a day or two per week).

In Summary
If you’ve got Java and Ruby expertise and want to exercise it for a “Web 2.0″ startup, I guess you might want more information. If that sounds like you, contact the original poster. For the rest of you, there’s just not enough there to give this a strong recommendation.

Telus: Software Specialist

Telus is looking for a Software Specialist with both Ruby and Java experience:

a Web Application Developer to design, develop, implement, test and document a enhancements and bug fixes for the Assurent Vulnerability Research Portal (VR Portal). The VR Portal is a key component of the VR service delivery infrastructure and is accessed by our global customer base which includes leading security product vendors, software and high-tech manufacturers, telecommunications providers, and large enterprise customers.

The Good
There aren’t a lot of big companies that are posting opportunities to work on both Java and Rails, and here’s an opportunity where experience in both is a positive.

The Bad
Despite the fact that Telus is looking for someone with some leadership experience, they use the roles “web developer” and “specialist” and are only looking for five years experience, all of which tend to be cues that they don’t intend to pay a lot of money. If you’ve got a fair amount of experience, you might find this doesn’t have the compensation you’re used to, so talk to Telus about the compensation before you waste too much time.

There isn’t much information on the role and there’s basically nothing on the compensation, location, process.

YMMV
Some of you would probably love to work for a big company like Telus, others amongst you were probably ready to move on to the next listing as soon as you saw the name. I don’t know anyone who works for Telus, but not everyone wants to work for a big company.

They mention Altova. Every time I have to use an Altova tool, I break out in hives, although some of my past colleagues seemed enamoured by XML Spy in ways that I don’t entirely understand.

In Summary
If you’d like a job with a big company, but still be able to do development in both Java and Ruby, Telus may be the company for you. Talk to them about Salary before you get too deep.

Apptastics: Ruby on Rails Developer

Apptastics is looking for a Ruby on Rails developer in Philadelphia, PA, San Francisco, CA, or remote:

We’re currently operating in stealth mode. We are looking for 1-3 full-time developers who are well versed in ROR who want to immerse themselves completely into our apps and help lead the development.

Ideally you should have strong experience developing with Rails, have successfully deployed a publicly accessible rails based website, have expertise in relational database design and optimization, experience with deploying and scaling production Rails applications, a detailed approach in design, coding and testing, familiarity with a broad range of web technologies including ajax, javascript, CSS, XML, open APIs.

Experience with social networking app implementations is a bonus.

Their idea of remote might be still be in the United States of America. Canada might be more remote than they have in mind. That said, if this sounds like your opportunity, there’s no harm in asking, right?

Zazengo: Senior Ruby Developer

Zazengo is looking for a Senior Ruby Developer

Zazengo is seeking the right person to take our technical team and
platform from pre-beta through launch and scaling to sustainable
profitability. The right candidate will combine the following:

• An excellent working knowledge (and love) of programming in Ruby and
Ruby on Rails. Up-to-date on latest Edge Rails technology and tools

• A strong understanding of emerging web technologies and practices
including widgets, advertising engines, RSS/Atom feeds, CMS tools,
social network connectivity, APIs, and standards including OpenId and
OpenSocial, especially in regards to their implementation using Ruby
and Rails.

The Good
There’s a lot of interesting bits in the posting.  It looks like Zazengo is into empowering not-for-profits, so, again, a good cause.

They’re working with interesting technology: Edge (Ruby on) Rails, Git, OpenSocial, OpenId, RSS.  They’re looking for someone with good writing/speaking skills, so community involvement may be a factor.  They seem to be test-driven, with mentions of Test::Unit and RSpec.

Mostly, it sounds like fun.

The Bad
There’s not much information about compensation.  Since Ruby jobs tend to vary significantly in compensation, I inquired, but received no response.  I’m not sure if you should read into that, so I’ll let you decide.  They’re looking for someone senior, current with edge rails, and up to speed on a lot of technology, so I’d hope they’d compensate accordingly, but not all startups can afford to, particularly those working with not-for-profits.

There’s not a ton of detail about the process or the company, so you may want to probe on those.

YMMV
They’re a distributed/virtual team, and that might mean working from home.  Some people will love the idea, others will dislike it.

In Summary
If you’re looking for edge rails work and willing to work in a distributed team for a good cause, it’s worth having a deeper conversation with Zazengo about their compensation, process and the company.

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.

Savvica: Expert Rails Engineer

Savvica has three ‘expert rails engineers‘ and they’re looking to add a fourth:

the best coder you know.

self-taught.

very hardworking. (This is an all-or-nothing startup.)

not scared of anything: Linux, SQL, CSS, Javascript, Erlang, whatever!

Savvica describes themselves as “a game-changing educational technology company that will improve access and quality of education around the world”

The Good
The company has a very strong developer-friendly startup feel to it.  They talk about technology, they have Rails blog, they contribute to open source.  They have macs, they send you to RubyConf.

They have a visible product that you, the potential candidate, can play with in LearnHub, a “social learning network where people teach and learn online.”  It’s a consumer product, so if you work on it, you can easily show it to your friends and family.

The technology is Ruby and Rails with TDD.

They’re lcoated on Spadina, between Queen and King, a vibrant neighbourhood with ships and restaurants, as well as expensive gyms and condos.

There’s lots to like here.

The Bad
Really, I don’t have many complaints, and most of the ones I can imagine probably fall into a ‘Your Mileage May Vary’ category instead, such as the compensation.

There’s really very little in the posting about the role, the work, the compensation, the process.  Some of that is natural effect of being a small startup — there may be very little in the way of defined roles and process, it’s just a team trying to get the job done, but it does mean you’ll want to ask some of those things if you speak to Savvica.

YMMV
When I last spoke with Savvica in detail, their salary expectations were neither terrifically low nor terrifically high.  They were hoping to attract developers who could afford to work on a slightly lower salary in return for options/equity in the long run.  That approach can work well in the long run, but it’s not a perfect match for everyone in the near term.  If the rest of the opportunity sounds perfect for you, then I suggest you talk them in more detail and cover the topic of compensation.

Although their posted 88.2% test coverage certainly isn’t bad, and does demonstrate their commitment to testing,  my experience was that, in Rails, with less unlikely-exception-handling and boilerplate getter-and-setter code than Java, it wasn’t hard to get pretty close to 100%.  That said, I haven’t seen their codebase and coverage numbers in detail, and, to be honest, a near-90% coverage is nothing to complain about.

It’s a small startup.  Not everyone’s looking for small or startup.

In Summary
Savvica’s an interesting place.  I spoke briefly with John Philip Green last year, but my outrageous salary expectations (and a family to support who can’t eat options) weren’t a great fit.

If you’re interested in doing Rails in the downtown core, and the compensation is a good match for you, it’s seems worth further investigation.  If you do check it out, be sure and read CTO John Philip Green’s ‘11 Tips on Hiring a Rails Programmer‘ so that you know what to expect.

Wishabi: Software Development Engineer

Wishabi is looking for a Software Development Engineer to help them develop a product to simplify the shopping experience using Ruby on Rails to develop some kind of wishlist:

We’re looking for a bright, energetic, and dedicated rock-star developer who is a great team player and who will be a core contributor to our development team. You will need a good sense of humor (we like joking around) and strong skills in application and server-side development and experience. Interest in designing and building systems from the ground up is a big plus.

The Good
Ruby on Rails and cloud computing sounds interesting (looks like they might be using the facebook platform, and possibly EC2?). Wishabi sounds like they have a simple and direct approach to development and a small, tightly-knit team, whether or not they call it agile. They’re also looking for a ‘few talented people’, so that might mean you can work with someone you already know and trust.

The Bad
They’re pretty far out, location-wise, at 427 and Burnhamthorpe. There’s no talk about the compensation, and as always, that tends to be a weak point for startups.

It’d be nice to understand their product a little more clearly, but if you’re interested, it sounds like you can beta their software on the Facebook platform.

YMMV
Your mileage may vary on the location. If you’re in the west end, or somewhere west of Toronto, a 427 and Burnhamthorpe address might well be a great choice for you, compared to the downtown core. It seems pretty accessible by highway, and it’s not completely out of the question for subway-goers from the west end who could take a short bus ride from Islington.

In Summary
This actually looks pretty interesting to me, particularly if you’re already in the west end or commuting via the 427.  I’d want to try out their beta application and form an opinion about it, and I’d need to understand their compensation before going any farther.

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.

The Hive: Ruby on Rails

The Hive is looking for a Ruby on Rails developer and they’re putting word on the street through several recruiters.  They’re looking for someone with a pretty in-depth background in Ruby and Rails, but if that’s your thing, and you don’t mind working from home, they may be worth a call:

Strong experience developing in the Ruby on Rails framework with operational examples of prior work.
Strong understanding of MySQL 4.1 and beyond
Background in developing for GNU/Linux or Unix-like platforms for mission-critical production deployments
Operational code published and still in production
Strong analytical and logical thinking capability
Must have excellent layout and design abilities
Strong experience developing for Mac OS X

Always A Plus
Object oriented programming experience in PHP with operational examples of prior work
Experience with MySQL 5.x, MySQL replication, MySQL Cluster
High-availability and scalable network service deployment
Expertise with MVC, HTML, CSS2, Javascript, AJAX, Templating, caching, sessions, and authentication
GNU/Linux optimization, security and network administration
Secure coding practices
Experience with running Apache or other Unix-based web servers in a production environment

The Hive’s website goes into some details about the company, but this posting doesn’t:

Our Client is a virtual organization. They log in from their homes, nearby offices, one of theirglobal office locations, or wherever they have an internet connection.

The Good
Well, they’re a little cagey about salary, but the rest of the package sounds pretty generous (full benefits, dual 30″ displays, etc.), so this side may pan out in the end.  After all, they don’t have the overhead cost of office space, which adds up fast.

The Bad
Their biggest and baddest application seems to be a dating service.  That’s not everyone’s cup of tea.  Much like Toronto’s ALM, you may have to decide if this is work you want to do.

The posting is pretty low on information in all categories.  You’re basically going to have to follow up if you’re interested to get enough information just to find out what the role is, what the compensation is, what the work will be, etc.

YMMV
I’m not sure how everyone feels about working from home.  Some people see it as a plus, many people seem to feel it’s a negative.

In Summary
If you think you’ve got the background and the chops to impress them with your operational ruby expertise, and you’re willing to work from home, it seems worth further investigation, but it’s hard to offer anything more concrete than that.  It is, at least, intriguing.