CPNI: Manager of Software Development

CPNI is looking for a Manager of Software Development:

We are seeking top candidates for the position of a hands-on Agile Software Manager to Lead and Mentor a Team of Java Software Developers. The position is of prime importance to the company; the selected candidate will be responsible for development of new products or extensions of existing products. The Manager of Software Development will receive specifications from the Product Management Team and translate them into software fully and thoroughly QA tested and delivered to the Operations Team.

This might be a replacement to this earlier role that CPNI posted.

The Good
A friend interviewed there once, suggested that the people he spoke to seemed intelligent, that the interview process at least was thorough and seemed solid.  They seem to be agile, which I find appealing.  Their technology stack sounds like it has some reasonable points, although there’s not a lot of detail there.  There also seems to be some mobile work, even though it’s J2ME.  Mobile payments is certainly a space that people continue to believe will grow, although it still hasn’t gathered a lot of traction in North America.

Rumors
A source implied that he/she couldn’t come to terms on payment with CPNI, so their pay scale might not be the best in Toronto.  Then again, this is a pretty senior role, so it might be better-compensated.  A recent commenter suggested that he/she would rather have ebola than work for CPNI again.  There’s not a lot of information in that comment and I’m pretty sure it’s hyperbole, so it’s hard to read much into it, but it’s a pretty passionate statement.  In response to that comment, someone I know contacted me directly to suggest that that comment is ‘unfair’.  While he/she didn’t provide much additional detail, “definitely better than ebola” was made clear.

The Bad
As far as mobile work goes, J2ME is increasingly not seen as the area of expansion, with Android and iPhone capturing a lot of attention.   I’m personally not fond of using EJB, although if it’s EJB 3.x, I might consider it tolerable.

What’s Missing
What’s their approach to agile?  What are they using for web services?  What’s the compensation like at CPNI?  What’s the size and composition of the team?  How is CPNI doing in the mobile payment marketplace, and what are the challenges they and their products currently face?  Why are they looking for another dev manager already?

YMMV
Your mileage may vary when it comes to Fitnesse; it was de rigeur in agile shops for a while, but it’s never really excited me.  Then again, a company that takes testing seriously is always a good thing.  And then, your mileage will vary if you need to drive out to …

The Location
CPNI’s out at 427 and Burnhamthorpe, which is not a particularly exciting neighbourhood.  If you’re already in the west end of the subway line, the transit route might not be that much worse than downtown, and if you’re west and used to driving, it might be fine, but for most of the rest of the city, it’s pretty far west.  I commuted from the east end to an office north of there for a few months for a contract, and I can’t say that I’d be anxious to do it again, all other things being equal.

In Summary
This is a fairly senior role for a company that claims to be operating in an agile way.  If you want to be in a management position at an agile shop, and the location doesn’t throw you, then this would probably be worth a look.  Try to coax additional information out of past employees who might give you a better sense for some of the rumors above.

Beta Soft Systems: Flex 3 Developer

Beta Soft Systems is looking for a Flex 3 Developer (dice, triangle.jobs, webdev jobs):

We are a software company at the forefront of service-oriented technology with a new software componentization technique which we have successfully applied to solve challenging business problems. We are using our platform to build SOA-based application solutions that require Flex 3 technology at the user interface layer. 

Developer(s) will be involved in architecting, designing and implementing creative and innovative Rich Internet Applications (RIAs) with Adobe Flex 3 based upon specification of the end customer. Developer will be responsible for engineering and building Flex 3 panels that will pass Web services to an agile business layer that uses our platform. Developer will be trained to create services using our high-level drag and drop tool.

I’ve got mixed feelings about this opportunity.  They’ve got a published salary of 80-90k, a travel percentage of “100%” and they’re looking for “two plus years” with Flex.  If you’ve got a lot of experience, I think the salary’s not high enough to compensate for this level of travel.  On the other hand, if you’ve got a few years experience, some in Flex and some  in the enterprise, and you’re willing to travel, this might be a reasonable opportunity to get paid more than you might otherwise.  Your mileage may vary, I’m sure.

SocialMedian: Java Developer in Hamburg, DE

If you’re interested in a little getaway, social|median is looking to get a “rock star” Java developer over to Hamburg, Germany for two or three months to do a quick Xing/Open-Social contract for them.  Although you’d need to work out specifics, it sounds like they’d pay for some relocation and expenses, and that after the first contract term is up, anything after t hat would be TBD.

Saba Software: Technical Consultant

Saba Software is looking for a technical consultant:

Integral to our business is our Worldwide Professional Services organization. Based on experience, Technical Consultants can work with our customers in any or all phases of our deployments: initial requirements gathering, configuration and optimization of servers and applications, acceptance test of the solutions. All our Consultants work virtually and should anticipate 35% to 50% travel. 

Because Saba builds highly complex, enterprise wide systems, almost all installations include an array of Java/J2EE implementations supported by: a variety of Operating Systems; Applications Servers (Websphere, Weblogic, Tomcat, JBOSS); Saba and Customer Databases (Oracle, SQL Server, DB2); and both Saba and customer developed Frameworks. We provide options for licensed, hosted and OnDemand deployments that can run into the $Millions. 

The Good
Consulting that requires travel can be well-paid, although Saba doesn’t mention their compensation.  The work varies quite a bit, and you’ll presumably get a lot of client exposure.  The technology stack seems relatively sane.

The Bad
While some of you won’t mind travel, I imagine most of you will find 35% to 50% travel to be in the ‘bad’ category.  If you don’t have a lot of local roots and you like to spend a lot of time in airports, this could be the perfect role for you.

Also, the system uses Crystal Reports.  Anyone I know who’s worked with Crystal in recent years has had absolutely nothing good to say about the experience.

What’s Missing
What’s your compensation like?  Who would you report to?  What do you do when you’re not traveling?  What kind of expense budget would you have?  What tools does Saba use to enable virtual working?  What are the clients, where are they located, where are you likely to spend your time traveling to? 

YMMV
Your mileage may vary when it comes to working ‘virtually’, which I assume means working from home (or wherever you like, as long as Saba doesn’t have to pay for it), rather than, say, simulating working.  

In Summary
Basically, if being a traveling consultant appeals to you, this is something you could look into.  If it doesn’t, then you’ve probably already stopped reading.

Capgemini: Enterprise Architect

Capgemini is looking for an Enterprise Architect:

As a senior member of the Capgemini Technology Services: Strategy, Architecture & Integration team you will be responsible for and play a leadership role in the creation of Business and Technology Strategies, Transformational Roadmaps and value-driven technology implementation plans for our premier clients.  You will be seen by both your clients and your sales & delivery team partners as a trusted IT technology advisor and thought leader.

The Good
Capgemini’s pretty big in consulting, and this is a senior role.

The Bad
There’s a lot of Big-E enterprise in here: ITIL, PMBOK, Six Sigma, CMMI, TOGAF, Zachman, RUP, ESB. It’s hard to know if this is just because Capgemini has work with enterprises that are trying to manage their vendor relationships with one of these, or if Capgemini believes that these are the key to good service delivery.  I tend to find these warning signs that the position will be about following a process rather than attempting to get something done

The travel requirements (up to 100%) are excessive.  There’s very little about the location, but with those travel requirements, it may not matter.  The compensation doesn’t get a mention, although given the above, I sure hope it’s good.  There’s very little about the work, but that’s probably the nature of the consulting.

YMMV
Consulting.  Some of you are made for it, others are likely to hate it, and the rest are only willing to put up with it if the pay is high enough.  You should probably know where you fall before you talk to Capgemini.

Travel.  If you don’t have ties, getting to shuttle about the globe can be exciting, and fun, and with paid expenses, you can stash your paycheque into long-term savings, or toys.  If you’ve got ties, or your idea of a good night is curling up with a home-cooked meal, your dog and watching the latest episode of Gossip Girl, then travel’s probably not for you.

In Summary
This position sounds like it’s well-suited to someone already well-adjusted to the desires of Big-E Enterprise Architecture and consulting.  If ITIL, CMMI, TOGAF and Zachman are your best friends, or at least casual acquaintances, and you’ve got no ties to encumber the travel, this might be for you.

Little Bites: ‘Teach’ Lead, Sapient, Rails, Police

Agilon puts a lot of effort into their job postings.  For instance, they’re looking for a Teach Lead in TorontoUS, ON, CA which is apparently another way to say ‘Detroit, MI’.

Sapient is always looking for people in Toronto, it seems.  They’re still looking for a Solutions Architect and a Manager, Technology, both of whom should apparently be open to frequent overnight travel.

Someone is looking for Rails developers with PHP experience in Toronto.  If I had to guess, I’d say this sounds like Avid Life Media still.

Being a senior developer for the Toronto Police sounds like an odd but possibly interesting experience in its own way.  Unfortunately, it’s public-sector, so senior developer means $70-$80k here.

Little Bites: Senior Manager, Travel Requirements

CareerMatch is helping a financial institution look for a Senior Manager, Application Development. The role’s pretty senior, and some parts of the position look good, but I get worried when a senior manager is required to know shell scripting in Perl and when Waterfall is the only process that gets mentioned, particularly on the same page as ‘follow the documented SDLC.’ I declined to dig much farther than that.

ATS is helping someone look for a Manager, Application Development Services who can ‘fulfill travel requirements’. If that’s not specific enough for you, you might want to talk to them directly. I hope that ATS isn’t the only recruiter helping with this job.