Unspecified: Vice President, Engineering

ROSS is helping an unspecified company look for a Vice President, Engineering:

Reporting directly to the CEO, and serving as a key member of the Senior Executive Team, the Vice President Engineering will drive the strategy and vision of our client’s product development in alignment with our client’s overall goals.​  The successful candidate will have solid experience in working with young technology companies, and in building process oriented structure, which facilitates the delivery of products.

Working closely with the senior management team, the successful individual will direct the growth and development of the product in alignment with the strategic direction of the Company.​  The focus of this role will be on evolving their technology to meet current and future requirements while implementing strong processes and disciplines within the Engineering team.

The company sounds suspiciously like Bluecat Networks.  Frankly, if it’s not Bluecat, then someone’s cribbed from a Bluecat posting somewhere, as it’s very much couched in the same language.

The Good
It’s a senior role at what seems to be a private company (so I can’t really tell you much about their finances).  There are also few opportunities to get involved in lower-level development in Toronto, so what they’re doing might be appealing to some of you.  They claim to be looking for someone with experience in Agile.

The Bad
Many of you won’t have the right mix of experience to qualify for the position: Software Development, networking and low-level development, hardware, and tech management.  Then again, if you do have the experience, you probably won’t find a lot of people competing with you who do.  It also sounds like the engineering department is a bit of a mess, given the call-to-action:

This role is a challenge! You’ll be walking into an environment that needs a good clean-up; this isn’t for the faint at heart or someone just looking for maintenance!! Our client needs someone to take their Engineering Department to the next level.

What’s Missing?
Is this really bluecat?  Why are they hiring a VP during a downturn?  What’s their financial position like?  What’s the compensation like for this role?  Where do you fit in the overall organizational structure?  What’s the size and composition of the engineering team?

YMMV
The posting seems to be pretty up-front that this is a challenging role in an environment that needs significant change, rather than simply to manage the status quo.  Not everyone is looking for that kind of challenge, and you’d want to be sure that the company really has the appetite for this kind of change.

Location
Assuming it’s Bluecat, they’re at Yonge/401, they’re a little far north for someone coming from the east or west, or living in the core, but they’re not bad if you’re up in mid-town, uptown, or highway commuting.  They’d be awful for someone who’s taking the GO train.

In Summary
If you’ve got experience in tech management as well as Java enterprise development and low-level, networking and hardware, then you’re probably in a fairly small set of people who’s well-suited for the job, and you may want to drop a line to ROSS to get put in touch with Bluecat.

Manager, Application Development at Direct Energy

Direct Energy is looking for a Manager, Application Development:

This position is responsible for managing the performance of a team of technical staff in an assigned function(s) of application support and development. The incumbent works to ensure that resources are in place to identify and provide business application systems in support of assigned function(s).

• Sets a framework for the provision and support of solutions covering areas such as resourcing, program and project management, development standards, etc.
• Responsible for overseeing the effective use of strategic processes as they pertain to this group
• Negotiates IT project requirements (i.e. deadlines, budgets, resources, etc.)
• Manages a team of IT professionals responsible for system analysis, application software, and programming
• Establishes performance plans for staff, reviews individual results on a regular basis.
• Identifies individual and organizational developmental needs/career goals and ensures developmental efforts are put in place to support them

The Good
It’s a senior role at a big company, and the energy sector is likely to do well, with ups and downs, for years and years to come, given the fact that there are only so many fossil fuels, and we’ve got a strong desire to use ‘em.  Direct Energy seems to be owned by Centrica PLC, with a $14B market cap.  There’s a reference to Agile, but it’s just a reference.

The Bad
The role is described in a very matter-of-fact “these are the skills we want” sort of way, without any attempt to convince you of the value of working at Direct Energy.  That’s not always a bad thing, but it’s lacking in points of interest.

What’s Missing?
Where’s this located?  What’s the compensation like for a manager at direct energy?  What applications does Direct Energy develop, other than the billing application?  How many teams are there, what size and composition?  What are the details of their technology choices, and what’s the Java / .NET Platform mix like for them?

YMMV
Your mileage may vary when it comes to the Java / .NET mix — some people know the one and not the other, and would like to stay that way.  It may also vary when it comes to working for Direct Energy.  Personally, I’d have a hard time taking a role at Direct Energy, because the sales tactics at the street level in my neighbourhood by lots of individual employees have been, what I would call … misleading at best, if not close to fraudulent, and very, very aggressive.  I don’t know that they’re employed directly by Direct Energy, and I don’t know whether or not that culture goes deeper than the sales organization, but I am personally very wary of them as an organization at this point.  That said, many of you may have no history with Direct Energy or positive experiences, so don’t let my bias ruin your chance at getting a job.

The Location
Their main office seems to be up at Yonge and Sheppard, so I’m guessing that’s where the job will be.

In Summary
There’s not a lot to latch onto, but if you like the idea of managing a development team for Direct Energy at Yonge and Sheppard, you could inquire to learn more.

Follow-Up: Oracle/OnDemand CRM: Software Development Manager

It looks like Oracle is still looking (or looking again) for a Software Development Manager for their OnDemand CRM product line.  I posted this last April, almost a year ago, and I haven’t seen it very often in the interim.  So if you do end up inquiring, I might want to find out if someone took the job and left quickly, or if, in fact, they stopped looking for a while.  Either way, there may be a story there that you want to hear.

In any case, the posting isn’t so bad, although the location’s pretty far north for  many of you.  There’s mention of Agile.  The posting has changed somewhat, the the fundamentals are still pretty similar.

Telmetrics: Scrum Master

Telmetrics is looking for a Scrum Master to provide them with maternity leave coverage:

We are currently seeking a Scrum Master to join our team for a one year contract to cover a maternity leave.

Ideally the incumbent would have a technical background, preferably in software development, with recent experience working as a Scrum Master or project manager in a team following agile methodologies. As a Scrum Master at Telmetrics, you will be responsible for ensuring the development team follows the values and practices of the adopted Scrum processes along with the following:

• Plan, coordinate, and facilitate all agile iteration meetings including daily Scrum meetings and retrospective and planning meetings;
• Track all work within the iteration including task status; providing updates and reporting on the team’s progress to maintain visibility;
• Remove any obstacles brought up by the team and clarify issues to ensure team progress is not hindered;
• Manage iteration scope;
• Plan, coordinate, and facilitate all projects for minor and major product releases;
• Coordinate and manage support with Operations for all development and QA environments.

The Good
If the team is already a Scrum team that’s functional and productive, helping them to keep moving for a year could be relatively painless.  You already have an initial sense of the process, although you’ll probably want to talk to the team and the company, as it’s easy to say you’re an agile team even when you’re doing very non-agile things every day.  That said, the description of the role sounds like they want you to approach it in a classically agile way, so it’s a good start.

The Bad
If the team isn’t already in good shape, a year isn’t a lot of time to turn that around.  You’re basically going in blind, so if you’re interested, you’re going to want to get as good a sense as you can about the current state, and that’ll require more than just asking, you’ll want to talk to the team as well.

What’s Missing
What’s the size and composition of the team?  What are they working on?  What’s the state of the project?  Will you be able to do a good hand-off at both ends with the existing scrum-master?  What’s the compensation?  What happens if the scrum-master decides to stay at home with her child near the end of the term?  Would you have goals that aren’t obvious from this posting?  Who would you be reporting to?

YMMV
Your mileage may vary when it comes to filling maternity leave coverage.  That’s either a relatively long contract or a very short job, depending on what you’re used to.  Depending on the contract rate, that could be a good thing.

Your mileage may also vary when it comes to the location, at 427/Eglinton, out in the little tech park with Skymark, Explorer, etc.  It’s accessible by transit, but it’s pretty painful if you’re not driving and/or in Mississauga/Brampton to begin with.  It’s also a bit of a dead zone for interesting things around, unless you’re driving — there aren’t many food options in short walking distance.  I worked a contract out there for six months, and didn’t regret its ending very much.

In Summary
It seems like a year-long contract as a straight-up scrum-master.  If that sounds good, and you can tolerate working out on Skymark, this might be your opportunity.

Follow-Up: Uptime

Uptime, still looking for a Java Developer with a little PHP thrown in.  I gather they could conceivably be hiring more than one.  Richmond/Bathurst location, agile, product shop — could be interesting.

Logitech: Senior Manager, Software Manager

Logitech is still looking for what they’ve redundantly labeled Senior Manager, Software Manager (also Higher Bracket, if you have a subscription):

Logitech Harmony is seeking the best and most passionate senior team members. He/She will be responsible for building a high performance, agile team of software engineers. 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. He/She thrives in a high energy entrepreneurial environment, lead-edge technologies, and complex multi-disciplinary projects.

Requirements:
- Proven past history of building excellent, agile teams of software engineers.
- Excels at building cross disciplinary teams.
- Strong project management knowledge and experience.
- Experience building Agile/Scrum/XP teams.
- Experience leading Agile/Scrum/XP adoption into an organization.
- Strong thought leadership and technology experience building solutions using:
o .NET 3.0+ (including WCF, WF, WPF).
o Silverlight.
o Highly scalable, secure, and maintainable web applications, business services, and data services.
- Keen business acumen.
- Extreme about execution, teams, and the customer.

The Good
Agile methods.  Build your team.  Work on media-centric consumer devices, likely to be a strong growth area but with an established market leader.  Introduce Agile to a well-known organization.  The salary might go as high as $150k.  Wait, why haven’t I applied?

The Bad
Oh yeah, I remember.  It’s .NET.  It’s in mississauga at Eglinton/427.  The compensation details are not in all of the listings, and may be subject to interpretation.   It’d be nice to know a little more about the work and the genesis of this initiative.

YMMV
If you’ve got .NET experience, your mileage may well vary from mine.  If you’re highway commuting, and/or living in Brampton or Mississauga, this location may not seem completely unfortunate.   If your mileage does vary, then … 

Questions to Ask
Is there already a team?  What process are they used to?  What processes is the company used to?  Is this greenfield development, or does it replace existing systems, built in what technology?  Why the new technologies, team and process?  What are the success metrics and timetables?  Can Logitech move downtown?

In Summary
The opportunity to be well-paid to build the agile team of your choosing to work on consumer devices in new technology seems pretty rare, as long as you can live with the location and the technology.  Still, seems like a sweet deal for the right person.

Uptime: Software Developer

Uptime Software is looking for a Software Developer (html intro and application form, detailed PDF):

As part of the development team, you will be responsible for the development
and maintenance of our software products, which are written in Java and PHP and
integrate with many operating systems and databases. The position involves
close interaction with other developers and the QA team. A strong development
background is required.

The Good
Uptime is an interesting local ISV that is looking for someone who knows agile methods well.  The manager there, Pete Bevin, seems to have a good reputation.  I know the CTO, Alex Bewley: he’s a good guy, although I haven’t worked with him in probably over fifteen years, so it’s hard to say how relevant that might be.  The process sounds pretty agile, which is nice.  The role, work, company and process seem to get reasonable levels of description.

The Bad
It doesn’t sound like an incredibly senior role, but as long as you get a fair amount of input and get paid well, I’m not sure that matters.  Sadly, there’s very little sense of the compensation.  It might not hurt to understand the technology mix a little more – percentage of time in Java vs. PHP, plus C#/C++.

YMMV
The location (Richmond/Portland) may work really well if you’re downtown west of the University line already.  On the other hand, if you’re coming from out of town or from the east end, it may be less convenient.  It’s a nice area, lots of nice restaurants, shops and so forth about, but not crazy busy.  Ghandi makes a nice Butter Chicken roti.

In Summary
If you’ve got chops in all of Java, PHP and Agile, and “Queen & Bathurst” isn’t an inconvenient neighbourhood, this could be the job for you.

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.