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.

Domainer: Software/Web Developer(s)

Domainer is looking for more than one Software / Web Developer:

Domainer is currently looking for the best developers in Toronto. What do we mean by the best developers? Well, you should know know your stuff in a profound way. What stuff do you need to know? At a minimum you should know the *nix command line and a how to configure a secure web server. You should also possess a mighty knowledge of mysql and its various quirks. Next you need to know a server side web friendly programming language such as Java, Groovy, PHP, Python or Ruby. Front end language development expertise is also appreciated.

We are doing cool things with new technologies. You will be exposed to an array of technologies such as Groovy, Grails, Java, PHP, jQuery, python, Gradle, Gant, Ant, Subversion, Eclipse, NetBeans, Ubuntu, plus a few that are for you to discover.

The Good
They claim good compensation, but is that just good compensation for those commonly called “web developers” in this city, who are chronically underpaid compared to the rest of the development crowd, or is Domainer really serious about hiring the best, which, IMO, means paying a lot more – probably over $90k in salary alone.  (There may be great people in this city who get paid less, of course, but most of the better people I’ve worked with make significantly more than this).

If this work were done well, it could be an interesting combination of interesting technology (RSS, mashups, social media, rapid-development web techniques), internal productization and good profit margins.  A lot like agency work, but with much more control – your clients simply want to make money, they don’t care what you build their site in, or really, what it does, as long as the output in terms of cash is good.

The tech sounds reasonable for what they’re doing, the process, as much as they talk about it, sounds reasonably agile.  The video helps you get an initial feel for what your employers/bosses might be like.

The Bad
If this is done poorly, you’re going to be doing the same things over and over to deliver bad content and advertising to the unsuspecting, never get to do a build-out the way you want to, no productization, cheapest-solution-always-wins.  Again, a lot like agency work can be, come to think of it.

There’s some information gaps, although the video helps.  How big’s the team?  How serious is Domainer about actually delivering value in these sites?  What are some examples of sites they’re running?  How much is good compensation?  What’re the specifics of their location?

That said, the amount of information in the posting is higher than many. 

YMMV
Your mileage may vary with respect to the ‘ethics’ of the kind of work that Domainer does.  There is often a kind of opportunistic/exploitative streak in this kind of “leverage a domain name” work, from what I’ve seen.  I can’t speak for Domainer in particular, but these sites often seek to get money through advertising with the minimal required effort — offering very little value, but profiting from search engine placement and so forth.   You’ll have to decide how you feel about that and learn a little more about Domainer’s approach.

In Summary
If you want the opportunity to flex your web skills at building sites quickly and cost-effectively in relatively new rapid-development technologies, this might be your thing.  I’d suggest coming to terms on compensation.

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.

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.