4-day workweeks + ayce hotpot dinners = smash apply like the lizard meme
...and real bunnies on trampolines
Good morning, beauties!
Today’s edition comes straight from my heart. There’s an exclusive with CodeSignal’s CEO (containing a word of hope for everyone feeling some kinda way about vanishing tech jobs), plus direct email addresses for sending your applications. And a story about bunnies.
Feeling lonely in your job search? 💔 Invite me into your heart. Apply to the a16z talent network and real people with real beating hearts will look at what you send us and find good matches for you.
Company Spotlight: CodeSignal
The year was 2015. Justin Bieber just released “What Do You Mean?” Market sentiment was deteriorating. Yet Google couldn’t put butts in seats fast enough.
Tigran Sloyan, who was at Google then, knew a lot of really talented engineers. But they weren’t getting called for interviews because they didn’t have the typical Harvard/Cal Tech/MIT pedigree that recruiters and managers drool over. (okay, he does have that, but he’s also a gentleman!!!)
He wanted to give those engineers a chance. So he started CodeSignal.
The technical skills assessment platform raised their seed in early 2015 and their series A in late 2016. They’re currently post–series C with fewer than 200 people (that’s very deliberate on Tigran’s part).
Since CodeSignal started by helping engineers get discovered by startups - and because they’re hiring right now - I thought I’d ask Tigran, the co-founder and CEO, about what he looks for in an engineer.
Tell me what it was like to hire your first engineers for CodeSignal?
It was more about who’s willing to take a chance on us and who’s got the skills. Over time, I’ve realized that it’s a combination of skill and attitude. Early stage companies aren’t for everyone. It’s a lot of chaos, it’s a lot of risk, and a lot of very long days. The biggest plus is that it’s more rewarding, it’s more fun, and you get to have more ownership.
A lot of people cast themselves as wanting the risk of a startup. How do you know if it’s true?
I would ask, ‘Okay, when have you worked extremely hard? What did that look like for you? Walk me through it.’ You’ll be shocked by the type of responses you get. Some people would describe a normal eight-hour day, and others would describe not sleeping for three days💀.
So, do you hire differently now?
I personally still like to stay on the side of people who like to build things and move fast.
I’ve never stopped trying to find engineers who just get joy from building the future. The best engineers—true engineers—that I love working with are people who just get joy from building the future.
What’s really hard to find right now?
The combination of someone who has the right attitude and the drive is very good technically, is able to be product-minded, understand design, user stories, and product management. That’s harder to find.
I want to work for you. Tell me how to stand out at CodeSignal.
It always starts with skills. Sometimes people say, “Oh, hard those skills don’t matter anymore as much as fungible soft skills.” Those are important, but if you can’t do the job, soft skills don’t really make a difference.
Stat of the week, quote of my heart ❤️
Tech job postings are down 36% since early 2020, according to Indeed’s Hiring Lab. Some say AI is taking everyone’s jobs.
Tigran says: Don’t sweat it. Just remember Jevons Paradox, that increased efficiency leads to more demand, not less.
“I'm a very strong believer that we’re going to need even more engineers than we did before, and we’re going to have more engineers than we did before. I think the concept of software engineers getting replaced is completely dumbfounding. But what happens in reality is when things get faster and cheaper to make—you just make more of them.”
❤️🔥H.o.t.j.o.b.s❤️🔥
Genway AI (speedrun004 alum) is building AI agents for user interviews - which can be run at scale, catalogued, and rapidly analyzed to identify what’s working in new releases (and what’s not hitting…). The team is searching for a US-based Sales Exec - email founder / ceo Natan Voitenkov (natan@genway.ai) if you’re interested!
Klavis AI (YC X25, $2.5 million seed) does open source MCP integration for AI applications, and they’re looking for a founding engineer.
The AI-first bioinformatics startup Ploid AI is looking for 2–3 founding engineers. And they’re in Barcelona, baby! CEO and co-founder Adolfo Gastalver Rubio wrote on LinkedIn: “If you have ever thought, ‘I wish I had joined DeepMind / Databricks / etc. in the first 10,’ this is that moment.” Send your application to jobs@ploid.ai.
➡️ These roles not quite right for you? Be a friend and forward it on!
The folks at AI personal assistant Martin are looking for a founding engineer “who’s eager to dedicate 70+ hours a week to an early stage startup” and do something fun on Sundays, like … “play ping pong or get all-you-can-eat hotpot for dinner.” To apply, send your “proudest technical product” to founders@trymartin.com.
Programmable optics company Lumotive—now backed by a $59 million series B, thanks in large part to Amazon—is hiring for a whole mess of engineering jobs (applications, ASIC, systems, etc.) in the US, Canada, and Oman.
OpenMind, which builds operating systems for robots (their robot OS is called OM1) is looking for a hybrid full-stack engineer in SF. They announced $20 million in funding just this week!
Automated construction permit management platform Permit Flow is looking for engineers. Preference for those who can be in their NYC offices three days/week. They’ve got $36.5 million in backing.
Artin Bogdanov, founder/ceo of SUN cares deeply about learning, and wants to build a product that leverages LLMs + gamification to generate delightful learning experiences for users. He’s searching for “founding mobile engineer #1, a builder with hands-on experience in GenAI (ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude) and a track record of crafting engaging mobile products with gamification and social features.” You can email Artin if you’re interested: artin@sunapp.ai
Toma makes AI agents for automotive dealerships. They’re looking for engineers to work a hybrid schedule at their SF offices. Take a look at the openings here, but if you don’t meet all the requirements listed, apply anyway. They still want to have a look.
Infisical is building an open source security infrastructure stack, and they’re looking for cuties like you in the U.S., Canada, and abroad. Perks include a free lunch stipend, unlimited PTO, twice annual offsites, and a new MacBook.
E2B, which provides cloud-based sandbox environments for running AI-generated code, is hiring engineers in SF, and a couple in Prague. Roles starting at $150,000 (U.S. or CZk), and some starting much higher. E2B just announced a $21 million series A, with $32 million total funding.
Okay, so Buffer isn’t exactly early stage, but they’re fully remote and famous for being kewl: four-day workweeks, sabbaticals, family stipends, unlimited PTO, savings plan matches. This year, they even flew all their employees to Türkiye for an off-site by the sea. (I invited myself, they said no.) They seldom hire, so it’s worth noting that there are three (three!) open engineering roles right now.
Unicorns and bunnies
Uzbekistan has its first unicorn! 🦄 Congratulations, y’all! She’s beautiful.
AI engineer Yangshun posted about his Open AI job offer… then Meta slid into his DMs. Read the saga here.
I’m sure that by now you’ve all heard the devastating news that the trampoline bunnies are not real. So here are some real bunnies on real trampolines.
So, you want to work at a start up? You need to tell me these things. Apply to the a16z talent network. Real people look at your application. Real people match you to open jobs.
👨🏻💻 Adieu mes amies, don’t be strangers.
Loved this - wish I could find a similar version for non-engineering roles (Ops, CX, Strategy etc.). Seen anything like that?