Artie, a YC S23 startup building a distributed database for vector embeddings, is seeking a third founding engineer. This role offers significant equity and the opportunity to shape the core technology from an early stage. The ideal candidate has experience with distributed systems, databases, or similar low-level infrastructure, and thrives in a fast-paced, ownership-driven environment. Artie emphasizes strong engineering principles and aims to build a world-class team focused on performance, reliability, and scalability.
ParadeDB, a YC S23 startup building a distributed, relational, NewSQL database in Rust, is hiring a Rust Database Engineer. This role involves designing and implementing core database components like query processing, transaction management, and distributed consensus. Ideal candidates have experience building database systems, are proficient in Rust, and possess a strong understanding of distributed systems concepts. They will contribute significantly to the database's architecture and development, working closely with the founding team. The position is remote and offers competitive salary and equity.
HN commenters discuss ParadeDB's hiring post, expressing skepticism about the wisdom of choosing Rust for a database due to its complexity and potential performance overhead compared to C++. Some question the value proposition of yet another database, wondering what niche ParadeDB fills that isn't already addressed by existing solutions. Others suggest focusing on a specific problem domain rather than building a general-purpose database. There's also discussion about the startup's name and logo, with some finding them unmemorable or confusing. Finally, a few commenters offer practical advice on hiring, suggesting reaching out to university research groups or specialized job boards.
PropRise, a YC S23 startup, is seeking its first Founding Engineer to build a platform streamlining the commercial real estate appraisal process. This full-stack role involves building the core product from the ground up, including frontend, backend, and database architecture. The ideal candidate is experienced with modern web frameworks, enjoys fast-paced startup environments, and is passionate about improving efficiency in complex industries. Equity is offered, providing an opportunity to significantly impact and benefit from the company's growth.
The Hacker News comments discuss the unusual nature of the job posting for a "Founding Engineer" at a company that already seems to have a product and existing engineers. Several commenters express skepticism about the "Founding Engineer" title, suggesting it might be a way to underpay or mislead potential hires. Others speculate on the reasons behind the seemingly contradictory situation, proposing that perhaps the existing team is non-technical or that the company is pivoting and needs to rebuild its engineering team. Some users question the high salary range offered ($170k - $280k), wondering if it's realistic for a pre-seed company. There's also a brief discussion about the company's business model and potential market.
Posh, a YC W22 startup, is hiring an Energy Analysis & Modeling Engineer. This role will involve building and maintaining energy models to optimize battery performance and efficiency within their virtual power plant (VPP) software platform. The ideal candidate has experience in energy systems modeling, optimization algorithms, and data analysis, preferably with a background in electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, or a related field. They are looking for someone proficient in Python and comfortable working in a fast-paced startup environment.
The Hacker News comments express skepticism and concern about Posh's business model and the specific job posting. Several commenters question the viability of Posh's approach to automating customer service for banks, citing the complexity of financial transactions and the potential for errors. Others express concerns about the low salary offered for the required skillset, particularly given the location (Boston). Some speculate about the high turnover hinted at by the constant hiring and question the long-term prospects of the company. The general sentiment seems to be one of caution and doubt about Posh's potential for success.
The Forecasting Company, a Y Combinator (S24) startup, is seeking a Founding Machine Learning Engineer to build their core forecasting technology. This role will involve developing and implementing novel time series forecasting models, working with large datasets, and contributing to the company's overall technical strategy. Ideal candidates possess strong machine learning and software engineering skills, experience with time series analysis, and a passion for building innovative solutions. This is a ground-floor opportunity to shape the future of a rapidly growing startup focused on revolutionizing forecasting.
HN commenters discuss the broad scope of the job posting for a founding ML engineer at The Forecasting Company. Some question the lack of specific problem areas mentioned, wondering if the company is still searching for its niche. Others express interest in the stated collaborative approach and the opportunity to shape the technical direction. Several commenters point out the potentially high impact of accurate forecasting in various fields, while also acknowledging the inherent difficulty and potential pitfalls of such a venture. A few highlight the YC connection as a positive signal. Overall, the comments reflect a mixture of curiosity, skepticism, and cautious optimism regarding the company's prospects.
Converge, a YC S23 startup, is seeking its second engineer to join their New York City team. They are building a platform to automate the creation and management of financial models, primarily for private equity and venture capital. The ideal candidate is a full-stack engineer proficient in Javascript/Typescript and interested in FinTech. Experience with React, Node.js, and cloud platforms like AWS is preferred, but a strong foundation and a desire to learn are highly valued. Converge offers competitive salary and equity, alongside the opportunity to shape the technical direction of a rapidly growing company.
Commenters on Hacker News discuss Converge's early stage and the implications for a potential engineer #2. Several express concerns about joining such a young company, highlighting the risks associated with its unproven business model and the significant influence a single engineer could have, which could be both exciting and potentially overwhelming. Others question the NYC location choice given Converge's focus on construction, a sector not traditionally associated with New York. Some commenters see the posting as a positive sign, suggesting it indicates Converge has secured initial funding and is progressing. A few users express interest in learning more about the company's tech stack. Overall, the sentiment is cautiously curious, with many waiting to see more evidence of Converge's viability before considering it a serious opportunity.
Hightouch, a Y Combinator-backed startup (S19), is seeking a Distributed Systems Engineer to work on their Reverse ETL (extract, transform, load) platform. They're building a system to sync data from data warehouses to SaaS tools, addressing the challenges of scale and real-time data synchronization. The ideal candidate will have experience with distributed systems, databases, and cloud infrastructure, and be comfortable working in a fast-paced startup environment. Hightouch offers a remote-first work culture with competitive compensation and benefits.
The Hacker News comments on the Hightouch (YC S19) job posting are sparse and mostly pertain to the interview process. One commenter asks about the technical interview process and expresses concern about "LeetCode-style" questions. Another shares their negative experience interviewing with Hightouch, citing a focus on system design questions they felt were irrelevant for a mid-level engineer role and a lack of feedback. A third commenter briefly mentions enjoying working at Hightouch. Overall, the comments offer limited insight beyond a few individual experiences with the company's interview process.
Frigade, a Y Combinator W23 startup building developer tools for customer onboarding, is seeking its second engineer. This full-stack role will involve significant ownership and impact, working directly with the founders on core product development. Ideal candidates have 3+ years of experience and are proficient in TypeScript, React, Node.js, and PostgreSQL. Experience with developer tools and B2B SaaS is a plus. This is a fully remote position with competitive salary and equity.
The Hacker News comments on the Frigade job posting are sparse and mostly focused on the requested skillset. Some users question the necessity of proficiency in both React and Vue.js for a single role, suggesting it might indicate a lack of focus or evolving technical direction within the company. Others express interest in the position and company mission, while a few commenters offer feedback on the job description itself, proposing ways to make it more appealing or informative. One commenter highlights the unusual use of "engineer #2" in the title, speculating about its implications for the company's structure and potential employee experience. Overall, the discussion is limited and doesn't offer substantial insights beyond surface-level observations about the job posting.
Inboxbooster, a Y Combinator-backed company, is hiring a fully remote JVM Bytecode Engineer. This role involves working on their core email deliverability product by developing and maintaining a Java agent that modifies bytecode at runtime. Ideal candidates are proficient in Java, bytecode manipulation libraries like ASM or Javassist, and have experience with performance optimization and debugging. Familiarity with email deliverability concepts is a plus.
Hacker News users discussing the Inboxbooster job posting largely focused on the low salary range ($60k-$80k) offered for a JVM Bytecode Engineer, especially given the specialized and in-demand nature of the skillset. Many commenters found this range significantly below market value, even considering the potential for remote work. Some speculated about the reasoning, suggesting either a misjudgment of the market by the company or a targeting of less experienced engineers. The remote aspect was also discussed, with some suggesting it might be a way to justify the lower salary, while others pointed out that top talent in this area can command high salaries regardless of location. A few commenters expressed skepticism about the YC backing given the seemingly low budget for engineering talent.
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https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43345297
Several Hacker News commenters expressed skepticism about the Founding Engineer role at Artie, questioning the extremely broad required skillset and the startup's focus, given the seemingly early stage. Some speculated about the actual work involved, suggesting it might primarily be backend infrastructure or web development rather than the advertised "everything from distributed systems to front-end web development." Concerns were raised about the vague nature of the product and the potential for engineers to become jacks-of-all-trades, masters of none. Others saw the breadth of responsibility as potentially positive, offering an opportunity to wear many hats and have significant impact at an early-stage company. Some commenters also engaged in a discussion about the merits and drawbacks of using Firebase.
The Hacker News post titled "Artie (YC S23) Is Hiring Engineer #3" linking to a Y Combinator job posting for Artie has generated a modest number of comments, mostly focusing on the technical challenges and the nature of the role.
One commenter questions the choice of Rust for the backend, expressing skepticism about its suitability for a real-time collaborative editing application due to perceived complexities in managing shared mutable state and potential performance bottlenecks with garbage collection (though Rust does not use a garbage collector). They suggest exploring alternatives like Elixir or Clojure, languages known for their concurrency features.
Another commenter pushes back against the previous concern, highlighting Rust's ownership system and borrow checker as mechanisms that specifically address safe mutable state management. They also emphasize that Rust does not have garbage collection, offering potential performance advantages. This commenter also inquires about the specific real-time editing approach being considered, mentioning operational transforms and Conflict-free Replicated Data Types (CRDTs) as common techniques.
Further discussion delves into the nuances of using CRDTs, with a commenter suggesting that while CRDTs are excellent for eventual consistency, they might not be ideal for highly interactive, real-time experiences where low latency is paramount. This commenter proposes operational transforms as a potentially better fit for minimizing perceived lag in collaborative editing scenarios.
Another individual brings up the compensation package, expressing that while it's not explicitly mentioned in the job posting, they believe the salary and equity offered should be competitive, especially given the early-stage nature of the company and the demanding technical requirements of the role.
Finally, a comment highlights the importance of understanding the specific challenges of building collaborative editing software, referencing prior experiences and emphasizing that simply using a generic CRDT library might not be sufficient. They underscore the need for careful consideration of data structures, conflict resolution strategies, and the overall user experience.
In summary, the discussion centers around the technical tradeoffs involved in choosing Rust for the backend, the suitability of different real-time collaboration techniques, and the expectations regarding compensation for such a specialized engineering role. The commenters demonstrate a nuanced understanding of the challenges associated with building collaborative editing software and offer insightful perspectives on the technologies and approaches involved.