Comment by kevbo | Hacker News Reader

Comment by kevbo | Hacker News Reader

Evanston, IL - Full Time (onsite)

Junior Python Test Engineer at Leapfrog Online (http://www.leapfrogonline.com)

We're the leading independent digital direct marketing firm in the country, developing programs for Fortune 500 marketers to find and convert the right customers. We build complex app ecosystems with frameworks like Django and Rails sitting on top, with a mound of open source software supporting them.

We're looking for a junior-level Python/Ruby Developer to join our Test Engineering team, writing functional, integration, and unit tests in Python for our Django/Rails-powered business platforms. As part of the Operations team, we also do light system administration and help write monitoring tools.

Requirements: an intense attention to detail, a love of learning, a passion for problem-solving, and a good attitude and sense of responsibility. You should also have experience with Python/Ruby (or be willing to transition from another dynamic language like PHP); be comfortable working on a *nix command line; and have general knowledge about HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Experience with mobile device testing is a plus.

We're committed to agile and open source; we use packages like mechanize, Selenium (including Selenium Grid), and nose every day.

Interested? If so, we offer a competitive salary plus an incentive and benefits package, and a close-knit team who likes what they do and has fun doing it. If you think you're a good fit for this position, apply with your resume and salary history. http://jobvite.com/m?3LUGogwu

It isn't in your interest to disclose your salary history [1] and it probably isn't in your interest to work for a company whose first hiring filter is excluding anyone with the wherewithal to negotiate a fair salary.

Leapfrog, don't post your predatory ads targeting inexperienced software developers in this thread again.

[1] For a basic primer on negotiation read patio11's famous blog post: http://www.kalzumeus.com/2012/01/23/salary-negotiation

Thanks for the response, and I absolutely take your comments to heart.

I feel that salary is something that I'm transparent about as a hiring manager, and I like to have that conversation early. From my side, I have a very strict budget, without much room to negotiate. When I make an offer, I usually lead with my best offer, and let the candidate know that. Anyone skilled with Google can find the general range for this position so there are no surprises in advance.

I do take issue with the predatory part. The Test Engineering role here is really the 'farm team' for Software Engineering and Systems Engineering, and I feel it's a great way to get a sense of how the technology department works from the inside before deciding if you want to move forward here or somewhere else. For some context, every single Test Engineer I've hired for the last ~3 years has gone on to work as an SE. In fact, that's why I'm hiring now. We invest a lot in our TEs, so we're not looking to fill these seats with people we can get at the lowest price.

All of that said, I appreciate your comments, and will remove that line from future posts. I will, however, continue to talk about salary early and often during the interview process, so that I'm not wasting anyone's time. We can't afford 90k for a junior-level position, and I think it's only fair to state that up front.

Thanks, Kevin

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