The Bivium Group – adventures in boston headhunting – software engineer jobs & Scott Dunlop news

Mass. Unemployment rate drops for 2nd month in a row – to 8.8%

The good news keeps on rolling in during the holidays – it’s a week before Christmas and my phone is ringing off the hook with clients trying to nail down offers before everyone starts traveling next week, and talk with CTOs, CFOs and VPs of Software Engineering about robust Q1 2010 hiring plans for software engineers/computer science folks here in the Boston area.

Boston.com pinned this story up on the front page, and I agree it’s worthy of FrontPage status – with the Mass. UE rate dropping for the 2nd straight month, down to 8.8% – and again, NET jobs being created in the all important services area (which includes software development). You can read the entire article here http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2009/12/mass_unemployme_23.html

I am thankful for a wonderful year, great clients, partners and cannot wait for 2010 to be ushered in!

If you are looking for access to the most exclusive, technically challenging and game-changing software companies in the Boston area, drop me a line – scott@biviumgroup.com – I remain “Boston’s #1 Software recruiter”

Add comment December 17, 2009

Mass. Software/IT market job growth robust: Mass High Tech article

Adding to the growing consensus view that we’ve seen for months now, is the following Mass High Tech Article http://www.masshightech.com/stories/2009/12/07/daily7-Study-Software-leads-tech-growth-in-Mass.html squarely pointing towards a robust 2010 and beyond. Software engineering already employs more people in Mass than during the .com boom times of 1999-2001. With software engineers/computer science jobs rated #1 or #2 (depending on nomenclature, study data) for job growth over the next decade – the momentum is aligned behind a very nice recovery in 2010. The complete study can be downloaded here - http://bit.ly/7ZkioS (PDF download link).

Some highlights:

Current unemployment and projected growth

The primary occupations associated with the IT industry have been resilient through 2008. Current Population Survey data indicates how well workers in IT occupations are coping with the current recession. Between 2002 and 2008, the computer and mathematical occupations have enjoyed much lower unemployment rates than the average unemployment rate,16 consistent with other management and professional occupations. As Figure 22 shows, in addition to being consistently lower than the overall unemployment rate for all occupations, the unemployment rate of the computer and mathematical occupational group also dropped more rapidly than the average between 2003 and 2007. This indicates that computer and mathematical occupations recovered robustly in the years following the bursting of the dot-com bubble.

Current point-in-time data

Recent data illustrate that IT workers have resilience, but are not completely immune to recession. The most recent available monthly data shows that although unemployment is rising, as of June 2009, the unemployment rate for mathematics and computer occupations remains much lower than the average for all U.S. occupations. In June 2008, the monthly unemployment rate for computer and mathematical occupations was about a third of the average. In June 2009, the monthly unemployment rate for computer and mathematical occupations was just over half the average rate. In Massachusetts, workers in IT occupations have been making fewer unemployment claims than their share of the workforce. Claimant data collected by the Massachusetts Office of Labor Workforce and Development indicate that IT workers in computer and mathematical occupations are filing for unemployment benefits at a lower rate than would be proportionate to their

Projected growth

Recent growth projections developed by the state suggest that demand for the most skilled IT professionals will remain very strong.17 Network systems and data communications analysts, as well as the two software engineering occupations, are forecast to experience the greatest gains in jobs by 2016. Alternatively, Computer Support Specialists and Computer Programmers are expected to grow at the slowest pace in the state (in the case of the latter, positions are actually expected to contract). Along with information collected during focus group sessions, the projections suggest that these particular IT occupations are being outsourced to workers abroad. With that said, these are the only two primary IT occupations that are projected to grow at a rate slower than the statewide average for all occupations. The table below features projected growth rates by occupation, and reveals that in many cases, jobs are expected to grow at more than three times the Commonwealth’s overall projected job growth rate. High wage jobs are projected to grow and educated workers (with at minimum a Bachelor’s degree expected) will be required for the vast majority of these jobs.

The Software sector includes firms that offer products and services in two subsectors:

• Systems and Applications:

Firms in this subsector develop and publish commercial systems software (including operating systems and platforms) on which computer applications run. These firms also develop and publish applications that enable users to complete particular tasks, such as text editing, email communication, and graphics and photo editing, as well as various tasks related to specialized business functions.

• Custom Computer Programming:

Firms and workers in this subsector are engaged in writing, modifying, testing, and supporting software to meet the specialized needs of customers—both corporate or commercial and consumer or residential. Custom programmers may be employed by small-, mid-, or large-size firms, or they may be self-employed or “freelance” workers.7

Employment and firm growth patterns in the Software sector

From 1998 to 2008, employment in the Software sector has grown by 34.6 percent, reaching 47,331 workers. Despite a substantial decline from dot-com bubble levels, Software has regained and surpassed 2000 employment and has shown consistent growth since 2004. The sector most recently accounted for 26.5 percent of all IT industry employment, nearly equal to the IT Services sector. Software firm counts have seen significant gains as well, with 2008 levels increasing by 53 percent above 1998 levels. Similar to the other core IT sectors, the number of software firms grew during those years when employment declined after the dot-com bust. The number of firms in the Software sector jumped substantially between 2000 and 2002 (by 16.6 percent) and again between 2002 and 2004 (by 10.3 percent). Many of these gains were lost by 2006, but the sector rebounded in 2008, ending the ten-year period with 53.0 percent more firms than in 1998. This may be a promising sign of future growth and the overall health of the sector in Massachusetts.

Add comment December 7, 2009

Throwing out the neo-classical job recovery in Massachussetts, aka we’ve got a job recovery in the software engineering field

So, with unemployment continuing the rise, but the Dow at it’s highest point in 2009, what’s a potential client to think?

Bottom-line, we all want to think/believe that “this time is different” about recent economic conditions – but that is a fallacy — yes, it’s tough in many geographical regions, yes, the job market for many cohorts is very tough — BUT – peaking unemployment is a GOOD thing, as it always signals an economy in recovery.

The actual path by which the national economy will recover is still subject to much variability — but, most important to us here in the MA software engineer/technology market – we have a shortage of qualified candidates. Not candidates who could “do the job”, but the key difference – people who are DOING THE JOB now that our clients needs.

I count at least 20 positions our clients have assigned, that have a real shortage of even remotely qualified candidates!!

Where are you? You’re scared about changing jobs during all the “Noise” out there — tune out the newspaper, and think like a contrarian – you want to be looking for a job when others are not. It still takes work, but clients who meet a highly qualified candidate are ready to hire you! NOW!

If you’d like to discuss the market, and opportunities for highly specialized and exceptional software engineer candidates (Computer Science degree and meaty experience) – drop me a line – scott@biviumgroup.com

Add comment November 10, 2009

HOT new job! Java/J2EE/Spring Senior Software Engineer with lead potential

Been a busy summer, trying to enjoy the nice weather when it’s been here. Gearing up for another week off, with a BIG family reunion. Should be a wonderful time to see those we’ve not seen in a long time.

On the recruiting front, July ended up being the busiest recruiting month since the “Great Recession” started in Sept 08. I’ve said it before a few months back, and I’ll repeat it here – the recession in technology, in Boston, appears to now be over. The “recovery” it likely going to be a bumpy road, but all the signs I hear & see from clients & candidates, are pointing in the right direction.

On that front, a GREAT NEW job below:

PLEASE: LOCAL candidates in MA only, no visa transfers, consulting firms, phone calls, or contractors.

=== Senior/Principal Software Engineer with leadership potential. Waltham, MA area

Profitable, mature startup. This is a small team in the software engineering group that specializes in working with middle to back-end technologies.

Developing a new, next-gen product. Great team, growing aggressively in 2009. Multiple Bivium hires.

(from 8/13/09 discussion with hiring manager) The key points your resume should demonstrate:

1. Spring, J2EE, XML and Javascript are all must haves – hands-on coding – not just architecture.

2. Nice to have some JMS (not a must have). Moving to Weblogic and Websphere. That is experience would be a big plus too.

3. The team is 8 people, and 5 of the 8 have less than 4 years experience. Someone who can take on some “technical leadership” or mentoring would get a leg-up on other candidates.

4. Well-rounded engineer – can talk to a customer or colleague as easily as bang out elegant J2EE code

5. Strong top-down SDLC view — not compartmentalized, but someone who can see the

“whole big picture”.

Salary to the 115k area + excellent benefit plan and a very strong engineering team with very low turnover to become part of.

Interested in exploring this opportunity?

Please send a resume to scott@biviumgroup.com – subject line “Senior/Lead Java Spring”

More about me: http://www.linkedin.com/in/scottdunlop – ranked as Boston’s #1 Software Recruiter

Catch-up on my blog for the latest news: http://scottdunlop.wordpress.com/

Formal job desc: The Principal Software Engineer will join a team developing the next generation of products. You will be responsible for all phases of development including writing functional specifications, designing related user interfaces, performing high-level and detailed technical design, implementing software, writing unit tests, characterizing performance, and integrating subsystems. You will be a versatile member of the team, able to contribute to both client-side and server-side initiatives. Required Qualifications: § 10+ years of software engineering experience with 7+ years designing and developing multi-tier enterprise products using J2EE technologies: Java, JDBC, JMS, Spring, Web Services. § Web application user-interface design and implementation experience using J2EE-based technologies, including AJAX and Javascript. § Experience developing and configuring production-quality software that runs on Weblogic, Websphere, or Oracle Application Server. § Experience developing and deploying on multiple OS including Linux, Windows, and Solaris. § High aptitude for learning and mentoring others. § Excellent organizational, interpersonal and communication skills. § BS or MS in Computer Science or Engineering

keywords: Java, J2EE, spring, hibernate, MVC, JMS, Javascript, XML, software engineer, webservices, senior software engineer, principal software engineer, lead engineer, scott dunlop, bivium group, weblogic, websphere

2 comments August 13, 2009

I’m quoted in CNN/Money article on “Where the Tech Jobs are” -

I’m back from vacation!

Read the full article here – http://bit.ly/ZNAgu – but, we’ve started to see the first few signs of the market turnaround here in Boston. I’ve had more jobs open in the past 3 weeks, that the prior 3 months combined.

Add comment July 21, 2009

Venture Capital Index (Confidence!) rises for 2nd straight quarter

According to this CNET article – http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-10282905-92.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-5 , for the 2nd straight quarter, VCs are becoming increasingly optimistic about the nascent recovery in the economy. This survey is specific to West Coast/San Fran VCs, but the polling is from June — very recent and useful data.

This reflects not only what we are hearing, but what we are seeing in the past 3-4 weeks here in the Boston, MA software engineering job market — that firms that put the brakes on hiring in the Fall, and/or budgeting for lean operations, are starting to thaw out their recruiting budgets and make strategic hires. It’s a great sign for all of us, when the VCs show optimism, as the money, brainpower, and infrastructure that entrepreneurs bring to bear on a situation are usually the catalysts that bring us out of such an economic tsunami.

Although the national economic picture is still awful, as is the Boston job market, the software/IT industry has better weathered this storm, and is showing signs of being the first-mover to the recovery phase. With the Nasdaq leading all major indices this year (around +10%) and recent M&A activity (EMC for Data Domain), I remain confident we’re on the recovery path. That said – I’ve got nearly a dozen unfilled, and “HOT” jobs that need to be filled — the requirements are very specific, but if you’re waiting for “better days” to make a move — beat the rush and snag one of these outstanding jobs — drop Boston’s #1 Software engineer recruiter a line – scott@biviumgroup.com

1 comment July 9, 2009

Mass adds 5000 jobs in May, unemployment up to 8.2%

Definitely a positive sign to read that Mass officially added job s in the month of May – led by the tech sector - http://www.boston.com/jobs/news/articles/2009/06/19/bay_state_gains_jobs_in_may/

Although we are still very much in “bear mode” overall, I am confident, barring any unexpected developments, that we are at an inflection point and that the market will steadily improve as the year moves into the 4th quarter – with a fairly robust recovery of the Boston/Massachusetts software engineering job market in Q1 of 2010. We are starting to see companies that needed to hire over the 6-9 months gain confidence in “pulling the lever” on hiring.

Good candidates should take this opportunity to dust off the resume, and start proactively looking for the ‘right place’ now. Once every else is in “me too” mode, the noise will fall back the other way.

1 comment June 20, 2009

Calling all Ph.Ds in Computer Science – C/C++/Java – supercomputing/massively parallel systems

PLEASE – local candidates only, no contractors, consulting firms or visa transfers.

Due to the extremely high bar, and specific requirements of our client, only those candidates best fitting the

position description will be contacted.

====

Concord, MA area – parallel systems, super computing, distributed systems, massively parallel computing backgrounds are all “on target” for this client.

Ph.Ds in Computer Science – junior to Principal level salaries to 140k + bonus.

Our client, a widly profitable, software product company is looking to add a few brilliant Computer Scientists, with

robust commerical experience (or strong academics/internships).

A Ph.D. in Computer Science (or very closely related area) is a must have. This environment is filled with some of the best of the best – MIT, Stanford, Tsinghua, IIT, Carnegie-Mellon etc etc

Strong distributed, complex apps work in C/C++ and/or Java is required

This client’s gruelling interview style and process ensures that anyone offered a job, will be in the company

of other genius-level colleagues. A true environment where the best & brightest are successful. We’re talking about 2% turnover in engineering in the past 8 years.

You’d better love the whiteboard, and not be afraid to prove your skills!

IF you’re up to the challenge, send a resume to scott@biviumgroup.com “Ph.D Software Engineer”

HOT NEW JOB!