Hot new job in Woburn, MA – Cloud Software Engineers C++, Web Dev (Rails/Perl/Python), SQA – awesome opportunity!

Working on some fun new software engineer jobs, exclusively with a client in the Woburn, MA area:

Our client, a well-known, public company in Woburn, MA, with a small development group in MA (15 engineers) has exclusively engaged me to add 5 new engineers to their team.
This is the best of both worlds – great benefits and investment in the tools/technologies you need + bleeding edge “cool” stuff – CLOUD and VIRTUALIZATION and NETWORKING!

We have three groups we are recruiting for:

Web Development – these are folks with OO web skills – Ruby/Rails/RoR/PHP/Python/Perl – any/all mix is fine

Core engine/software engineers – complex, threaded C++ work — should have a heavy duty CS background. More Senior/Principal software engineer.

SQA – manual and automation, with more emphasis on automation. Work in a wireless, networking or cloud software company is a huge bonus.

State of the Boston Software Engineering job market – HOT! – Mass Unemployment down to 7.4% in Aug

It’s been a busy Summer and Autumn is just around the corner…. hopefully the Red Sox get out of their funk soon.

The overall economic recovery is moribund and reminds me of the early 1990s. Without getting into politics, lets just say that both parties are complicit and we have 20 years of bad choices to start correcting. It’s not going to happen overnight, and will be painful.

However, the one, super-shiny, bright light in this economy is the Tech Economy – and nowhere is the engine of job growth burning more brightly than in the Boston, Massachusetts software engineering job market!

As this Boston Globe article points out - http://bo.st/pDnegF the Mass State Unemployment rate is now the lowest it’s been since Feb 2009 – 7.4% with net jobs created of approximately 42000 since the year began.

The market trends for software engineers/tech talent in the Boston area are on the same trajectory as earlier in the year – and are in heavy demand. However, the more experienced (read expensive salaries) candidates, and those without hands-on coding skills are having a much tougher time.

Macro-economic trends are still very favorable for the tech economy, and like everyone — this time of the year is one of the busiest all around.

If you’d like to learn more about the market – hiring for your organization, or to conduct a highly targeted, discrete search – please reach out to me – scott@biviumgroup.com – Boston area’s #1 Software Engineer jobs/recruiter!

HOT JOB in Medway, MA Software Engineers – Java/J2EE – nice South & West commute – from Scott Dunlop

Medway,MA- Senior/Principal Java/J2EE Software Engineers – 3+ openings for talented software engineers

BRAND new development group South of Boston – Bivium has placed 6+ people on this team working on very cool voice/speech applications on a small, agile team – high profile and “cool factor”.

This client has closed a big round of VC, but didn’t “need it” they were already profitable – this is to further grow and expand during a boom-time for their business.

Hiring manager is someone we’ve worked with for years on multiple ventures – great manager! Seasoned/experienced management team here.

Easy reverse commute from the greater Boston area and points South.

Client could hire 3 additional people for their continued booming business model. From a junior to a Principal – target are candidates in the 90 to 115k area + stock and excellent benefits.

 

Most important skillset is great Java experience – the rest is “teachable”

 

Java/J2EE, xml, java, vxml, webservices, agile environment. Core skill is strong Java.

Sound interesting? Send a resume to scott@biviumgroup.com - subject line “Medway Java”

 

Tech job fair turns away recruiters – scott@biviumgroup.com – Boston’s #1 software engineer jobs/recruiter

Tech job fair turns away recruiters- similar to the #Boston #SoftwareEngineer job market here with #Bivium @scottdunlop http://bit.ly/dPOtIN

Hot-shot junior rockstar/ninjas software engineers – C#/Java/Ruby – scott@biviumgroup.com – Boston’s #1 software engineer recruiter/jobs

JOB hot-shot junior rockstar/ninjas with C#/.NET/Java/RoR #Boston, MA software engineers http://bit.ly/hKTwHi – BYO guitar/katanas

NYT article, how difficult recruiting for junior computer science/software engineers has become – starting Google salaries for fresh grads at 90-105k! – scott@biviumgroup.com – Boston’s top software engineer jobs/recruiter

NYT article, how difficult recruiting for jr CS software engineers has become – starting GOOG salary 90-105k http://ow.ly/4ncOr @scottdunlop

Woburn, MA rockstar/ninja software engineers – junior candidates 0-6 years to 100k – java/C# – hardcore computer science skills! – scott@biviumgroup.com – Boston’s top software engineer jobs/recruiter

Woburn, MA rockstar/ninja software engineers/web developer 0-6 yrs to 100k+ Java/C#/OO @scottdunlop #tweetmyjobs #boston http://ow.ly/4lInR

Multiple offer scenarios very common in Boston, MA and increasing in the Executive ranks – scott@biviumgroup.com – Boston’s #1 Software Engineer recruiter

In the Boston, MA software engineer job market — we are seeing multiple offers becoming the “norm” — whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing, depends on your perspective. Firms that make quick offers and then put tremendous pressure to accept or decline before a candidate has seen all their job interviews through to completion, IMHO are doing the candidates a disservice. (But I do understand the motivation!)

Who wants to make arguably, one of the most important decisions for the next few years, without some degree of certainty, and all the information on the table?

“Bidding-wars” and multiple offers with signing bonuses, excessive salary outliers and weird perks are starting to re-enter the market, and for me, are a signal flashing “warning” – not about the market, but just about being sure to carve out your own time necessary to make a decision and not find your self seeking work again in a few months.

This WSJ article confirms several data points - http://on.wsj.com/ec8yHj

**51% of candidates are receiving multiple offers vs.35% a year ago

**56% of recruiters have seen “sweetened” offers at the offer stage

With the recent market turmoil in Japan, it’s hard to tell if the USA-wise recovery will be pushed off, but, my expectation is that we’ll be having a few bumpy/uncomfortable weeks (globally) but the job recovery, at least in the Boston, MA software engineer job market has a lot of momentum. Hearts, prayers and thoughts to all those in Japan.

Java/OpenSource/Cassandra/MapReduce/Hadoop Software Engineer job – Cambridge, MA to 130k

Java/OpenSource/Cassandra/MapReduce/Hadoop/MySQL – Cambridge, MA – Big Data @scottdunlop – #jobs#tweetmyjobs#boston http://ow.ly/316UG

#tweetmyjobs Cambridge, MA Flex/ActionSc

#tweetmyjobs Cambridge, MA Flex/ActionScript/AS3 contract to perm 75/hr 1099 http://ow.ly/2Ub1b @scottdunlop

#tweetmyjobs #cambridge Lead/Director of

#tweetmyjobs #cambridge Lead/Director of Web Development – Python/Django/B2C/Ecommerce opp to 150k http://ow.ly/2QQe5 @scottdunlop

#jobs #boston Video Protocols Software E

#jobs #boston Video Protocols Software Engineer – C++ Linux – Marlborough, MA http://ow.ly/2QcLP @scottdunlop

#job #boston Embedded Software Architect

#job #boston Embedded Software Architect – C++/Linux Marlborough, MA to 135k http://ow.ly/2Qcz1 @scottdunlop

Principal RIA/Flex/Silverlight GUI Softw

Principal RIA/Flex/Silverlight GUI Software Engineer – Marlborough, MA area http://ow.ly/2Qbw3 @scottdunlop #jobs #boston

#jobs #boston Human Factors/UI Architect

#jobs #boston Human Factors/UI Architect Cambridge, MA to 130k, http://ow.ly/2OhSh @scottdunlop

Cambridge, MA SQA Lead/Manager to 130k h

Cambridge, MA SQA Lead/Manager to 130k http://ow.ly/2ITIa, super high growth company & role #jobs #SQA #boston #startup

Cambridge, MA SQA Lead/Manager to 130k h

Cambridge, MA SQA Lead/Manager to 130k http://ow.ly/2ITIa, super high growth company & role #jobs #SQA #boston #startup

Cambridge, MA SQA Lead/Manager to 130k h

Cambridge, MA SQA Lead/Manager to 130k http://ow.ly/2ITIa, super high growth company & role #jobs #SQA #boston #startup @scottdunlop

Mass. Venture Capital/VC funding up, waay up in Q2 – by 19%

Q2 was a huge quarter here in the Boston, MA market — with $792.2 million over 81 deals – representing 19% uptick on the activity side, and 56% in volume – the whole article can be found here – http://bit.ly/a8xF5h  but this is consistent with the huge market shift I’ve been seeing in the past 6 months — the market is very active and very hot — across all tiers from junior software engineers up to principal software engineers. LOTS of RoR/Rails work, J2EE remains active, and tons of C#/.NET 3.5/4.0.

Drop me a line if you’d like to chat – scott@biviumgroup.com

Mass Tech Software Engineer Job market – it’s a talent war like 1999

Reflecting the increasingly challenging recruiting market everyone sees – people going on the record to talk about how hard recruiting star candidates has quickly become.

I’m seeing the exact same trends, and VERY savvy juniors on up asking the same good questions – investors, burn rate, equity allocation, options details and future growth positioning — all critical questions and companies not prepared, or ill-prepared, should be ready to lose the oncoming talent war. Demographics in Boston area are working against us — better adjust expectations.

If you’re looking to get a leg up on the competition in the Boston, MA software engineering talent war — drop me a line – scott@biviumgroup.com – Boston area’s #1 software engineer recruiter!

Full Mass High Tech article is here http://bit.ly/cX6BLU

Back in the office – job market on fire! Hot job for C++/OpenGL Graphics Software Engineers – Burlington, MA

Well, things sure are busy after being out for a number of weeks. Seems like just about every strong client is hiring, and that’s only encouraging more candidates to dip their toes into the market.

If you’re thinking of exploring the market, now is the perfect time — excellent companies are hiring, and excellent talent is looking — drop me a line for a confidential discussion – scott@biviumgroup.com – Boston area’s #1 Software Engineer/Web Recruiter.

Today’s hot job – multiple new C++/OpenGL Graphics Software Engineers – http://bit.ly/c6KIPv – Burlington, MA area

March Madness: Boston Software Engineer/Computer Science JOB market explodes!

Happy Spring to everyone! Although the Mass. and national economy continues to slowly grow new jobs, the Boston/Mass. Software Engineering/Computer Science market has been red hot in Q1. We’ve seen over 50 new job openings in March, along with evidence from candidates, clients, and our colleagues in industry that the perception of the market and it’s reality are detached.
Simply put — if you are a top-notch, super-sharp, software engineer, ready to strut your stuff — the rest of your competition has not woke up the sharp increase in demand from clients for all levels of software engineering hires. Strongest demand is clustered in three distinct areas – Web 2.0/J2EE/Ruby , LAMP/PHP/MySQL and C#/.NET 3.5/4.0 from associate/junior software engineers to the Senior/Principal level.

We’ve not yet seen a recovery in the Principal+ market – as this cohort has been effectively marginalized over the past two recessions, with real, inflation-adjusted wages falling over the past decade by ~ 30% by my calculations.

That said, as this recovery has legs, and has been building momentum since last Fall, I fully expect by Q3/Q4 that the Principal+ market (Lead Software Engineer, Architect, Manager, Director, VP Engineering) to reach a more balanced market.

Some clients have not woke-up to the severe market shift, and are recruiting like it’s Oct 2008 — and many candidates are paying way too much attention to the headlines that sell newspapers — from recent accounts, the voluntary turnover or “quit rate” is at its lowest rate in the past decade — no doubt in large part due to the fear-mongering and partisan politics of the current time.

My best advice — put on your blinders and focus on making a change for the better!

I remain, Boston’s #1 Software Engineer/Computer Science Recruiter

Scott Dunlop – scott@biviumgroup.com

Recruiting for a Lead/Principal Java/server financial software engineer – machine learning/super computer – funded, Cambridge, MA startup

Despite the weather, starting the week off right, with a HOT and very interesting new job – Lead/Principal Java server Software Engineer – focus on Financial experience, algorithms, machine-learning etc for more info see here http://bit.ly/8OzJq7

Drop me a line – scott@biviumgroup.com – Boston’s #1 Software Engineer recruiter!

Happy New Year! 2010 MA Software Engineer/Computer Science/IT job market outlook – Positive

Happy New Year to everyone and I hope it was as wonderful and relaxing time as I was able to enjoy. As the ball dropped and the calendar moved over to 2010, the focus for millions across the country are on the job market.

Here in the Massachusetts software engineer/computer science/IT market we are seeing a very strong and sustained pickup in demand from clients and hearing & seeing much the same from our colleagues in the industry. Slowly, but surely the “slack” and shock from layoffs in the aftermath of the “great recession” have been cast-off and optimism is renewed – notwithstanding the insane travel nightmares between mother nature and the 9+ year war on terror — clients and candidates are ready, willing and able to execute on finding a great position, or adding to their staff.

At last count, I have over 50 open software engineering positions (most confidential searches and not publicly posted) scattered amongst Boston/Cambridge, 128, and 495 – across a variety of levels and vertical markets (from associate software engineers to Lead/Architect software engineers) – from stable, but fast-growing, agile public software companies to stealth startups and every conceivable size in-between.

Please get in touch to confidentially discuss how I can partner with you – scott@biviumgroup.com – Boston’s #1 software engineer recruiter!

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.

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

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.

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

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!

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! QA/SQA for medical device (web apps & embedded) – 495, MA

Have a hot new job for someone with QA/SQA experience in the medical device space (or similar regulated field) – 495N location in MA. See http://bit.ly/QAMedicaldevice for more details

Looks like a great weekend to get out and enjoy the sun!

Enjoy,

Scott

C++ Linux Software Engineer – video apps

Been very busy with wedding planning – fun stuff!! A couple new jobs today to talk about – the first is a C++ Linux role in Cambridge, MA – focus on video apps – more of a mid-level ~ 105k salary -http://bit.ly/LinuxSoftwareEng – 2nd role is much more algorithmic/search in nature Java/C++/C#/Ruby – client doesn’t care what language you’re a master of,  just that you’ve got the chops to work for GOOG or MSFT, but you choose not to. 20 person company looking for “the best of the best”

Possible Facebook IPO reminds me of Google in 2004 – inflection point of tech market turn – Boston software job market improving

With the ground being laid by Facebook for a possible IPO - http://bit.ly/facebookIPO – it’s eerily reminiscent of the market back in 2004 – IPOs were way down (in fact 2008 was the worst IPO market in an entire generation) – but along came a big-name, and after a successful IPO (in doubt leading up to that point remember, some didn’t want to pay the~ $80 price), the market psychology shifted along with a rockin IPO.

I firmly believe the tech market will be one of the leading edges of this next market recovery – and a high profile IPO like Facebook could be the fuel that ignites the nascent market forces. There are by some accounts several trillion in capital on the sidelines.

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been seeing and hearing a lot of laid-off candidates getting rehired on contract to their old employers, and wisely so! Foolish firms that think they can post a job online and have the best talent flock to them, have been sorely surprised during the entire downturn, at least here in Boston.

HOT NEW Job – Junior Release Engineer/web apps engineer – Cambridge, MA

For a long-time private, profitable software client in Cambridge, MA – salary from 60-75k – our target is a 1-8 year experienced release/build engineer + some QA/IT/web apps/livesite – good generalist role – see http://bit.ly/releaseengineer for more info.

Drop me a line scott@biviumgroup.com if you’re interested.

HOT NEW Job – Product Manager/Director – Cambridge, MA – Mobile or consumer-facing

Another hot new job today – for a Product Manager/Director in Cambridge, MA – this client requires someone with either extensive Mobile experience or ideally, large-scale consumer-facing web apps experience.

Full job description is here http://bit.ly/34axJp -

This week has been decidedly busy, and although we continue bump along bottom, here in Boston, we are much better off that many other technology centers (yes, I know it doesn’t feel that way to most).

Recruiting/networking for a MySQL DBA/hacker rockstar – for a Cambridge, MA startup – MIT roots

Long-time Bivium client – very cool shop – placed most of the team — MIT roots everywhere. Recruiting networking for a MySQL DBA/hacker:

“I would say we are looking for 2 ends of the spectrum.  Either an up and coming rockstar who has good chops already but maybe not a lot of production experience (but gets the web 2.0 space and the scale of apps) or someone who has been around in the MySQL world. Our target companies are the current web 2.0 gurus – facebook, flickr, amazon, and the likes.  Those folks will obviously be more expensive.

The range is flexible based on that – probably < 80K for the former and around 100K for the later.

Experience/Education:

1 – 3+ years MySQL DBA experience. Microsoft SQL Server experience is a bonus

Experience with Python, Perl, or other scripting language

Linux system admin experience (you know more than the typical IT admin)

You are a the best DBA you know and are told over and over again that you rock

Qualities:

Self-learner, hacker, open-source advocate who can work on large scale web systems (dozens of MySQL databases running in the cloud and in a managed data-center) and has dealt with terabytes of data, thousands of tables, and hundreds of millions of records

Experience in operations of the servers such as job-scheduling (using cron or equivalent), data-movement, data-conversion, and keeping the engines running

Experience with large scale database applications using partitioning/sharding/proxying/replication, index tuning, I/O tuning, and throwing the book at how to make the system scale (without creating a US government sized deficit).

Has implemented highly available systems using replication and clustering

Has Exposure or experience into capacity planning including server sizing (disk, RAM, network, etc.).”

Sound like you? Send a resume to scott@biviumgroup.com for an intro

Back from vacation – feeling the thaw in the market

So, I’m back from my trip throughout Egypt and Jordan (Petra) – it was an amazing, facinating and wonderful trip – a few pics are posted here. While gone, and so far while back – we’ve been seeing a few glimmers of a thaw in the market – not a wholesale shift, but definitely “more” than we’ve seen since October. Nevertheless, the MA unemployment rate is up to 7.8%, but still below the national average. The volume of candidates is still very high, with the ratio of candidates that are the “cream of the crop” lower than ever. For example, while out over 16 days, just over 2000 resumes were deposited in my email. Wow! Good to be back, and look forward to catching up on MA software engineer jobs.

Lycos.com Waltham office to lay off 50% of staff

Have heard from several very reliable sources that the Waltham, MA office of www.lycos.com is going to lay off about 50% of the organization. Software Engineers are not sure which groups exactly are going to be affected, or which engineers may still have a job by month’s end. Considering the trajectory and businesses that Lycos still plays in, definitely not a surprise.

Mass Unemployment up to 5.9%, but trails US average – software engineers in demand still

According to today’s press release http://lmi2.detma.org/lmi/Newsrelease/NewsLMI20081218.htm - the MA unemployment rate is up to 5.9%, but trails the national rate of 6.7%. In reading through, net jobs were STILL created in the software space. It’s not easy out there, but, good candidates are still receiving job offers and companies should be aware that competition for AAA+ candidates is as fierce as ever.

Big iRobot layoffs, perhaps as much as 33%, Akamai & other right behind

Late last week I received word that iRobot had a very sizeable layoff – as much as 33% of their Burlington office — including some very strong engineering talent. Akamai also laid off 100+ a couple weeks ago. There is no doubt the market is being anticipatory of future economics vs. current economics — many companies are still profitable, but are now adjusting expenses for their anticipated revenue/profit curve slowdowns. Compared to past recessions this is definitely a change — considering the “jobless” recovery post 9-11 recession (2002-05 here in Mass.) there is not that much room to cut for many firms. 

The trends I am seeing – the amount of noise in the system is increasing – and our clients who are hiring are aiming higher and higher on the expectations side – many could argue that they are unreasonably high! Unfortunately, it’s going to be this time next year before the job market begins to rebound — it’ll “feel” better by late Spring — but, by then, the unemployment rate in Mass will likely be up by 0.8 to a full 1.0 rise. 

I still have some very “hot” clients – but their needs are highly particular these days — graphics kernel developers, junior/mid level Ivy league CS grads with Java skills, HPC linux kernel software engineers etc.

Mass. Unemployment rate up to 5.5% in Oct – silver lining, net jobs created in technology

There is no doubt at all that the market is tanking, the stock market is now below 2003 levels and the psychological impact of the Big 3 Detroit Automakers going bankrupt (IMO a net positive so they can restructure their costs to the 21st centure) — it’s a avalanche of bad news. It just keeps coming as the Mass. unemployment rate is up to 5.5%, I suspect we’ll be around 6.3-6.5% by the time this recession is over. The good news? We’re still 1% below the national average, even CNN/Money had an article yesteday touting Mass. as the #1 Innovation economy, and technology companies actually had a net increase in jobs for Oct.  

The holidays are here, and job hunting is never easy around this time of the year — but, especially so for 2008. We are still setting up interviewing, but all recruiting is now very specific and all about the “perfect match” — of the people I’ve placed since the credit crisis started in Sept, all have been very specialized, and also learned to interview to the market.

Full text of the Boston.com article here:

Mass. unemployment rises to 5.5 percent

November 20, 2008 10:26 AMEmail| Comments (0)| Text size – +

The Bay State’s unemployment rate continued to march higher in October, but remained below the national average, according to the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.

The agency said today that the state’s unemployment rate climbed to 5.5 percent in October, up from 5.3 percent the previous month and 4.3 percent rate a year ago. Nationally, the jobless rate leaped from 6.1 percent in September to 6.5 percent in October.

The data were another sign of how hard the state’s economy has been hurt by the global financial crisis and national economic recession.

Overall, Massachusetts lost 7,000 jobs in October; that follows the loss of 3,100 jobs in September, based on a survey of more than 9,000 employers.

Some sectors were particularly hard hit:

* Construction. Lost 2,300 jobs as many projects were put on hold because of the credit crisis.

* Manufacturing. Lost 900 jobs with declines in both durable and non-durable goods. Manufacturing in the state hit a new low of 289,600 jobs.

* Education and health services. Lost 900 jobs as educational companies did not hire as much as usual in the fall.

* Trade, transportation, and utilities. Shed 2,700 jobs, due primarily to losses in transportation, warehousing, retail trade, and wholesale trade – all of which have been hard hit by slower consumer spending.

* Leisure and hospitality. Lost 1,600 jobs, split among arts, entertainment/recreation and accommodation, and food services.

By contrast, jobs increased in professional sectors by 1,100 jobs in October as companies relied more on temporary workers. The financial services sector lost 200 jobs, as a steep decline in real estate was off-set by gains in finance and insurance. The information sector gained 200 jobs. 
(By Todd Wallack, Globe staff)