IT uses windows exclusively = it’s a Windows shop. “Senior backend engineer” tells us nothing, but the skills required to work for Devin in an exclusively windows environment would have been obvious.
“Senior backend engineer” tells us it’s likely backend software development, which is mostly platform agnostic. NodeJS, PHP, Python or whatever language you want to write your backend in can be developed on any OS. Even C#, unless you insist on specific versions.
The limitation to Windows as a developer OS was likely not communicated in the job advert or during the interview process and was only revealed when the developer machine was requested.
Going purely on phrasing, Devin seems to be head of IT. So this may be his call to make, but this will alienate some candidates, as we can see.
Software development on Windows is a uniquely frustrating experience. Nowadays it can mostly be sidestepped with WSL, but that still leaves you “using” an OS that you will have to fight frequently.
Ah, okay. I wasn’t thinking of the job title in terms of software development, I was thinking in terms of backend infrastructure. That’s my own career bias showing. I still think the post comes off as privileged as IDEs a mostly OS agnostic. The biggest hurdle is the environment that’s being developed for, which I still maintain OP should have been able to sus out during the application and interview process.
What makes you assume it’s a Windows shop?
The words and the particular order they’re in.
I really don’t see which part of “senior backend engineer” suggests a Windows shop to you. Devin is the internal IT support person of the company.
IT uses windows exclusively = it’s a Windows shop. “Senior backend engineer” tells us nothing, but the skills required to work for Devin in an exclusively windows environment would have been obvious.
“Senior backend engineer” tells us it’s likely backend software development, which is mostly platform agnostic. NodeJS, PHP, Python or whatever language you want to write your backend in can be developed on any OS. Even C#, unless you insist on specific versions.
The limitation to Windows as a developer OS was likely not communicated in the job advert or during the interview process and was only revealed when the developer machine was requested.
Going purely on phrasing, Devin seems to be head of IT. So this may be his call to make, but this will alienate some candidates, as we can see.
Software development on Windows is a uniquely frustrating experience. Nowadays it can mostly be sidestepped with WSL, but that still leaves you “using” an OS that you will have to fight frequently.
Ah, okay. I wasn’t thinking of the job title in terms of software development, I was thinking in terms of backend infrastructure. That’s my own career bias showing. I still think the post comes off as privileged as IDEs a mostly OS agnostic. The biggest hurdle is the environment that’s being developed for, which I still maintain OP should have been able to sus out during the application and interview process.