Where can we find top-notch python developers?

[Alex Martelli]

Nicholas Reville <npr at pculture.org> wrote:

> Hi, I hope this is an OK spot for this question:
   ...
> We're looking to expand our development team, but we haven't been  
> getting enough top-quality applicants.  I was wondering if anyone  
> here has suggestions for where we can post or list these job  
> openings.  This is the job description:

Yes, this is OK, as is http://www.python.org/community/jobs/ as Roy
suggested, most mailing lists of local Python interest groups (I'm not
sure they ALL welcome Python-related job offers, but I do know that
applies to the ones I read, both Italian and US ones), and so on.

The real problem, though, is that the job market for really top-notch
Python developers is getting really squeezed these days -- around here,
for example, "big-name" firms such as Google, BitTorrent, Pixar and
Industrial Lights and Magic suddenly find themselves in pretty hot
competition for a pool of talent that can't grow fast enough to
accomodate the demand.

You appear to be ready to hire people anywhere in the world, which puts
you in a much stronger competitive position. I know quite a few people
I'd just *LOVE* to hire... save for the fact that I just can't convince
them to move (in fact, in some cases, thanks to the delightful situation
with H1B visas, even if I _could_ convince them, it would still be WAY
uphill from there, darn).

Unfortunately, I entirely understand _why_ most software development
firms prefer face-to-face employees: when I found myself, back when I
was a freelance consultant, alternatively working remotely for some
time, and at the client's office for another part of the time, I saw my
productivity soar by 3-4 times when I was working locally, physically
right next to the rest of the team, rather than remotely -- nowadays,
open-source projects have discovered the same issue, which is why they
have "sprints" with everybody gathering in the same place, where SO much
more good work gets done than when everybody's connected to each other
only via the net... Alistair Cockburn makes similar observations in his
book "Agile Software Development", how it seems projects can be truly
agile only if the team is co-located... ah well:-(. It would be SO much
more convenient, for workers and firms both, if reality would be so kind
to us as to be different!-)


Anyway, best of luck!


Alex