What's special about working at Pivotal?
Our Pivots respect each other. Our offices are open and social places, and it's easy to walk over to another pairing station and get help with a problem you might be having. We have a culture of software craftsmanship and professional development. We expect our developers to consistently write excellent code, and to spend time learning to improve their writing skills.
You can check out this talk to get a sense of how we write code.
What are the hiring criteria?
We focus on aptitude, cultural fit, and empathy. We like you to have a solid interest in languages and tools; we also like to know how you think, talk, and listen about code. We desire people who will think broadly about the codebase as a whole whilst pairing on code. Our Pivots also help frame good decisions about which direction to take a project.
What is the interview process like?
We do a lot of pair programming and naturally it’s an integral part of our recruitment process. Our senior Pivots will initially conduct a phone screen and/or a language neutral interview as the starting point. We then conduct additional interviews where you will pair with our Pivots on live projects, and actually get your hands on some codebase. You wouldn't cast an actor without an audition; we don't hire a programmer without pairing together.
What technologies does Pivotal use?
Right now much of the work we do is Rails, with a large quantity of mobile (iOS, Android, Mobile Web). We choose to work in languages that are TDD-friendly, programmer-friendly and that deliver excellent results.
Can I work in any Pivotal office?
We have campuses in San Francisco, Boulder, New York and Singapore. We often offer our Pivots the opportunity to work in locations away from home base, and we encourage cross campus knowledge sharing.