You don't want to hire "the best engineers"

Posted by rachofsunshine 9/2/2025

You don't want to hire "the best engineers"(www.otherbranch.com)

393 points | 319 commentspage 8

shenenee 9/2/2025|

Straight up recruitment bs

mrbluecoat 9/2/2025||

You're right, don't hire the best engineers - let them create a startup instead with more VC funding than you've ever dreamed of, then watch as they erode your market share through aggressive marketing, better features, and faster release cycles as they slowly displace you by siphoning off your second-best engineers and eventually get bought out by your biggest competitor.

phoronixrly 9/2/2025||

I am also getting a 'these are not the droids you're looking for' vibe from this

tmnvdb 9/2/2025||

Did you read the article?

mrbluecoat 9/2/2025||

Yes, the points are valid but over-generalized. I've met many engineers that I would consider are "the best" which aren't whining remote prima donnas the article makes them all out to be.

sfvisser 9/2/2025||

[flagged]

Glyptodon 9/2/2025||

I haven't seen a lot of evidence of this. Just a lot of CEOs and managers who really want it to be true.

bbor 9/2/2025|||

Dang, the cope is rarely this obvious. Don't take out your commute on the rest of us, we're harmless!

iLemming 9/2/2025||

This! Most people don't even realize how much we sacrifice just to get to the office - even if your commute is only 30 minutes (which sounds amazing for a developed country like the US) - it still adds up to 240 hours per year - equivalent to 6 weeks of work time. Now, if your employer is honest with you - they are paying these costs, in most cases - it comes out of your pocket.

Software developers have been building large projects successfully without ever seeing each other for decades. Somehow Linux kernel, Apache projects, Postgres, Mozilla, Emacs, or Neovim hackers do not need to be in the same office every day, yet they've been around for decades and they definitely have some of the best programmers involved. Complex software can be successfully developed without daily in-person interaction.

If you're striving to become a great software developer - do plan to switch to work fully remotely at some point of your life if not today. Because great software developers understand the value of time - they can build some amazing shit in six weeks, instead of spending that time on the road.

monkeyelite 9/2/2025||

This is just true on its face. Imagine you were building a new CPU architecture and the head engineer was just not at the office.

Maybe people would agree if we change the word “best” to “most responsible” or “most accountable”.

Apocryphon 9/2/2025|||

Mac OS X was largely ported to Intel by John Kullmann working remotely, close enough. (Several more engineers were added to the project but not until a year and a half after he started.)

https://www.quora.com/Apple-company/How-does-Apple-keep-secr...

monkeyelite 9/3/2025||

A solo tech explore is not leading a project.

Apocryphon 9/3/2025||

Forget leading a project, he completed most of it.

monkeyelite 9/3/2025||

I didn’t say you couldn’t write a lot of code remotely.

Apocryphon 9/3/2025||

I guess it depends on what you mean by “building a new CPU architecture.” Granted, porting an existing one to another existing one isn’t the same thing, but it’s as momentous an accomplishment, no?

monkeyelite 9/5/2025||

Let me restate so there is no confusion.

Large projects, that require coordination with many people, are difficult to lead remotely. It tends to require building relationship and face-to-face problem solving to get alignment. The most valuable and well-paid engineers in the industry are these.

Projects which are technically difficult, but do not require leadership can often be done remotely. The best fit for a remote worker is someone using technical skills they already have, to further goals that are already defined. Many skilled engineers serve this function.

Does that clear it up?

cr3ative 9/2/2025|||

I can imagine this just fine. I can also imagine the same thing, but a dragon is there, if that helps.

jsojeojojo 9/2/2025|

Okay