Careers
Careers
Our work involves building systems that run inside other organisations' security perimeters and that have to withstand formal audit. If that is the kind of engineering you want to do, this is a good place to do it.
Open roles
There are no advertised vacancies at present.
We recruit against contracted work rather than anticipated work, so this page is more often empty than not. When a role does open, it is published here with the rate stated.
We would still encourage you to get in touch. Speculative applications are retained and are the first place we look when a role opens. If you have built something in this area and would rather not wait for an advertised vacancy, write to careers@qailabs.io with a short summary of what you have worked on and what you would want to do next.
We also take on subcontract and associate work. If you run your own limited company and want to be on the list we call when an engagement needs a discipline we are short on, say so in the same email.
How we work
Pairing is standard practice
Pairing is neither mandated nor performative, but most non-trivial work is carried out by two people, particularly in client environments where an incorrect assumption is expensive to correct.
Decisions are documented
We produce architecture decision records for all material decisions, including the options we rejected. This is slower in the moment and it is the reason engagements continue to function when individuals move on.
Time for technical investigation
The engineering notes published on this site come out of work that was not billable. An investigation that reaches no useful conclusion is an acceptable outcome and is written up regardless.
On-call arrangements
We do not generally run production systems on behalf of clients, so there is no on-call rota. During Build and handover phases there are occasional out-of-hours change windows, which are scheduled in advance.
Travel and security clearance
The role involves working at client sites, some of which are secure. Expect a few days a month on average, and more during a Prove phase. Certain roles require security clearance, which we sponsor.
Remuneration discussed early
We put a figure forward during the first substantive conversation rather than at the end of the process. If it does not work for you, it is better for both parties to establish that before three weeks have been invested.
The hiring process
Six stages, about three weeks end to end. You will know where you are at every point, and the take-home is paid.
- 01Initial approachAny timeA short note describing what you have built. There is no application form, portal or cover letter requirement.
- 02ReplyWithin 5 working daysYour note is read by a member of the team, who will respond either way, including where the answer is no.
- 03Conversation45 minutesA discussion of what you have built and what you would like to work on next, rather than a screening interview.
- 04Technical session90 minutesWorking through a realistic problem together. We are more interested in your reasoning than in reaching a particular answer.
- 05Paid exerciseHalf a day, paidA scoped task at our standard rate, or a pairing session if you would prefer. We do not ask candidates to work unpaid.
- 06OfferWithin 3 working daysRate and terms confirmed in writing, together with the reasoning behind the figure offered.
No advert, still interested?
Write to us anyway and say what you would want to work on. We would rather hear from someone good six months early than miss them because the timing was wrong.