Careers
Constrained problems and tested handovers.
If you want to work on systems that have to run inside somebody else's perimeter and survive an audit, this is an unusually good place to do it.
Open roles
Nothing advertised at the moment.
We hire against work that is signed rather than work we hope to win, so this page is empty more often than it is full. When a role does open it goes up here with the rate on it.
That does not mean do not write. We keep speculative applications and we go back to them first. If you have built something in this space and you would rather not wait for an advert, send it to careers@qailabs.io with a couple of paragraphs on what you 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 normal
Not mandated, not performative. Most non-trivial work happens with two people, especially in client environments where the cost of a wrong assumption is high.
Decisions get written down
Architecture decision records for anything material, including the options we rejected. It is slower and it is why engagements survive people leaving.
Time to dig into things
The engineering notes on this site come out of work that was not billable. Something that goes nowhere is an acceptable outcome, and it gets written up anyway.
On-call, honestly
We do not run production for clients as a rule, so there is no rota. During Build and handover phases there are occasional out-of-hours change windows, and they are planned, not surprise.
Travel and security
Client sites, sometimes secure ones. Expect a few days a month on average, more during a Prove phase. Some roles require clearance and we sponsor it.
Money gets discussed early
We put a number on the table in the first proper conversation rather than at the end. If it does not work for you, better to find out before either of us has spent three weeks on it.
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.
- 01You write to usAny timeA short note about what you have built. No form, no portal, no cover letter theatre.
- 02ReplyWithin 5 working daysA person reads it and answers either way, including when the answer is no.
- 03Conversation45 minutesWhat you have built and what you want to build next. Not a screening quiz.
- 04Technical session90 minutesWorking through a real problem together. Your reasoning matters more than the answer.
- 05Paid piece of workHalf a day, paidA scoped task at our normal rate, or a pairing session if you prefer. Nobody works unpaid.
- 06OfferWithin 3 working daysRate and terms in writing, with the reasoning behind the number.
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.