SoundCloud cuts jobs, closes SF and London offices • Hacker News Board

Re: SoundCloud cuts jobs, closes SF and London offices

#141

Post by lqdc13 » Thu, Jul 06, 2017, 6:06 PM UTC

skylark wrote: post #50

This is a perfect example of how strong software engineering from competitors can result in you getting completely left in the dust. YouTube and Spotify have great algorithms for suggesting new songs - I feel like when my current song is done, I have a really high chance of hearing another song that I've never heard, but will enjoy. This is not the case on SoundCloud, where I'm almost always jolted back to reality wh…

I cannot comment on Spotify, but I pretty much dislike all Youtube recommendations.

I get sometimes different version of the same song again followed by some other song that is also popular but has nothing to do with what I'm listening to followed by something else I "liked before" but obviously don't want to listen to since I already heard it many times. That is followed by a different version of the same song again finally eventually converging on pop music that I generally dislike.

SoundCloud on the other hand sometimes recommends interesting things that I like but have never heard of. Other times, it recommends things that are completely unrelated and that I don't particularly like. However, they're still new/interesting.

Re: SoundCloud cuts jobs, closes SF and London offices

#142

Post by tomhallett » Thu, Jul 06, 2017, 6:06 PM UTC

haskellandchill wrote: post #125

tomhallett wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We're hiring in SF for a few roles: ruby/elixir, js, machine learning. Team of peers with collaborative process. If you are a frontend dev and hate speculative hiring phone calls, you can jump straight to coding excecise: https://github.com/Tout/tout_fe_interview http://corp.tout.com/careers Ping me at tom@tout.com if interested.

Why do engineers in good standing at SoundCloud have to do coding exercises? Our industry is annoying.

Sorry, my wording left out a bit of detail and was confusing. Our process is:

1) 30 minute intro phone call to see if both parties are pushing in the same direction

2) technical review, which can take one of two forms:

a) 1 hour phone call (no computer needed)

b) take home coding exercise

3) in person phase to meet team, cross functional team members, and ceo

Because of the nature of this comment, I thought it'd be helpful to offer up option 2b directly if someone wants todo it without a phone call blocking things.

We offer the coding exercise as an option for a few reasons, but the most important one is that some great engineers are good on the phone and some aren't. While good communication skills are a must to performing well, doing well on a tech phone call isn't.

Re: SoundCloud cuts jobs, closes SF and London offices

#143

Post by notyourwork » Thu, Jul 06, 2017, 6:08 PM UTC

austenallred wrote: post #129

aaronlevin wrote: post #19

SoundCloud employee here. If you are hiring, please reach out to people from SoundCloud. The decisions of who to let go were not based on performance. A lot of amazing people, both attitude and technically.

Can you create a list of folks and positions that are now looking? Perhaps by location?

This sounds like something a recruiter would ask.

Re: SoundCloud cuts jobs, closes SF and London offices

#144

Post by cloudengineer » Thu, Jul 06, 2017, 6:08 PM UTC

aaronlevin wrote: post #19

SoundCloud employee here. If you are hiring, please reach out to people from SoundCloud. The decisions of who to let go were not based on performance. A lot of amazing people, both attitude and technically.

My team at GE Digital is Hiring Cloud/Chef/automation engineers, in San Ramon. PM me for more details

Re: SoundCloud cuts jobs, closes SF and London offices

#145

Post by throwawayjgo » Thu, Jul 06, 2017, 6:10 PM UTC

EpicEng wrote: post #81

leoedin wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If anyone fancies a pivot from audio to robotics, Automata are a growing robotics startup in London looking for developers all the way down our stack from the web interface to embedded C, with some C++ and rails in between. Drop us an email! http://getautomata.com

Are you open to remote work?

I am really curious as to how you'd work a robotics job remotely.

Re: SoundCloud cuts jobs, closes SF and London offices

#146

Post by notyourwork » Thu, Jul 06, 2017, 6:11 PM UTC

skylark wrote: post #50

This is a perfect example of how strong software engineering from competitors can result in you getting completely left in the dust. YouTube and Spotify have great algorithms for suggesting new songs - I feel like when my current song is done, I have a really high chance of hearing another song that I've never heard, but will enjoy. This is not the case on SoundCloud, where I'm almost always jolted back to reality wh…

> YouTube and Spotify have great algorithms for suggesting new songs

Spotify recommendations are far from great. They crowd source based on popularity, Pandora's recommendation engine is far superior.

Re: SoundCloud cuts jobs, closes SF and London offices

#147

Post by austenallred » Thu, Jul 06, 2017, 6:11 PM UTC

notyourwork wrote: post #143

austenallred wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you create a list of folks and positions that are now looking? Perhaps by location?

This sounds like something a recruiter would ask.

Or anyone that wants to see a list of people who just became available...

I'm not a recruiter

Re: SoundCloud cuts jobs, closes SF and London offices

#148

Post by flog » Thu, Jul 06, 2017, 6:11 PM UTC

aaronlevin wrote: post #19

SoundCloud employee here. If you are hiring, please reach out to people from SoundCloud. The decisions of who to let go were not based on performance. A lot of amazing people, both attitude and technically.

Pinterest is always looking for great people! I'm always on the hunt for engineers with experience in "Growth".

Re: SoundCloud cuts jobs, closes SF and London offices

#149

Post by gregjw » Thu, Jul 06, 2017, 6:12 PM UTC

The question isn't 'Will SoundCloud close?' but instead 'When will SoundCloud close?'.

Just a very steady decline over the past two years.

Their talented team will easily land of their feet anywhere else, it's a shame that someone's so previously unique is fading away due to trying to compete with Spotify.

Removing Likes & Groups have really pissed off their community.

Re: SoundCloud cuts jobs, closes SF and London offices

#150

Post by fapjacks » Thu, Jul 06, 2017, 6:12 PM UTC

mrleinad wrote: post #77

kevinmannix wrote: post #51

SoundCloud is my go-to for music while programming. I've spent countless hours curating my likes, playlists, follows, etc. I'd be quite upset if the service shuts down, 1) for the artists that have gained large followings through the service and 2) for all the personal time spent that will in the end mean nothing. I think I'm reiterating what has been said before, but the reposting is horrendous. It's made the listen…

If your playlists are public, please share :)

Carbon-Based Lifeforms, Solar Fields, Aes Dana, Miktek, HUVA Network (this is actually Solar Fields and Aes Dana), Sync24 (a side project of Daniel from CBL)... I could go on, but there's a good start!