Technical Writer 2021

Console aims to become the place developers go to find the best tools. Starting as a weekly newsletter, each week we pick out the most interesting tools and new releases. We keep track of everything - dev tools, devops, cloud, and APIs - so you don't have to.

We're hiring for a technical writer to join our team to help us evaluate developer tools both for the weekly email newsletter and as we expand our website. This role will involve tracking the software industry, playing with new tools and technologies, then writing about your experience.

Founded in Jan 2021, Console is still an early-stage startup. You will be joining the founding team to work on building a new company from scratch. Console's founders are serial entrepreneurs with experience scaling multiple successful start-ups. Our goal is to be the independent voice that developers trust to help them discover the best and most interesting tools.

Read about our mission and how the age of the developer is just getting started.

What will I be doing?

• Researching all the tools in a particular category e.g. website monitoring, IDEs, testing frameworks, etc.
• Writing short reviews for each tool: what we like, what we don't like (max 300 characters each), e.g. as appear in our weekly newsletter.
• Writing long reviews for each category: 3-5k words evaluating the options in detail, e.g. our IDE review.
• Writing long research articles on a technical topic in detail e.g. analysing the performance overhead of code profilers in production. These will involve original research design, conducting the tests and writing up the results. These projects may involve working with a designer to create a custom layout, and discussing the research with the press.
• Keeping track of new releases to ensure Beta Console remains up to date and we have a comprehensive list of all the releases relevant to our audience.
• Trying out new tools, features and releases to ensure we keep our lists up to date, and that we have a backlog of tools ready for consideration for the weekly newsletter.
• Pitching your favorite tools in our weekly editorial meeting for inclusion in the newsletter “interesting tools” section.
• Writing occasional technical articles for our "behind the scenes" blog.
• Over time we hope you will also be pitching your own writing ideas for all of the above.

This is a great opportunity for a software developer that loves experimenting with new tools. Gaining access to the latest releases for developers, the role will allow the successful candidate to widen their research and writing experience, working with founders that have deep experience within the developer and start-up community.

What skills do I need?

Need

• Strong English language writing skills.
• Technical experience as a software developer either professionally or building your own stuff.
• Enjoy trying new tools and playing with tech in general.
• No category specific knowledge is required because general tech experience should allow you to evaluate tools within a category. However, it is likely that good candidates will have evaluated different tools at some point (even if just for their own use).
• An understanding of what makes a good product, project, or tool, your own opinion about these, and how that relates to our selection criteria.

Nice to have

• Several years of software development experience (and/or devops, cloud, security).
• Keen interest in writing, maybe via your own blog or another form of written media.

How will I work?

You decide!

Where: You can work entirely remotely (from anywhere), entirely in our Central London office, or a hybrid. When things go back to normal from Covid, we will occasionally ask you to visit our office (expenses paid).

When: We're hiring a minimum 1 day per week but will also consider candidates looking for full-time employment.

How to apply

Send an email to hello@console.dev with the following:

• Include in the body of the email: a short note introducing yourself and why you're interested in working for Console. This should be no more than 200 words.
• Include in the body of the email: a review of one tool you've used recently in the same format as our weekly newsletter: what is it (max 70 characters), what you like (max 300 characters), what you don't like (max 300 characters).
• Attach your CV.

How we hire

Since this job is about writing, this is what we are primarily looking to assess during the interview process. It's why it's part of the initial application email. The next stage is a short phone interview to discuss your background, experience and the role itself.

The final stage is a longer written exercise where we will ask you to review 5 tools within a specific category and using the same format as our weekly newsletter (described above). We expect this to take around 2-3 hours and will pay a half day rate to cover the time spent (regardless of whether we make an offer).

We will provide a response to all applicants regardless of outcome and will provide feedback to unsuccessful applicants who progress past the phone interview stage. We will also be transparent about timelines for providing a decision at each stage.

Initial application stage

We're looking for:

• Coherent written English language with no spelling or grammatical errors.
• Ability to write to the specified constraints.
• An understanding of what Console is doing, how we're doing it, and why.
• A pitch about why your experience is relevant to Console and how you can help us achieve our mission.

Phone interview stage

We're looking for:

• Relevant experience as a software developer, either professional or through playing around in your spare time.
• A curiosity to explore new systems, tools, technologies, and ways of doing things.
• An opinion about the tools you've used, and what makes good software in general.

Longer written exercise stage

We're looking for:

• Coherent written English language with no spelling or grammatical errors.
• Ability to write to the specified constraints.
• Ability to research and understand multiple options within a specific category.

Final phone interview

We're looking for:

• Thought process around selecting the tools for the written exercise.
• Feedback and thoughts on the research and writing process - what did you find, any suggestions for how to improve it, challenges.

Life at Console

As a founding team member you will play an important role in helping shape the working culture at Console as we grow. Read about our culture and how we run Console.