IT uses windows exclusively = it’s a Windows shop. “Senior backend engineer” tells us nothing, but the skills required to work for Devin in an exclusively windows environment would have been obvious.
“Senior backend engineer” tells us it’s likely backend software development, which is mostly platform agnostic. NodeJS, PHP, Python or whatever language you want to write your backend in can be developed on any OS. Even C#, unless you insist on specific versions.
The limitation to Windows as a developer OS was likely not communicated in the job advert or during the interview process and was only revealed when the developer machine was requested.
Going purely on phrasing, Devin seems to be head of IT. So this may be his call to make, but this will alienate some candidates, as we can see.
Software development on Windows is a uniquely frustrating experience. Nowadays it can mostly be sidestepped with WSL, but that still leaves you “using” an OS that you will have to fight frequently.
This reads as not only privileged and out of touch, but you couldn’t tell from the job requirements and interviews that it was a Windows shop?
What makes you assume it’s a Windows shop?
The words and the particular order they’re in.
I really don’t see which part of “senior backend engineer” suggests a Windows shop to you. Devin is the internal IT support person of the company.
IT uses windows exclusively = it’s a Windows shop. “Senior backend engineer” tells us nothing, but the skills required to work for Devin in an exclusively windows environment would have been obvious.
“Senior backend engineer” tells us it’s likely backend software development, which is mostly platform agnostic. NodeJS, PHP, Python or whatever language you want to write your backend in can be developed on any OS. Even C#, unless you insist on specific versions.
The limitation to Windows as a developer OS was likely not communicated in the job advert or during the interview process and was only revealed when the developer machine was requested.
Going purely on phrasing, Devin seems to be head of IT. So this may be his call to make, but this will alienate some candidates, as we can see.
Software development on Windows is a uniquely frustrating experience. Nowadays it can mostly be sidestepped with WSL, but that still leaves you “using” an OS that you will have to fight frequently.