CircleCI Blog

In June, CircleCI announced the opening of our Japanese office. One of the primary goals of this new office is to build a stronger community in Japan. In line with that effort, last Saturday, we hosted our first-ever hackathon in Tokyo.

The focus of the hackathon was very simple: learning orbs by actually writing orbs!

Note from the author: this post was written in collaboration with Justin Cowperthwaite, engineering manager, with additional input from Jeff Palmer, VP Engineering.

We want CircleCI to be a place that all engineers can learn and grow, and be supported no matter what level they join us at, or how they want to shape their careers. To support this, we use an engineering competency matrix, a framework that outlines expectations and growth paths for engineers. This matrix is a tremendously useful tool for us: it informs the structure of our job descriptions and our interview processes. It helps us set expectations together with our engineers, is a basis for goal setting as well as conversations about learning and development. It helps us have more objective performance conversations which are less susceptible to the biases and skills of an engineer’s manager. Overall, it clarifies the vision of our organization and helps us maintain consistency throughout all stages of hiring and professional development.