---
title: We're hiring more remote developers and designers in UTC through UTC+3!
teaser: 'Our new remote developer roles throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Africa,
  and how we’re working to make the hiring process inclusive.

  '
tags: hiring,process,diversity
author:
- Rob Whittaker
- Kirsten Hurley
published_on: 2021-03-25
---

If you’re a developer who wants to join a team of friendly and welcoming people
dedicated to learning, growth and building great software, this post is for you.

## Wait, you said remote?

The times are changing! Like many companies before COVID, thoughtbot was already
thinking about what combination of in-office and flexible remote work made sense
for us. COVID and quarantining accelerated some of those decisions, and we
entirely revisited how we are structured and serve clients.

**We’re no longer looking for developers in specific cities but anywhere
throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (UTC through UTC+3) instead.
These timezones match our client base, which we are keen to grow this year!**

## Greater diversity in our team

Our team used to work together out of a studio in London. Now we are all
adjusted to remote working within our team and with our clients, and we are
excited to explore the [opportunities][1] that hiring from further afield
brings. Finding new team members who live outside of London, or even the UK,
means we will become a stronger team. For example, when we work in diverse
groups, [we design software with greater empathy][2] and ultimately make
products more successful.

Diversity, equity and inclusion are crucial to thoughtbot. Our colleague,
George, [recently wrote about][3] our hiring activity in the Americas, which
applies to us too, and in 2021 we have [updated and invested more][4] in our
internal training for all employees to educate and support them.

## Improving interviews

Our new “Work from Anywhere” position meant we needed to think about the
interview experience, too - both for us and the prospective new team member.

We are conscious that we live in the real world and that your time is essential
to you. You don't have time to spend hours on a code test. You have work to do;
you have a life to live. We consider your time throughout the hiring process. We
only ask for more of your time as we progress through the stages, and our
confidence in a good match increases.

At each stage of the hiring process, we care for all of our candidates'
attributes. We are not looking for those "10x" engineers with an excellent
Computer Science background. We are looking for well-rounded individuals who
care about the product as much as their code quality. We want to know about you
and what drives you. Yes, we expect a technical proficiency level, but we want
[to know about you as a person too][10]. We'll be spending a lot of time
together!

We are well aware that we all have unconscious biases. We pick up these biases
throughout our upbringing, and it is impossible to live in this world without
acquiring some assumptions. We don't want to ignore these biases. Instead, we
want to work to recognise and counteract them. We have designed our interviews
to use a standardised rubric. Each interviewer also independently submits their
feedback to reduce the likelihood of one person influencing the other. We want
to ensure that we give everyone a fair and equal chance, from inviting
applications from every suitable person to making equitable offers to successful
applicants.

## Continuous improvement

Continuous improvement is central to how we work at thoughtbot, and that applies
to how we build our team as it does to how we develop our software.

We’re not perfect, but we’re committed to doing the work and always getting
better. We’ve already had some beneficial feedback from candidates, e.g.
ensuring there are breaks built into the final stage interview day to avoid the
famous zoom fatigue! We won’t stop asking for this feedback - the world does not
stand still, and neither do we.

**We encourage candidates from all backgrounds and locations in the EMEA region
to apply.**

Check out the following roles and apply today!

- [Ruby on Rails Developer][5]
- [Apprentice Ruby on Rails Developer][6]
- [Development Team Lead][7]
- [Product Designer][8]
- [React Native Developer][9]

[1]: https://hbr.org/2016/11/why-diverse-teams-are-smarter
[2]: https://thoughtbot.com/design-team-values
[3]: https://thoughtbot.com/blog/hiring-remote-rails-developers
[4]: https://thoughtbot.com/blog/process-improving-on-unconscious-bias-anti-racism-trainings-and-workshops-for-2021
[5]: https://jobs.thoughtbot.com/ruby-on-rails-developer-remote-28380/
[6]: https://jobs.thoughtbot.com/apprentice-ruby-on-rails-developer-remote-36007/
[7]: https://jobs.thoughtbot.com/development-team-lead-ruby-on-rails-or-mobile-remote-36002/
[8]: https://jobs.thoughtbot.com/product-designer-remote-34008/
[9]: https://jobs.thoughtbot.com/react-native-developer-remote-35657/
[10]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FkkMkeJKU8