Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (February 2026)

Hacker News’ monthly talent roll call showed up like a reality show audition. A Phoenix all‑terrain dev kicked things off: Rust, TypeScript, C#, CI/CD, Windows/Linux—and a firm “remote preferred, no relocation.” They dropped receipts with a résumé and LinkedIn, plus a chilled “use whatever works” vibe—Go, Python, whatever—which the crowd loved as a ceasefire in the endless tool wars.

Then the queue exploded. Stratoscope rolled in from Menlo Park with maps-to-kernel-driver wizardry and a cool “hybrid if nearby.” stakent flexed “20+ years remote” energy from Poland and wouldn’t budge on relocation. jackmenotti stole the comic spotlight with: “Your app’s a mess?”—instantly becoming the thread’s unofficial meme. And azeqsdxwc dropped a mic: “Built the entire session replay platform from scratch, now 9k+ GitHub stars.” Add a UK Laravel/React builder ready to match any timezone, and you’ve got a full‑stack buffet.

The mood? Remote‑or‑bust dominated, with a few “hybrid if you insist” pragmatists. Subtext drama brewed between résumé flexes (YC badges, math medals) and the quieter “just ship it” crowd. Nostalgia cracked through with PHP still powers the web jokes. Verdict: fewer layoffs laments, more battle‑hardened builders selling results, and a thread buzzing like a recruiting war room.