6 ms·

Introducing the BankSimple Engineering Team

42 points by ihodes 16y ago

omouse 16y ago
The mis-use of the title "engineer" is insulting to those in that profession that earned that title. All I see are a bunch of computer programmers or computer scientists. No engineers here.
- ihodes 16y ago
  It's funny, as HN is often anti-degree, that this kind of comment is posted here. I don't think someone needs the degree to be called an engineer, especially people who have this much experience in the industry. Looking at the past experience of the team, and how many positions they've held with "software engineer" in the title, I'd say it's an insult to try to insinuate that they somehow aren't as capable at what they're doing as one with a degree that says they're an engineer. Come on, let's be nice.
- BenS 16y ago
  Can you clarify? I've always thought of engineers as people who solve problems by applying scientific knowledge. These guys seem to fit the bill, but I'm not an engineer (by any definition) so I don't know the terms first-hand.
  - dpapathanasiou 16y ago
    He probably means that he took the Professional Engineer (PE) exam, and is licensed in one or more states: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_Engineer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_Engineer It's essentially a job requirement if you want to get into some types of engineering fields (electrical, mechanical, civil, etc.)
  - SkyMarshal 16y ago
    You're correct. There's a sort of progression in the technical domain - Scientist/Mathematician (creates the knowledge) -> Engineer (applies it) -> End User. In the computer field, there's an extra step: Computer Scientist -> Software/Hardware Engineer -> Application Developer -> End User. The boundary b/t Engineer and Developer is sometimes vague, though. TLDR - calling someone building an entire startup from scratch and 'Engineer' is perfectly accurate, since the level of software and hardware customization required will ensure they're doing alot more than just developing apps. PS - not to belittle anyone's career, I fit squarely in the Developer category myself. As mentioned above, all are necessary pieces of the puzzle.
- whyenot 16y ago
  You might earn the title of Engineer in Training or Professional Engineer or Chartered Engineer or Incorporated Engineer, but "engineer" on its own is generic and applies to anyone who uses "scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to design and develop solutions for technological systems problems." [1] Programmers can indeed be engineers. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engineer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engineer
- cardmagic 16y ago
  Someone's got a chip on their shoulder!
- moonpolysoft 16y ago
  I think this is an appropriate response: http://img.skitch.com/20100819-b6qma2dbe8rrqkm1whj8jyetma.jpg http://img.skitch.com/20100819-b6qma2dbe8rrqkm1whj8jyetma.jp...
- codahale 16y ago
  Seriously. Not a single one of these people is qualified to operate a locomotive.
- strlen 16y ago
  I hold a Masters degree in Computer Engineering and actually did my share of digital logic design, MIPS assembly, programming interrupt handlers, circuits and other things that supposed give you a large e-penis. I also work as a software engineer. My title is not "computer programmer" (although I certainly program), professional programmers (e.g., "programmer/analyst" in an IT organization of a bank) typically encode domain-specific business requirements (e.g., "if the job code is 0123 add $0.75 to hourly rate") into internal applications. There's nothing wrong with that, it's a vital role and will soon be a part of most any white collar job. I'm not a scientist. I don't build mathematical models and validate them experimentally (typically via simulation): it's an important and difficult job, but it's not what I do. I build software systems by applying mathematical models to solve technical challenges. This is a lot closer to engineering than it is to science or programming in the traditional sense of the word. Of course, I also don't care: you could call me a "a computer janitor" and I would still love what I do.
  - jordibunster 16y ago
    Computer janitor is an accurate description for at least one of my previous programming jobs.
- stevedekorte 16y ago
  Not sure what you mean by engineer, but FWIW many of the systems created by the folks you apparently do not consider engineers are more (necessarily) complex, involve more math and empirical testing and are successfully used by orders of magnitude more end users than the products of many of the folks you might consider engineers.
  - omouse 16y ago
    They're computer scientists then. Jesus christ guys, there are a few titles we can use instead of trying to borrow the credibility and prestige of the title "engineer" or "architect"!
    - tjogin 16y ago
      There's no prestige or credibility at all in the title "scientist"? I believe you are suffering from tunnel vision, on top of it being that time of the month.
    - gclaramunt 16y ago
      If my degree says "Computer Engineering" and is issued by the engineering school of my university, I'm a software engineer, I don't care what you think.
- bconway 16y ago
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_engineering http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_engineering
maxklein 16y ago
The odds of this company succeeding are very, very low. It's a typical SF startup - in love with technology and the startup scene, and not the customer. Your main programming guy is a lisper? You have a "Creative Director"? You are staffing up so quickly? You are bringing a pre-existing clique of people? Erlang? Clojure? Scala? And with such a small team, you're spreading it out across 3 offices? This team seems like a technical circle-jerk. You're making a BANK, not a programming language. I'm sure that they will raise a lot of capital - but I really, really doubt that a real and credible business will come out this. These people understand technology, not banking or people. And the team build-out is reflecting this : it's all about technology and not about people or emotions.
- aphexairlines 16y ago
  In which website did you mean to post this?
- oof 16y ago
  The odds of you being a limp dicked hater that has nothing better to do than malign the sincere efforts of a team of people with more skill in their chodes than you have in your entire family tree are very, very high.
- strlen 16y ago
  > Your main programming guy is a lisper? Right, financial organizations should hire bunch of PHP script kiddies. I am sure that's working well for quant firms like Jane Street.
- codahale 16y ago
  "It's a typical SF startup" vs. "you're spreading [the team] out across 3 offices" "You are staffing up so quickly?" vs. "such a small team" I can't tell if you're trolling or just really inconsistent regarding the reasons for your dislike of them.
- jamesgolick 16y ago
  > You have a "Creative Director" > it's all about technology and not about people or emotions. Yes, hiring a designer definitely shows a complete disregard for the people using the product.
Calamitous 16y ago
BankSimple looks like an awesome idea, and I wish these guys the best of luck in getting it off the ground. I would immediately move all my accounts to a bank that at least understood what the hell actual customer service looked like, even at a distance. (HINT: it's not a terminally chipper phone jockey who's missing their clue gland)

42 points by ihodes 16y ago

The mis-use of the title "engineer" is insulting to those in that profession that earned that title. All I see are a bunch of computer programmers or computer scientists. No engineers here.

ihodes 16y ago
It's funny, as HN is often anti-degree, that this kind of comment is posted here. I don't think someone needs the degree to be called an engineer, especially people who have this much experience in the industry. Looking at the past experience of the team, and how many positions they've held with "software engineer" in the title, I'd say it's an insult to try to insinuate that they somehow aren't as capable at what they're doing as one with a degree that says they're an engineer. Come on, let's be nice.
BenS 16y ago
Can you clarify? I've always thought of engineers as people who solve problems by applying scientific knowledge. These guys seem to fit the bill, but I'm not an engineer (by any definition) so I don't know the terms first-hand.
- dpapathanasiou 16y ago
  He probably means that he took the Professional Engineer (PE) exam, and is licensed in one or more states: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_Engineer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_Engineer It's essentially a job requirement if you want to get into some types of engineering fields (electrical, mechanical, civil, etc.)
- SkyMarshal 16y ago
  You're correct. There's a sort of progression in the technical domain - Scientist/Mathematician (creates the knowledge) -> Engineer (applies it) -> End User. In the computer field, there's an extra step: Computer Scientist -> Software/Hardware Engineer -> Application Developer -> End User. The boundary b/t Engineer and Developer is sometimes vague, though. TLDR - calling someone building an entire startup from scratch and 'Engineer' is perfectly accurate, since the level of software and hardware customization required will ensure they're doing alot more than just developing apps. PS - not to belittle anyone's career, I fit squarely in the Developer category myself. As mentioned above, all are necessary pieces of the puzzle.
whyenot 16y ago
You might earn the title of Engineer in Training or Professional Engineer or Chartered Engineer or Incorporated Engineer, but "engineer" on its own is generic and applies to anyone who uses "scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to design and develop solutions for technological systems problems." [1] Programmers can indeed be engineers. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engineer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engineer
cardmagic 16y ago
Someone's got a chip on their shoulder!
moonpolysoft 16y ago
I think this is an appropriate response: http://img.skitch.com/20100819-b6qma2dbe8rrqkm1whj8jyetma.jpg http://img.skitch.com/20100819-b6qma2dbe8rrqkm1whj8jyetma.jp...
codahale 16y ago
Seriously. Not a single one of these people is qualified to operate a locomotive.
strlen 16y ago
I hold a Masters degree in Computer Engineering and actually did my share of digital logic design, MIPS assembly, programming interrupt handlers, circuits and other things that supposed give you a large e-penis. I also work as a software engineer. My title is not "computer programmer" (although I certainly program), professional programmers (e.g., "programmer/analyst" in an IT organization of a bank) typically encode domain-specific business requirements (e.g., "if the job code is 0123 add $0.75 to hourly rate") into internal applications. There's nothing wrong with that, it's a vital role and will soon be a part of most any white collar job. I'm not a scientist. I don't build mathematical models and validate them experimentally (typically via simulation): it's an important and difficult job, but it's not what I do. I build software systems by applying mathematical models to solve technical challenges. This is a lot closer to engineering than it is to science or programming in the traditional sense of the word. Of course, I also don't care: you could call me a "a computer janitor" and I would still love what I do.
- jordibunster 16y ago
  Computer janitor is an accurate description for at least one of my previous programming jobs.
stevedekorte 16y ago
Not sure what you mean by engineer, but FWIW many of the systems created by the folks you apparently do not consider engineers are more (necessarily) complex, involve more math and empirical testing and are successfully used by orders of magnitude more end users than the products of many of the folks you might consider engineers.
- omouse 16y ago
  They're computer scientists then. Jesus christ guys, there are a few titles we can use instead of trying to borrow the credibility and prestige of the title "engineer" or "architect"!
  - tjogin 16y ago
    There's no prestige or credibility at all in the title "scientist"? I believe you are suffering from tunnel vision, on top of it being that time of the month.
  - gclaramunt 16y ago
    If my degree says "Computer Engineering" and is issued by the engineering school of my university, I'm a software engineer, I don't care what you think.
bconway 16y ago
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_engineering http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_engineering

maxklein 16y ago

The odds of this company succeeding are very, very low. It's a typical SF startup - in love with technology and the startup scene, and not the customer. Your main programming guy is a lisper? You have a "Creative Director"? You are staffing up so quickly? You are bringing a pre-existing clique of people? Erlang? Clojure? Scala? And with such a small team, you're spreading it out across 3 offices? This team seems like a technical circle-jerk. You're making a BANK, not a programming language. I'm sure that they will raise a lot of capital - but I really, really doubt that a real and credible business will come out this. These people understand technology, not banking or people. And the team build-out is reflecting this : it's all about technology and not about people or emotions.

aphexairlines 16y ago
In which website did you mean to post this?
oof 16y ago
The odds of you being a limp dicked hater that has nothing better to do than malign the sincere efforts of a team of people with more skill in their chodes than you have in your entire family tree are very, very high.
strlen 16y ago
> Your main programming guy is a lisper? Right, financial organizations should hire bunch of PHP script kiddies. I am sure that's working well for quant firms like Jane Street.
codahale 16y ago
"It's a typical SF startup" vs. "you're spreading [the team] out across 3 offices" "You are staffing up so quickly?" vs. "such a small team" I can't tell if you're trolling or just really inconsistent regarding the reasons for your dislike of them.
jamesgolick 16y ago
> You have a "Creative Director" > it's all about technology and not about people or emotions. Yes, hiring a designer definitely shows a complete disregard for the people using the product.

Calamitous 16y ago

BankSimple looks like an awesome idea, and I wish these guys the best of luck in getting it off the ground. I would immediately move all my accounts to a bank that at least understood what the hell actual customer service looked like, even at a distance. (HINT: it's not a terminally chipper phone jockey who's missing their clue gland)