# Hiring Processes with Gergely Orosz

- Show: [Oxide and Friends](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends)
- Published: 2023-11-07
- Length: 1h 45m
- Episode: 31
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2023-11-07-hiring-processes-with-gergely-orosz
- Listen: https://share.transistor.fm/s/ac83d63e

## Summary

Bryan Cantrill and Adam Leventhal of Oxide Computer Company discuss their hiring process with Gergely Orosz, The Pragmatic Engineer. They explain how Oxide uses a written portfolio and RFD (Request for Discussion) documents to evaluate candidates, prioritizing integrity and clear communication over traditional coding interviews. The founders share how past bad hires at Joyent and Sun led them to design a system that forces transparency and self-reflection, ensuring that every candidate, including founders, undergoes the same rigorous review. They emphasize that this approach helps them avoid 'mishires' and build a team with shared values, even at the cost of being time-intensive.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2023-11-07-hiring-processes-with-gergely-orosz#t=0) Introduction: Gergely Orosz visits Oxide
- [4:34](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2023-11-07-hiring-processes-with-gergely-orosz#t=274) Oxide's RFD Process and Documentation
- [13:24](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2023-11-07-hiring-processes-with-gergely-orosz#t=804) Using RFDs for Candidate Transparency
- [21:37](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2023-11-07-hiring-processes-with-gergely-orosz#t=1297) The Written Portfolio and Interview Materials
- [33:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2023-11-07-hiring-processes-with-gergely-orosz#t=1981) Learning from Bad Hires at Joyent
- [45:14](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2023-11-07-hiring-processes-with-gergely-orosz#t=2714) Values, Integrity, and Writing Things Down
- [58:57](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2023-11-07-hiring-processes-with-gergely-orosz#t=3537) Why Do You Want to Work Here?
- [1:04:24](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2023-11-07-hiring-processes-with-gergely-orosz#t=3864) Evaluating Materials and Team Feedback
- [1:10:19](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2023-11-07-hiring-processes-with-gergely-orosz#t=4219) Provisioning Racks and Self-Selection
- [1:27:10](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2023-11-07-hiring-processes-with-gergely-orosz#t=5230) Hiring Strategy, Rust, and Compensation Blog

## Topics

- [Hiring & workforce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/hiring-and-workforce)
- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)
- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Oxide Computer Company (company)
- Gergely Orosz (other)
- The Pragmatic Engineer (other)
- Joyent (company)
- Sun (company)
- Uber (company)
- Delphix (company)
- Amazon (company)
- Hacker News (other)
- General Electric (company)
- Siemens (company)
- Discord (company)
- Rust (other)

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- [51: There Is No Crying in Strcpy (Repeat)](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2019-09-12-51-there-is-no-crying-in-strcpy-repeat) (Embedded.fm)
- [185: Nice Mahogany Table](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2017-01-25-185-nice-mahogany-table) (Embedded.fm)
- [219: Hiring Your First Team Members at a Hardware Startup](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2024-03-28-219-hiring-your-first-team-members-at-a-hardware-startup) (Product Startup)
- [S6E34 John Lembke | Best Practices for Hiring Engineers](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2025-08-22-s6e34-john-lembke-best-practices-for-hiring-engineers) (Being an Engineer)
- [Building Teams That Scale And What Happens When They Don't | Peloton, Meta, Blaze Talent | Will Blaze](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/tradeoffs/2026-04-13-building-teams-that-scale-and-what-happens-when-they-dont-peloton-meta-blaze-tal) (TRADEOFFS)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2023-11-07-hiring-processes-with-gergely-orosz. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Oxide and Friends.