I'm curious about this, and also how hard of a requirement C++ experience is.

They don't list C++ on the page. Do you mean C? You will need C experience:

> Strong C language skills. Compilers, linkers, macros and function pointers don't scare you.

Yes, I meant C. Reading too quickly I guess.

As someone who's applied before, you really need to know C. The first phase of the process is essentially a code comprehension exercise followed by a simple programming exercise. I think they're looking primarily for candidates with kernel/wine programming experience.

The vast majority of HN seems to be web programmers and devops. Which is also the vast majority of the market, so it makes sense. Working on WINE is a more like a classic OS development role, which is a very different skillset.

The are almost across the street from me and I would love to work there but I don't have the skills the they are looking for. I think few do.

I applied months ago and was skeptical of their process. Their filter is a take-home test involving a code review and a simple algorithm problem. Neither is particularly hard, but I did poorly because I didn't realize they were grading it on a point-system by comparing it to an answer key. If you have a typo or do something differently than their key, you lose points. Lose a few points and you're out.

Honestly, it reminded me of someone trying to hire a literature author by giving them a spelling test.

I'm curious, did they give you details about the way it was graded?