Uber teams up with Armenian startup CodeFights to hire programmers

PanARMENIAN.Net - Uber hires programmers with the help of CodeFights, an Armenian platform connecting software engineers and coding experts around the world in challenging “fights” where they get to flex their coding muscle.

The company Uber needs programmers and developers to do things like fashion algorithms that enable drivers to find the best match from UberPOOL, a ride-sharing option that lets passengers heading in the same direction share an Uber. That isn’t as simple as it sounds, Forbes says.

“The driver picks up one rider and in the middle of that ride might get five requests while he is driving. How does he know whom to pick up? That’s the kind of challenge a programmer for Uber might have and the startup CodeFights lets those wanting to work for Uber see how well they would solve that,” the publication writes.

CodeFights is both a hiring and learning tool, created by CEO Tigran Sloyan; CTO Aram Shatakhtsyan, and head of product Felix Desroches. Tech companies use it to find the right programmers and programmers use it to learn new skills. Companies like DropBox and Uber get thousands of resumes a month and it is difficult to tell—based on a resume—if someone is qualified as a programmer or developer. CodeFights offers challenges around certain concepts in programming that are essential to success in the field. When a company wants to use its game for hiring, the challenges are specific to its company; winning challenges that are increasingly difficult demonstrates expertise in particular, complex skills. Playing the games is also a way for programmers to learn new ways to problem solve and sharpen their skills.

As CodeFights was building out bots, the company began talking with Uber about the idea of creating a branded gaming challenge. CodeFights worked closely with Uber engineers to design the challenge, VentureBeat reported earlier.

The companies thus created UberBot, a coding game that challenges players to solve actual problems facing Uber’s engineering team. Each UberBot challenge mixes writing code and reviewing existing code for mistakes. Players must complete three to five tasks in up to 10 minutes.