Elixir is a functional, dynamic, general-purpose distributed programming language that is created for building maintainable and scalable applications. It runs on BEAM – an Erlang virtual machine. This fact ensures that fault tolerance, metaprogramming, soft real-time execution are maintained, with polymorphism and macros implemented through protocols.
If you are looking to hire an Elixir developer, there are several things you need to consider in advance.
First, keep in mind that Elixir is a programming language not suitable for newbies – it requires a solid understanding and knowledge of the programming paradigm. When you are in the process of hiring an Elixir developer, you need to properly assess their skills and experience in order to ensure they are fit to meet the requirements of the job.
Low usage of memory, immutability, and scalability are some of the main characteristics of Elixir so every knowledgable and experienced developer would be capable of using these tools efficiently.
This is a relatively young programming language and therefore, it does not yet have an IDE of its own. But this is not an issue because most of the popular IDEs have plugins that correspond with Elixir. Atom and VSCode are among the popular choices, with Atom also providing an autocomplete option.
The toolkit of Elixir includes:
- package manager HEX – to be used for Elixir and Erlang
- Wombat – it is used for Erlang or Elixir monitoring
- Postman – JSON APIs testing service
- HoneyBadger – for managing Elixir errors
As mentioned, Elixir is still a new language which means that it will be significantly more difficult, if not impossible, to hire junior Elixir developers. Still, you will have enough viable candidates, if you are looking into middle or senior developers.
To evaluate the real Elixir skills of the candidates, it is recommended to use a coding assessment in your hiring process. Here are two popular solutions you can use to assess Elixir developers.
CodeSubmit
With CodeSubmit coding projects you can evaluate how the candidate is building Elixir applications in real life and decide whether they are a good fit for your current open role. It is very easy and quick to identify the most qualified candidates and the right person for the job.
The Elixir coding assignments are completely remote and you can choose from a library of real-world coding tests.
In addition, you are making sure that you provide the best possible candidate experience with industry-leading hiring processes. The entire experience is designed to be candidate-friendly and efficient.
Killercoder
An online assessment platform that hiring managers and tech recruiters can use to test the coding skills of candidates with online evaluation. You can easily identify the best programmers for the task and at the same time save your team a lot of hours by providing instant technical insights about the working skills of the candidates.
There is a senior Elixir test with 45 questions and a duration of 33 minutes that will help you identify top performers and make an informed decision based on actual working skills and coding abilities in Elixir.