Software Engineers Needed + Earth Day & Tech Supervillains🤖🌴

Software Engineers, Quality Assurance Engineer, and Technical Architect needed!! APPLY NOW!!

Hey,

Spotted: Big Tech playing musical chairs, with Apple’s Tim Cook quietly handing over the keys to hardware heir John Ternus, while Amazon throws $25 billion at Anthropic and SpaceX files for what could be the largest IPO in history. Someone’s been busy.

And the money never sleeps. Cursor’s valuation nearly doubled in five months, Hong Kong’s IPO market is hotter than ever, and Palantir’s supervillain manifesto has UK MPs clutching their pearls over £500 million in government contracts.

But most importantly, it's the day of mother nature, and we've got something special in store for you techies.

This Earth Day, we're proud to spotlight Opencast, a certified B Corp committed to meeting rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency.

Opencast is an independently owned, full-service UK technology consultancy that designs, builds, and runs human-focused digital and technology solutions.

Big week for Opencast! They're on the hunt for three of their most exciting roles right now: Software Engineer, Quality Assurance Engineer, and Senior Technical Architect.

If a career move is on your radar, Opencast has some exciting opportunities worth exploring right now.

☀️ Day in the Life at Opencast:

They’re looking for collaborative, curious problem-solvers who care about clean engineering, enjoy learning, and can work closely with teams and stakeholders to deliver thoughtful solutions.

🔍What they are looking for, subject to different roles:

• Proficiency in Java or similar languages (Scala, Kotlin, JavaScript)

• Strong communicator and collaborative team player, comfortable working across technical and non-technical teams

• Methodical problem-solver with a detail-oriented approach and agile methodology experience

• Proactive, adaptable and committed to best practice and continuous learning

• Happy to mentor and support junior colleagues across varied projects

• Experience delivering for UK public sector / government clients

• UK Security Clearance (SC) eligible – typically requires UK citizenship and 5 years UK residency

💷 What you’ll get in return:

• Salary ranges from £44,001 to £80,000 depending on role and experience

• 7% employer pension contribution, share options and discretionary bonus

• 25 days holiday plus 3 “life happens” days for unexpected situations

• Flexible and hybrid working patterns

• Wellbeing support and ongoing professional development

• Volunteering opportunities within a supportive, inclusive team

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• Apple CEO Tim Cook Is Stepping Down

Tim Cook is out as Apple CEO on September 1, with hardware chief John Ternus taking over as the company looks to shake its reputation as a Big Tech AI laggard.

• Nvidia Supplier Victory Giant Sees Shares Soar 60% In Hong Kong Debut

Hong Kong's IPO market raised nearly six times more capital in Q1 2026 than the previous year, with the $2.57 billion listing marking the city's largest in seven months.

• Cursor is in talks to raise $2 billion at a $50 billion+ valuation

Backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Nvidia and Thrive Capital, the round highlights surging VC appetite for AI coding tools, with Cursor’s valuation nearly doubling from $29.3 billion in just five months.

• SpaceX Insiders and Elon Musk Maintains Voting Control Following Its IPO

SpaceX's IPO targets a $1.75 trillion valuation and $75 billion raised, with Musk and insiders retaining control via dual-class shares, while strong Starlink profits help offset a $4.94 billion loss driven by heavy AI investment.

• Palantir’s “Supervillain-like” Manifesto

Palantir’s AI warfare and Western dominance manifesto has UK MPs calling for a rethink of the company’s £500 million in NHS, police and military contracts.

• Amazon Extending Its Partnerships With Anthropic

A $25 billion investment and a 10-year, $100 billion AWS deal, securing 5 gigawatts of compute power to train and scale Claude models worldwide, serving over 100,000 AWS customers.

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🧠 Quick Brain Teaser!

I have cities, but no houses live there.

I have mountains, but no trees grow there.

I have water, but no fish swim there.

I have roads, but no cars drive there.

What am I?

Answers at the bottom as usual!

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🔥Trending Roles:

• Data Scientist, Prospect

  Hybrid, London

• Senior Data Engineer - Operational Data Platform, easyJet Holidays

  Hybrid, Luton

• Enterprise Architect, easyJet Holidays

  Hybrid, Luton

• Business Development Manager, K3 Capital Group Ltd

  Remote, Greater Manchester

• Senior Android Engineer, Pixel

  Remote/Hybrid, Greater Manchester

• Senior Full Stack Developer (Front-End Focus), Consultant Connect

  Remote/Hybrid, Oxford

✈️ Head on over to Haystack to browse more roles like these ones!

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📚 What We’re Reading:

• Practical Advice and Real-Life Stories From Employees Who’ve Moved Into Tech Careers At Different Points In Their Lives

• AI Job Scams Are Booming – and I Was Fooled By One. Here Is How To Avoid Them

• Perspective: AI Demand Is Inflated, and Only Anthropic Is Being Realistic

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And the answer is…… 🥁🥁🥁🥁

A Map!!!! 🗺️

Hope you got that one!

Goodbye, see you next week.

Haystack