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"Release night and weekend work occasionally expected and required"

This is for a software developer position. Obviously they're expecting night and weekend work "occasionally" but not sure what they mean by qualifying it with "release". Also, is this word "occasionally" likely to really mean "we expect tons of overtime out of you that we're not going to pay you for because you're on salary"?

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  • I would go with typo. But if you're not sure, ask. – Amy Blankenship Dec 20 '13 at 23:51
  • It's a web page with no easy way of directly asking about the posting – StormeHawke Dec 20 '13 at 23:53
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    Release means if the software needs to be deployed it will go out during non-business hours. You would have to ask them how often they deploy new releases. If it's once a month, you'll be working overtime once a month. – Meredith Poor Dec 21 '13 at 2:06
  • @StormeHawke first thing i will do with such org is to ask about there comp off policy :D – amar Dec 21 '13 at 7:32
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I've seen this phrasing on more than a few ocassions, and typically in postings specifically for release managers, but it doesn't strike me as crazy ... just a little awkward.

By qualifying it with "release" the company probably means "we push our releases at night, and when we do, we expect developers to be available in case something goes wrong."

"Occasionally" probably means "everyone has a scheduled weekend rotation".

I wouldn't jump straight to the conclusion that "we expect tons of overtime out of you that we're not going to pay you for because you're on salary" -- it is certainly a possibility, but you can clarify that in your phone screen or interview if there's no way to ask an HR or other contact directly before submitting your application.

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  • besides assuming weekly rotation (which makes perfect sense to me), I would also think the hiring project doesn't have "hard" releases schedule, ie their releases are feature bound rather than time bound – gnat Dec 21 '13 at 10:28
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Release night refers to any night on which a new version of their product is being released.

Some companies expect you to work till the code is stable enough to release. Working usually involves just fixing bugs and regression testing as new features at this point are dangerous to the stability of the build.

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"Release" is software release since this is for a software developer position.

I think this sentence is intentionally left vague. They are not sure how often the software releases will be. "Occasionally" could mean once every three months. It could also mean every two weeks. Even it's usually once every three months, what if they decide to have an emergency release one week immediately after a normal one?

I won't be surprised if you get an unclear answer after you ask them to explain. Companies want to have flexibilities. As far as I know, software industry typically have busy time before a software release. Whether it is tons of overtime depends on the situation. I once had more than one week of continuous work without much sleep before a release. Welcome to the club!

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