[creamytaco]

Engineering is not about whether someone "can code", but whether someone can _engineer solutions to problems_. Has this person demonstrated that through the projects he chooses to put on display (and advertise as signal for his ability) on Github?

This is also what a lot of those engineering interviews are trying to ascertain, in a quantitative manner. I couldn't care less about someone's degrees or ivy league schools or Github projects (in isolation). These are all secondary -if that- considerations, problem solving ability being primary.

[vanusa]

Has this person demonstrated that through the projects he chooses to put on display (and advertise as signal for his ability) on Github?

Using the example you disparaged (his NaCl implementation), I would say:

"On first appearances, clearly yes. The problem was to adapt the a set of standard Go functions to a foreign interface - something one does quite a lot in an engineering environment. Also, the fact that he's aware of projects like NaCl and seeks to learn from the likes of Bernstein and Lange is a positive signal."

If I wanted to, perhaps I could drill down into the code and/or the NaCl spec itself. I don't know Go, so for all I know, maybe his code is actually horseshit. But all I'm saying is - from first appearances, definitely a positive signal. Infinitely more informative that FizzBuzzing (which would insult both his intelligence and mine).

This is also what a lot of those engineering interviews are trying to ascertain.

I've already made it clear that a glance at a repo does not obviate the need for an actual interview.