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nickspicer1993on Ask HN: Who is hiring? (March 2026)

Spruce (London/Bristol, UK) — Lead Full Stack Engineer — £85–120k + equity — Hybrid

Spruce builds the operating system for heat pump installation businesses across the UK. The UK needs to install 600,000 heat pumps a year to hit net zero by 2050 — right now we're at ~100,000. We're building the software to close that gap, supporting 500+ installers and growing fast. Founded early 2024, VC-backed.

The problems are genuinely interesting: 2D floor-plan geometry and drawing tools, offline-first PWAs with sync conflict resolution, cross-company job sharing with RBAC permissions, underfloor heating physics and hydronics calculations, LiDAR integration, and solar and battery systems.

Stack: TypeScript, React, Node.js, PostgreSQL/PostGIS, Prisma, Docker, Konva, Tailwind.

You'd own slices of architecture and technical strategy, write high-leverage code on critical paths, and mentor a growing engineering team — while still spending most of your time hands-on.

Looking for someone strong in TypeScript across the full stack, who's product-minded and wants real ownership over what they build.

33 days holiday + 30 days/year working abroad. Hybrid (2 days/week in office). Nursery benefits.

Apply: nick@spruce.eco

nickspicer1993on Ask HN: Who is hiring? (February 2025)

Spruce | Full Time | Hybrid - Onsite (London/Bristol UK)

We’re building tools to help ambitious heat pump installers run their business without all the pain, hassle, and manual process that they have to deal with at the moment. We believe the only way to seriously accelerate the roll out of heat pumps, let alone hit 600,000 a year by 2028, is to put the needs of heating engineers and installation businesses front and centre.

We are currently looking for:

Senior Software Developer, Full Stack - https://spruce-energy.notion.site/Senior-Full-Stack-Engineer...

nickspicer1993on Ask HN: How can I get out of tech?

Hello, I don't have PTSD but I do have extreme anxiety and have been in the state you sound like your in now. It sounds like you are being triggered by something and your body is in a constant state of fight or flight causing your brain fog. I would talk with your therapist to try and tease out if it is definitely your work that is doing it?

I think it would be best to try and get to a state where you are sleeping properly and do not experience brain fog before making any larger changes. If therapy is not working try a course of SSRIs if you are not already one, coupled with really focusing on avoiding sugars, alcohol and caffeine, while drinking enough water.

If you experience no changes after doing the above after 4-6 weeks try to put together a game plan for long term change, that will require slow methodical thought about what you need and what your family requires. Best of luck and PTSD is the absolute worst, feel free to message me anytime.

nickspicer1993on Tailwind CSS v3.3

Have you tried it in earnest on a project? I was of the same opinion but once you try it (with VS Code and Tailwind plugin) it's hard not to fall in love with the ultra fast feedback loop and well defined colour palette.

nickspicer1993on Do heat pumps work in cold climates?

The idea to moving everything to heat pumps right now isn't so that you immediately reduce carbon emissions, but that everything works off of electricity and the grid so that as offshore wind, onshore wind, solar and Hinkley Point C come online it can start to replace fossil fuel energy. Same with EVs.

If you stick with gas boilers there is really no exit strategy for getting off fossil fuels.

nickspicer1993on Do heat pumps work in cold climates?

Also worth adding that in the UK new homes will not allowed to be built with boilers by 2025 and they will need to be slowly phased out in next decades so definitely invest in home insulation and a heat pump if your boiler is on the way out!

nickspicer1993on Does the world have enough lithium to move to electric vehicles?

What is the sustainability cycle in your opinion if we don't mass switch to EV?

According to most research the current plan is absolute net zero by 2050 and offset by reforestation, but that would not cover people not switching to EVs? Also projecting significantly further into the future, fossil fuels are not a renewable resource, what do we do when it runs out?

nickspicer1993on Does the world have enough lithium to move to electric vehicles?

I agree will all of the above points but the last is not really true, there is a concerted and clear agenda across the board to transition everything to electric and then use mostly wind and solar to power the grid (with already available solutions for energy storage due to fluctuations in wind/sun).

I don't see a lot of people really pushing for others to fundamentally change their habits and lifestyle (even getting people to eat less red meat is incredibly hard) and I think that's just because it's fundamentally harder to convince a large number of people to change their habits vs. a small number of dedicated people working towards green energy.

We should strive for both of these things together and share the same goal.

nickspicer1993on Does the world have enough lithium to move to electric vehicles?

Governments will need to subsidise EVs and create better mass-transit for those that cannot make the switch, but this is really a personal decision based on their own pros and cons. In a fully renewable grid how is using public transport over your EV orders of magnitude lower?

nickspicer1993on Does the world have enough lithium to move to electric vehicles?

All cars need to be EV for net zero and < 2 degree global warming to be achieved not just a subset, there can't be any fossil fuel powered cars on the road by 2050. As hinted below though you could hit 2 birds with one stone and focus on a great EV ride sharing network, guess it depends on how well EV prices can come down and whether cars owned outright will become out of reach for the average person.

nickspicer1993on Does the world have enough lithium to move to electric vehicles?

I have dug into this rabbit hole recently and haven't seen any studies indicating Copper is going to be a problem, do you have a source? Cheers

nickspicer1993on Life cycle assessment of enzymatic PET recycling

Yes to clarify this is explicitly the percentage before being sent to "reprocessors", however here is a breakdown of Bristol council: https://www.bristol.gov.uk/residents/bins-and-recycling/what...

It's a shame that they do not link to the direct companies so you can trace the waste to completion but it looks like a good deal of it is not getting shipped outside of the UK.

I believe there are a couple of bills being proposed to also stop this practice completely, although I don't know how effective they will be.

nickspicer1993on Life cycle assessment of enzymatic PET recycling

Just to be aware if you're in the UK your recycling does get recycled so you should definitely take advantage of splitting your trash into recycling bins, in my council they recycle 60% (not buried or burned).

The rest is correct though and it will most likely be down-cycled, my personal strategy I have been using without going crazy is:

  - Home Compost bin (this gets rid of 90% of my waste and makes the next steps less gross)
  - split remaining waste according to my recycling program: cardboard, metals, glass, plastics, paper, e-waste
  - cardboard/paper about half goes into compost, rest should biodegrade so vaguely ignore and hope for the best
  - End of each week look at what it going into recycling (dog food containers, salad bags, sauce containers etc.) and try to find a zero-waste alternative or tell the company you are considering moving and if they have any plans to improve their packaging infrastructure

Support policy change, if we can tax plastics (or any material) at the right level to include its waste and energy cost there are plenty of businesses waiting to be economically viable such as; collecting e-waste/batteries and retrieving gold, copper, lithium. Bioplastics for wrapping food, sauce packets.

I am not an expert in this area, so would love other people to correct any mistakes, it's really hard to go zero-waste or think about the right way to solve this problem without getting overwhelmed.

nickspicer1993on “Laws” of software estimation for complex work (2021)

Do you have any books that you would recommend on the subject? I'm all for people being informed but I have looked for information myself sporadically over the last 10 years and it's a very sparse landscape from my point of view.

nickspicer1993on Ask HN: What are some blog posts that you have enjoyed going through?

I find the linked article pretty convincing but admit it's not my area of expertise at all, do you have any resources refuting it?

nickspicer1993on Ask HN: What are some blog posts that you have enjoyed going through?

https://astralcodexten.substack.com/p/your-book-review-progr...

A book review winner outlining "land value tax". Once you read it it's scary how many things you start to notice that it would solve, and how many inefficient policies are put in place but not required if you solve this ultimate underlying issue.

nickspicer1993on Ukraine accepted to NATO cyber defence centre

I did offer yes, but they arn't taking untrained civilians who don't speak the language.

nickspicer1993on Ukraine accepted to NATO cyber defence centre

I think we can simply agree different values then, if the person had 6000 nuclear weapons not only would I still fight for my house, I would fight for your house. I did offer to go to Ukraine actually but they are not taking untrained civilians.

nickspicer1993on Ukraine accepted to NATO cyber defence centre

Of course the same principles apply, if there is injustice I'm not aware of we can also fight I am more than happy to fight with you just tell me where you want me to spend my effort. But I wouldn't mistake ignorance for malice. And worse I wouldn't forgo someone else help because I didn't receive help myself.

nickspicer1993on Ukraine accepted to NATO cyber defence centre

- In 2014 it was bad because the reason was to invade a country that did not want to be invaded

- In 2022 it was good because it was to defend a country from invasion that did not want it

In both cases the underlying reason is the same, defend the will of the people.

What is the underlying argument you are trying to pursue? We should not sanction ordinary Russian people because all governments invade/meddle in other countries not just Russia?

nickspicer1993on Ukraine accepted to NATO cyber defence centre

I did protest those wars.

nickspicer1993on Ukraine accepted to NATO cyber defence centre

Your comment suggests the best outcome of any situation is the least violence. But it's not what I believe or I imagine what most people believe, I would rather fight for certain values to be upheld - in this case the freedom to agree as a collective rather than bow to the person with the most force. If someone comes to your house and takes it by force you should let him because it's the path to least violence right?

nickspicer1993on Ukraine accepted to NATO cyber defence centre

In my mind Viktor Yanukovych came to power unfairly and was ousted by the people of Ukraine in a protest for democracy rather than against. Is that the wrong viewpoint, are there some other sources I should read?

nickspicer1993on Ukraine accepted to NATO cyber defence centre

I would do that. What's the alternative endgame? Ukraine is a country begging for help from the west and specifically a no-fly zone while Russia is shelling them not caring if it hits civilians. Surely at some point you need to stand up for what you believe in.

nickspicer1993on Ukraine accepted to NATO cyber defence centre

Russia is shelling all major Ukraine cities right now trying to take over a country that does not want it. I am from the UK and if my government were doing this I would gladly welcome sanctions and be outside daily protesting regardless of the consequences, because I know that whatever I would go through it scarcely compares to what civilians of Ukraine would be feeling right now. That's where my humanity would lie personally...

nickspicer1993on Show HN: Tahsk, a simple and fast Jira replacement

The animation has been removed, thanks both for you input. :)

nickspicer1993on Show HN: Tahsk, a simple and fast Jira replacement

No workflows as of it, I'm currently scouting out what the next "big" feature should be:

- Workflows

- Timesheets

- GitHub et al integrations?

Do you use workflows right now, with which piece of software if you don't mind me asking? :)

nickspicer1993on Show HN: Tahsk, a simple and fast Jira replacement

Yep definitely, thanks for the feedback I appreciate it.

nickspicer1993on Show HN: Tahsk, a simple and fast Jira replacement

The animation is actually 3 seconds. ;)

Understand how it could conflict with the "fast" adjective though, is anyone else put off by the animation?

nickspicer1993on Show HN: Tahsk, a simple and fast Jira replacement

Potentially, I've looked at Asana, Shortcut, Jira and a couple of others and this pricing seems accurate. Are there some features you are currently using that are missing? I'd be super keen to find out!