LaTeX Developer Hiring Guide

Hiring Guide for LaTeX Engineers

Ask the right questions to secure the right LaTeX talent among an increasingly shrinking pool of talent.

LaTeX is a high-quality typesetting system, developed in 1985 by Leslie Lamport, that focuses on the content rather than the appearance of documents. It is widely used for medium-to-large technical or scientific documents but can be employed for almost any form of publishing. LaTeX uses the TeX typesetting program for formatting its output and is itself written in the TeX macro language. It's not a traditional programming language, but a markup language with a syntax closer to plain text. The source of this information is from "LaTeX: A Document Preparation System" by Leslie Lamport and various online resources.

First 20 minutes

General LaTeX knowledge and experience

The next 20 minutes of the interview should attempt to focus more specifically on the development questions used, and the level of depth and skill the engineer possesses.

What are the main differences between LaTeX and other typesetting systems?

The main differences between LaTeX and other typesetting systems include LaTeX's ability to handle complex mathematical formulas, its use of markup language to define the structure of a document, and its high quality typesetting output.

How would you create a table in LaTeX?

To create a table in LaTeX, you would use the tabular environment. The \begin{tabular} command is used to start the table, and \end{tabular} to end it. The columns are defined by the argument of the tabular environment, and the rows are separated by the \hline command.

Describe the difference between \newcommand and \renewcommand in LaTeX.

\newcommand is used to define a new command, while \renewcommand is used to redefine an already existing command.

What are the basic elements of a LaTeX document?

The basic elements of a LaTeX document include the document class, packages, preamble, sections, paragraphs, figures, tables, and mathematical expressions.

How would you create a simple document in LaTeX?

To create a simple document in LaTeX, you would start by declaring the document class with the \documentclass command, followed by the type of document. Then, you would begin the document with \begin{document} and end with \end{document}. The content of the document goes between these two commands.

The hiring guide has been successfully sent to your email address.
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

What youre looking for early-on

Has the candidate displayed any previous experience or projects in LaTeX?

This provides evidence of their skills and ability to apply them in a practical setting.

Does the candidate show a willingness to learn and adapt?

This is important as technologies and requirements may change over time.

How well does the candidate understand the specific needs of your project or company?

This shows that they have done their research and are prepared to contribute to your specific goals.

Is the candidate able to communicate effectively about complex concepts?

This is required as they will need to explain their work and collaborate with a team.

Has the candidate shown ability to problem solve?

This is important because coding and development often involve troubleshooting and solving unexpected issues.

Does the candidate demonstrate a deep understanding of LaTeX and its applications?

This is crucial because the job requires the application of LaTeX in various contexts and situations.

Next 20 minutes

Specific LaTeX development questions

The next 20 minutes of the interview should attempt to focus more specifically on the development questions used, and the level of depth and skill the engineer possesses.

How would you create a bibliography in LaTeX?

To create a bibliography in LaTeX, you would use the biblatex package. You would create a .bib file with your references, and then use the \cite command in your document to cite these references. The bibliography is printed with the \printbibliography command.

What are some common packages in LaTeX and what do they do?

Some common packages in LaTeX include geometry for page layout, graphicx for including graphics, biblatex for bibliography management, hyperref for creating hyperlinks, and amssymb and amsmath for mathematical symbols and environments.

How would you create a custom page layout in LaTeX?

Creating a custom page layout in LaTeX involves modifying the page dimensions, margins, and header and footer styles. This can be done using the geometry and fancyhdr packages.

Describe the difference between the article, report, and book document classes in LaTeX.

The article class is used for short documents and journal articles, the report class is used for longer reports containing several chapters, and the book class is used for real books.

How would you handle errors in LaTeX?

Handling errors in LaTeX typically involves checking the error message, finding the line where the error occurred, and correcting the mistake. If the error message is unclear, it may be helpful to comment out sections of the code to isolate the problem.

The hiring guide has been successfully sent to your email address.
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

The ideal back-end app developer

What you’re looking to see on the LaTeX engineer at this point.

A skilled LaTeX engineer should demonstrate proficiency in creating complex documents, understanding of typesetting and document structure, and problem-solving abilities for troubleshooting errors. Red flags include lack of experience with advanced LaTeX packages and inability to articulate solutions to common formatting issues.

Digging deeper

Code questions

These will help you see the candidate's real-world development capabilities with LaTeX.

What does this simple LaTeX code do?

\documentclass{article}
\begin{document}
Hello, World!
\end{document}

This code prints 'Hello, World!' on a document. It's a basic LaTeX document structure.

What will be the output of this LaTeX code?

\documentclass{article}
\begin{document}
\section{Introduction}
This is the introduction.
\end{document}

This code creates a document with a section titled 'Introduction' and the text 'This is the introduction.' under it.

What does this LaTeX code do?

\begin{tabular}{|c|c|}
\hline
Cell1 & Cell2 \\
\hline
Cell3 & Cell4 \\
\hline
\end{tabular}

This code creates a table with two rows and two columns. The cells contain the texts 'Cell1', 'Cell2', 'Cell3', and 'Cell4'.

What does this LaTeX code do?

\begin{figure}
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.5\textwidth]{image.png}
\caption{Sample image}
\end{figure}

This code inserts an image named 'image.png' into the document. The image is centered and takes up half of the text's width. A caption 'Sample image' is also added under the image.

What does this LaTeX code do?

\documentclass{article}
\newcommand{\mycommand}[2]{#1 is before #2}
\begin{document}
\mycommand{First}{Second}
\end{document}

This code defines a new command named 'mycommand' that takes two arguments. The command prints the first argument, followed by the text 'is before', and then the second argument. The command is then used in the document with 'First' and 'Second' as the arguments.

What does this LaTeX code do?

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{ifthen}
\newcommand{\mycommand}[1]{
\ifthenelse{\equal{#1}{}}{Empty}{Not empty}
}
\begin{document}
\mycommand{}
\mycommand{Text}
\end{document}

This code defines a new command named 'mycommand' that takes one argument. The command checks if the argument is empty or not. If it is empty, it prints 'Empty', otherwise it prints 'Not empty'. The command is then used twice in the document, first with an empty argument and then with 'Text' as the argument.

Wrap-up questions

Final candidate for LaTeX role questions

The final few interview questions for a LaTeX candidate should typically focus on a combination of technical skills, personal goals, growth potential, team dynamics, and company culture.

Describe the difference between \include, \input, and \import in LaTeX.

\include is used to include separate LaTeX documents, and starts a new page. \input is used to include files but does not start a new page. \import is used to include files from a different directory, and also does not start a new page.

How would you create a custom command in LaTeX?

To create a custom command in LaTeX, you would use the \newcommand command. This command takes two arguments: the name of the new command and the definition of the command.

What are the main differences between LaTeX and TeX?

TeX is a low-level markup and programming language, while LaTeX is a set of macros built on top of TeX that provides a high-level interface. LaTeX is easier to use and provides more features, but TeX gives more control over the typesetting process.

How would you create a complex mathematical formula in LaTeX?

Creating a complex mathematical formula in LaTeX involves using the math mode and the appropriate mathematical symbols and commands. For example, fractions are created with the \frac command, integrals with the \int command, and so on.

Describe the difference between inline and display math mode in LaTeX.

Inline math mode is used for mathematical expressions within a line of text, and is initiated with $...$. Display math mode is used for equations that appear on their own line, and is initiated with \[...\] or the equation environment.

The hiring guide has been successfully sent to your email address.
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

LaTeX application related

Product Perfect's LaTeX development capabilities

Beyond hiring for your LaTeX engineering team, you may be in the market for additional help. Product Perfect provides seasoned expertise in LaTeX projects, and can engage in multiple capacities.

LaTeX Consultive assessments

Custom LaTeX development projects

Hiring guides

Hiring guides at a higher level of coverage

Zooming out above a specific programming language, these other hiring guides may be helpful.

Back-end App Developer

Front-end Web Developer

Full Stack Developer (Java)

Full Stack Developer (.Net)

Full Stack Developer (MEAN)

Full Stack Developer (MERN)

DevOps Engineer

Database Engineer (AzureSQL)

Database Engineer (Oracle)

Database Engineer (General)

Solution Architect (.NET)

Solution Architect (Java)

Solution Architect (Ruby)

Solution Architect (Python)

AI Engineer (Python)

Sr. AI Engineer (Python)

AI Strategist (Python)

Business Intelligence Engineer

Systems Analyst

Mainframe Developer (COBOL)

Mainframe Developer (General)