More Than a Framework: Why Modern .NET Demands a New Vetting Standard
The .NET of today is not the .NET Framework of a decade ago. It is a completely rewritten, cross-platform, open source, and high performance ecosystem designed for the modern cloud. From building blazing-fast APIs with ASP.NET Core to creating powerful data access layers with Entity Framework Core, modern .NET provides a unified and powerful platform for building almost any kind of application.
But this modernity creates a critical vetting challenge. A developer whose experience is primarily with the older, Windows-only .NET Framework may struggle to adapt to the new paradigms of dependency injection, middleware pipelines, and cross-platform development that define modern .NET. They might build applications that are not just un-idiomatic, but also slow, insecure, and hard to containerize.
This playbook explains how Axiom Cortex vets for a deep, practical understanding of the modern .NET platform, finding engineers who can build for the cloud native world of today, not the Windows servers of yesterday.
Traditional Vetting and Vendor Limitations
A nearshore vendor sees ".NET" on a résumé and fails to distinguish between modern .NET (6, 8, etc.) and the legacy .NET Framework. The interview consists of asking basic C# syntax questions. This superficial approach fails to test for the architectural understanding required to build a modern, high performance application.
The result is often a team that builds "legacy-style" applications on a modern framework:
- Ignoring Dependency Injection: The team instantiates services directly (`new MyService()`) instead of using the built in dependency injection container, leading to tightly coupled, untestable code.
- Performance Bottlenecks: The application is slow because developers are not using the asynchronous programming features (`async`/`await`) correctly, leading to blocked threads and poor scalability.
- Monolithic Thinking: The team builds a large, monolithic application that is difficult to deploy and scale, without considering how to break it down into smaller, more manageable services.
How Axiom Cortex Evaluates .NET Developers
Axiom Cortex is designed to find engineers who have embraced the modern .NET ecosystem. We test for the practical skills in software architecture, performance, and security that are essential for building production grade applications. We evaluate candidates across four critical dimensions.
Dimension 1: Modern ASP.NET Core
This dimension tests a candidate's ability to build fast and secure web APIs using the latest version of ASP.NET Core.
We provide a scenario and evaluate their ability to:
- Design a Middleware Pipeline: Can they explain how the ASP.NET Core middleware pipeline works? Can they write a custom piece of middleware?
- Implement Authentication and Authorization: Are they familiar with setting up JWT-based authentication and attribute based authorization?
Dimension 2: Entity Framework Core and Data Access
This dimension tests a candidate's ability to interact with a database efficiently and safely using EF Core.
We present a data access problem and evaluate if they can:
- Write Performant Queries: Can they use LINQ to write efficient queries? Can they identify and fix an N+1 query problem using `Include()`?
- Manage Migrations: Do they have a disciplined approach to managing database schema changes using EF Core Migrations?
Dimension 3: Cloud Native Architecture
An elite .NET developer thinks about how their application will run in the cloud. This dimension tests their cloud native mindset.
We evaluate their knowledge of:
- Containerization: Can they write an efficient, multi stage Dockerfile for a .NET application?
- Configuration Management: Can they use the modern .NET configuration system to manage settings across different environments (local, staging, production)?
- Observability: Are they familiar with instrumenting their application with structured logging, metrics, and distributed tracing?
From Legacy Code to a Cloud Native Platform
When you staff your team with modern .NET engineers who have passed the Axiom Cortex assessment, you are investing in a team that can build the high performance, cross-platform, and cloud-ready applications your business needs. They will not just be maintaining legacy code; they will be building the future of your enterprise platform.