I'd say that flexibility & persistance are the most important qualities. Find someone that has a passion for solving puzzles/problems, point them to the Monestary & turn them loose ;-)
My own opinion - Hire the Attitude, you can always train the technical. A professor once told our class "Working in 4 person teams, Code 3 separate solutions to this problem, & then explain why each one is the best one." You'd be amazed at the results.