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Parallax is hiring: Technical Support, followed by PCB Designer or Educator — Parallax Forums

Parallax is hiring: Technical Support, followed by PCB Designer or Educator

Ken GraceyKen Gracey Posts: 7,392
edited 2014-10-16 17:16 in General Discussion
Hello,

We have an immediate position open in Technical Support!

http://www.parallax.com/news/2014-10-07/we-are-now-hiring-our-technical-support-group-apply-join-parallax-team-rocklin-ca

The job description is here:

http://www.parallax.com/sites/default/files/downloads/TechnicalSupportPosition-1014.pdf

Chances are good that this person would be relocating to Rocklin, so I'm posting it here on the forums.

After this we will be opening additional positions in either Education or Engineering.

Ken Gracey
«1

Comments

  • SRLMSRLM Posts: 5,045
    edited 2014-10-08 10:32
    I like the last point of the job description:
    Able and willing to lift, push, and pull up to 100 lbs. on a case by case basis; keyboard continuously, manipulate
    small mechanical and electronic parts, employ a regular sense of smell; occasionally crouch or crawl.
  • PublisonPublison Posts: 12,366
    edited 2014-10-08 10:35
    SRLM wrote: »
    I like the last point of the job description:
    Able and willing to lift, push, and pull up to 100 lbs. on a case by case basis; keyboard continuously, manipulate
    small mechanical and electronic parts, employ a regular sense of smell; occasionally crouch or crawl.

    And I resemble that statement. :)

    All my prior employers required that.

    And the catch all that I have have to sign:
    And other duties that management deems necessary

    In the case of Parallax, I think that means have fun at your job!
  • David BetzDavid Betz Posts: 14,516
    edited 2014-10-08 10:35
    SRLM wrote: »
    I like the last point of the job description:
    Sense of smell? Is that to notice overheated circuits? My wife wouldn't qualify since she has no sense of smell. She might not qualify on a number of other of the requirements either though. :-)
  • Heater.Heater. Posts: 21,230
    edited 2014-10-08 11:54
    Ken,

    Able and willing to lift, push, and pull up to 100 lbs. on a case by case basis; keyboard continuously, manipulate
    small mechanical and electronic parts, employ a regular sense of smell; occasionally crouch or crawl.
    In my experience every software engineering position I have had has require that.

    Only they never tell you that up front!

    Lucky guy who gets that job though.
  • Mag748Mag748 Posts: 266
    edited 2014-10-08 12:54
    Ooh, this is exciting. Can any light be shed on what type of engineering position will be available? Is the company expanding?

    Thanks,
    Marcus
  • PublisonPublison Posts: 12,366
    edited 2014-10-08 13:09
    Mag748 wrote: »
    Ooh, this is exciting. Can any light be shed on what type of engineering position will be available? Is the company expanding?

    Thanks,
    Marcus

    The links are in Post#1

    or here:

    http://www.parallax.com/company/employment-opportunities
  • tonyp12tonyp12 Posts: 1,951
    edited 2014-10-08 13:17
    >The links are in Post#1

    Pretty sure Mag was referring to "soon to be posted" and if a sneak peek is possible.
    >>After this we will be opening additional positions in either Education or Engineering.
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2014-10-08 13:37
    Parallax Job Description wrote:
    Able and willing to lift, push, and pull up to 100 lbs. on a case by case basis; keyboard continuously, manipulate small mechanical and electronic parts, employ a regular sense of smell; occasionally crouch or crawl.
    Translated, the job requires physical strength, good eyesight, manual dexterity, and agility. The smell part is interesting, given recently-reported research that losing one's sense of smell is strongly correlated with dying within five years. Of course, I have to assume that none of this is designed to discourage old people from applying. :)

    -Phil
  • GordonMcCombGordonMcComb Posts: 3,366
    edited 2014-10-08 13:56
    Ken Gracey wrote: »
    After this we will be opening additional positions in either Education or Engineering.

    Oooh! I'll take the job in Education if only to work with my two favorite people there.
  • Ken GraceyKen Gracey Posts: 7,392
    edited 2014-10-08 14:09
    Mag748 wrote: »
    Ooh, this is exciting. Can any light be shed on what type of engineering position will be available? Is the company expanding?

    Thanks,
    Marcus

    Yes.

    We need skills for designing a PCB, creating a BOM, schematic, writing the documentation and code. The most successful products from Parallax have been designed, documented and coded by usually one to two people. Our product plan includes several new items: dual H-bridge, a Propeller Flight Controller for the ELEV-8 V2, and so on.

    We could do some of this under contract instead of an employee/employer relationship, too. The issue with contract work and key products is that contributors must learn to work well within our systems, using our tools, communicating with our staff, etc. That can be difficult for some people. Laying out a PCB is 10% of the work required to bring a product to market.

    Ken Gracey
  • Ken GraceyKen Gracey Posts: 7,392
    edited 2014-10-08 14:11
    GordonMcComb wrote: »
    Oooh! I'll take the job in Education if only to work with my two favorite people there.

    Your problem, Mr. McComb, is that you are already productively busy. Plus, how are we going to lure you from the SoCal ocean to the inland farming community where government is our primary industry?

    Seriously, if you're ready we have plenty of projects for you already. You just need to contact Stephanie and she'll line them up for you.

    Ken Gracey
  • GordonMcCombGordonMcComb Posts: 3,366
    edited 2014-10-08 14:25
    Yep, in my plans for Friday. I finish a big job today. Yea!!
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2014-10-08 14:53
    Ken Gracey wrote:
    Laying out a PCB is 10% of the work required to bring a product to market.
    That's really true. In fact, I'd go so far as to say 10% is high. Even doing a bill of materials -- and doing it right -- is very time-consuming, considering that you have to source the parts, make sure they're in distribution, and record order numbers and costs. In addition to the actual layout and schematic, board houses need a drill & trim dimensional drawing, and assembly houses need an assembly drawing. Then there's that pesky documentation that we all LOVE to write, right? Finally, when that's all done, you also have to design a test fixture and procedure for the finished product and document that, too.

    -Phil
  • Ken GraceyKen Gracey Posts: 7,392
    edited 2014-10-08 14:56
    Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) wrote: »
    That's really true. In fact, I'd go so far as to say 10% is high.

    Sure is. I am trying to dispel the myth that when we say we're looking for PCB design skills that all the person would do is design PCBs. If so, there are plenty of people to take that job. The real need, though, is shuttling them through our entire process and seeing the first one sold, handling input and feedback during development. There's no "throw it over the fence" at Parallax - it's an accountable process from the minute the mission is accepted through the product's entire lifespan.

    Ken Gracey
  • Steph LindsaySteph Lindsay Posts: 767
    edited 2014-10-08 15:11
    GordonMcComb wrote: »
    Yep, in my plans for Friday. I finish a big job today. Yea!!

    Looking forward to hearing from you!
  • NWCCTVNWCCTV Posts: 3,629
    edited 2014-10-08 15:15
    Any OJT positions available?????
  • Ken GraceyKen Gracey Posts: 7,392
    edited 2014-10-08 15:45
    NWCCTV wrote: »
    Any OJT positions available?????

    OJT? On the Job Training I presume? Well, yeah, you have to learn on the job. Nobody arrives fully trained, and there's no way they could possibly understand our internal processes until they're here and doing the job. For example, when a customer cites a problem, you'd need to know what to do with it to get it solved. Nothing inside Parallax slips through the cracks - we have a simple project management / task system to ensure that a tech support person gets help from the right person and that they know how to effectively close the issue with the customer, our web site, documentation, or anything that is affected. Learning our products is actually quite easy since we make tutorials for nearly everything we offer.

    OJT. Yes.

    Ken Gracey
  • BeanBean Posts: 8,129
    edited 2014-10-08 15:56
    Darn, I wish this was posted about 6 months ago.
    After two other engineers and I were rudely shown the door at my last employer of 17 years, we decided to start our own business.
    After 6 months we are building the business and we are having fun.

    Well like they say...Timing is everything.

    Bean
  • John A. ZoidbergJohn A. Zoidberg Posts: 514
    edited 2014-10-08 18:00
    Ah, that's a fun job. Wished to apply, but I'm not in the USA. I have a MEngSci qualification and have written some tutorials on microcontroller programming in a local website before. :)
  • WhitWhit Posts: 4,191
    edited 2014-10-08 18:40
    Too bad you don't need a chaplain, but then again I guess you already have one... ;-)
  • Ken GraceyKen Gracey Posts: 7,392
    edited 2014-10-08 18:46
    Whit wrote: »
    Too bad you don't need a chaplain, but then again I guess you already have one... ;-)

    Well, what we want and what we need are probably two different things!

    Ken Gracey
  • GordonMcCombGordonMcComb Posts: 3,366
    edited 2014-10-08 18:58
    Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) wrote: »
    Then there's that pesky documentation that we all LOVE to write, right?

    As Mike Rowe now says, somebody's got to do it. And it's a dirty job, to be sure.
  • WhitWhit Posts: 4,191
    edited 2014-10-08 19:26
    Ken Gracey wrote: »
    Well, what we want and what we need are probably two different things!

    I once asked a boy in Sunday school class if he understood the difference between what you want and what you need. He thought for a second and said, "You need underwear, you want Hot Wheels." I think he got it.

    Good luck in your search. I know that you all will find some more great employees!
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2014-10-08 21:17
    Whit wrote: »
    "You need underwear, you want Hot Wheels."

    From my perspective and 30 years of experience, he's got that backwards! :)
  • Ken GraceyKen Gracey Posts: 7,392
    edited 2014-10-08 21:30
    We're receiving requests from candidates outside of the USA.

    Unfortunately this isn't a possibility. We've been through J-1, H1-B visas and green card processes before and we would be unable to justify it for this position due to several very significant hurdles: cost, time, and probability. This is unfortunate because there's tremendous skill among our customer base in Latin America and Europe.

    Ken Gracey
  • SRLMSRLM Posts: 5,045
    edited 2014-10-08 22:10
    Ken Gracey wrote: »
    We're receiving requests from candidates outside of the USA.

    Unfortunately this isn't a possibility. We've been through J-1, H1-B visas and green card processes before and we would be unable to justify it for this position due to several very significant hurdles: cost, time, and probability. This is unfortunate because there's tremendous skill among our customer base in Latin America and Europe.

    Ken Gracey

    Have you considered writing a blog with this sort of information on it? Every once in a while you drop a tidbit of wisdom here on the forums, and most of us pay attention. I bet you (and Parallax) could get some nice publicity if you started recording this in an informal blog. Some topic ideas:
    - Foreign Employees
    - Product Design Process
    - Manufacturing in China
    - Custom Silicon (from a business perspective, no a Chip perspective)
    - Working with Schools
    - Customer Support
    - BOM Management

    Basically, I'd find it fascinating when you write about how Parallax works, the challenges that you've faced, and the solutions that you've chosen.
  • msrobotsmsrobots Posts: 3,709
    edited 2014-10-09 00:08
    Yes,

    the History and knowledge gained out of Parallax may be a very interesting story. I was once in Rocklin and I was very impressed of what I saw. Not the outfit itself. That was what I had expected. But the people and the way they interacted.

    I am a quite shy person. Part of being here in the USA for just a couple of years. I am one of those immigrants coming from Germany and have a 'Permanent Resident Card' or 'Green Card'. I am a 'legal alien'.

    I started the process in 2006 at the 'Immigration and Naturalization Service' now known as the 'Department of Homeland Security'. Having done that process I can agree with Ken that it is expensive, time consuming and the outcome is not sure. You have to imagine requests like 'we need your bank account statements of the last 5 years translated by one of our registered translator and certified'. A registered translator charges $1 per word.

    Luckily I was able to explain that to the officer and he was fine with a translated and certified copy of a 3 page statement of my German Bank summarizing my activity.

    As stated before I went thru this process some years ago, It might be even more complicated now.

    I really would like to work at Parallax but I am quite fine with my current employer.

    But anyone who fit this offers should know that Parallax is a quite special place. Honestly. Apply. You will not regret it.

    Enjoy!

    Mike
  • John A. ZoidbergJohn A. Zoidberg Posts: 514
    edited 2014-10-10 01:59
    If i'm in the United States, I would have applied for it. It must be a fun company! :)

    Right now I'm in the other side of the world, so it's hard for the employers in US to apply for working visa and stuff like that.
  • Ken GraceyKen Gracey Posts: 7,392
    edited 2014-10-16 16:18
    Look, guys, we need some help identifying candidates for this position.

    We need to cast a wider net - can you help us by posting this job description among your own circles?

    Thanks,

    Ken Gracey
  • David BetzDavid Betz Posts: 14,516
    edited 2014-10-16 17:16
    Ken Gracey wrote: »
    Look, guys, we need some help identifying candidates for this position.

    We need to cast a wider net - can you help us by posting this job description among your own circles?

    Thanks,

    Ken Gracey
    I'm sure it would be a lot of fun and very rewarding to work at Parallax. I hope someone snaps this job up quick!
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