SparkFun Engineering Job Posting: 10/13/2010
SparkFun is looking for new peeps in the engineering department.
We are looking for something very different than a regular Electrical Engineer. Disclaimer: We don’t pay well enough to hire a seasoned EE. Starting pay is around $50,000. Unfortunately we don’t offer relocation allowance. But we have all the regular perks you may be used to (401k, PTO, health insurance) and quite a few you may not be used to (freedom to build cool stuff, beer, living in Boulder, Colorado, dogs in the office).
As an engineer at SparkFun, you will be responsible for new product brainstorming and design. This includes circuit design, PCB layout, writing firmware for a variety of embedded platforms, documentation of new designs, writing tutorials for the website, and potentially writing blog posts for our home page occasionally. Additionally, you will be working with various outside sources (from students to large companies) on a variety of collaborative projects (from simple break out boards to large development platforms). And as such, you will be required to maintain communication with these external sources while you usher projects through our systems from conception to product posting. You will also be required to travel occasionally to the odd Maker Fair, sensor symposium, hacker space, soldering workshop, what-have-you. You may also be called upon to build the occasional robot or laser death ray. We affectionately refer to this process as ‘keeping plates in the air’. The more you can spin, the more we will give you.
The ideal candidate would have a good portfolio of interesting projects involving a variety of technologies. Innovative approaches to problem solving will get you extra points, as will being self motivated and self taught.
Read this next bit carefully: you don’t necessarily have to have a degree. But you do have to have a good understanding of electronics, circuit design, embedded programming and PCB layout with Eagle.
That’s the absolute bare minimum you’re going to need to hit the ground running. But don’t send us a 3 page resume showing us how amazing your work experience is. It may be crazy-impressive, but it won’t get you a job here. Please submit your one page resume in PDF format, detailing education and maybe your last two jobs. With your resume please submit your ‘wow’ list of projects: a couple pages maybe, pictures are highly encouraged (800 pixel max width/height, 1MB max size per picture).
Please answer the following questions and include them with your application. Text file, DOC, or PDF are all acceptable.
— What is the largest (or most interesting) blinky you’ve built?
— What have you built that scared you or a loved one?
— What product is SparkFun lacking? Said differently, what do you bring to the table that
SparkFun needs help with?
— How would you go about detecting a lie? In a high level, fully describe the sensors, electrical and any social engineering you would use.
Please submit the answers to these questions, as well as your resume and project portfolio to HR@sparkfun.com.
