Hackaday Is Looking For A Full Time Project Builder/ Video Host!

Hackaday.com is looking for an experienced hacker/writer to join our team doing original hacking and modding projects on video. Are you energetic, outgoing, and passionate about hacking/modding? Can you solder AND explain what you’re doing and why? Come join our team and modify/hack/create things daily with a professional film crew to be aired on HackADay, then post a writeup detailing how you did your hack. Let your mind run wild, combine Mythbusters with Ben Heck, can you do it?

To be able to do this job successfully you need to be energetic, passionate and knowledgeable about hacking. The person who is perfect for this job will have experience with computer modding, hobby robotics, basic electronics, microcontroller programming, as well as some larger manufacturing skills like running a CNC mill and welding. Take a look at Hackaday.com to see the kinds of projects we would like to see created. Writing/blogging experience is a plus.

Job duties will include:
-following trends to see what the latest awesome hack would be
-brainstorming your own original hacks and mods
-executing those hacks
-breaking down the hacks to educate the viewers

This is a full-time, in-house position at our Santa Monica office. Pay is $30-$40k a year based on experience and includes benefits. To apply, please submit a cover letter and resume to our online job board (http://mhlo.co/ed886g). In your cover letter tell us why you’d be the best fit for the job, and please feel free to include any links to personal hacks/projects, or any future hack ideas you’d bring to HackADay.

79 thoughts on “Hackaday Is Looking For A Full Time Project Builder/ Video Host!

  1. Seriously, $40k a year only?

    Don’t get me wrong, I would ONLY DREAM of having this job, but for all the technical skills and personality that this job requires (very hard to find a sociable AND genius hacker), I say that this job deserves at least 80-90k a year, if not 100+k.

  2. i am pretty amazed with the salary related comments i read above.

    Here in Greece, a normal day job (8 hours min – probably 10 hours) will provide a monthly salary of 1000 – 1500 Euro aka approx 1400 – 1800 $. And I am talking about serious office jobs in IT departments with project management etc.

    If Bill D Williams is accurate…then having a salary of 40.000 $ – 15.000 $ cost of living = 25.000 $ free for personal use…that’s more per month than our pitiful 1.500 Euro/month salary….

    Seems like in America, you have a totally different way of living… (not judging, i wish things were the same here).

    Good luck to all candidates and HAD.

  3. This is doomed because of the low pay your offering… it’s pretty much unanimous. If you do find someone for this ridiculous pay I’d be surprised if they can deliver what you ask for.

    $40-$50 K and you might actually get some serious applications from someone that can actually deliver.

    Everyone suddenly wants to be Element14.
    Whiskey Tango Foxtrot!?
    Good luck HaD. :)

  4. @cafeine: The $40k is before tax and health insurance, and $15k is cost of rent only (in a not so great apartment). Add in car payments, food, gas, phone and power bills, and there isn’t much left over for things like clothes or any other “luxuries” like furniture or vacation trips.

  5. Echo the 30-40k being low.

    The position and pay sounds more geared for a part time college student.

    Second thought, if you get a list narrowed down, why not post demo rolls and let the HAD viewers vote on the final person?

  6. Could I add a few more requirements:

    1. Can spell and/or proof read.
    2. Knows trig and other basic math.
    3. Can read and understand datasheets.
    4. Can use (3) to set the config registers on ANY uC.
    5. Has an aversion to things with flashy LEDs.
    6. Has not and does not ever intend having sex with an Arduino[Anon]

    The money is fine for me, I actually understand what it takes to get a start-up to go.

    I could even go the “trends” thing if it was OK to ridicule the lemmings that is.

    Why would I want to, or is there a need to, move to SM? Check out the cool new trend called the internets.

  7. You should hire interns! There cheap :P
    Typical 4 months period and some university have 8 months long interns. What is cool with interns, is that you can get computer crack head for 4 months then electric guru for 4 months. Having specific categories.

    I do admit that 40k is not a lot. I did two interns in R&D and that’s what I want to do after graduating. Be creative and invent new things!

    HaD wants to take it to the next level and that is completely normal! Good luck, I am sure you will find someone!

  8. @cafeine lets do math
    40K-13k taxes (secret fact most taxes are illegal)
    27K – (1.2K rent *12monts) = 12.6k
    so you left with around 1k a months and we didn’t count freaking FOOD (300) electricity(100) phone(100) bla bla blaLikeCar(1k). AND if you unlucky to break a bone that year it cost you another 5-15K

    so no its not gold on streets it is piss

  9. @ cafeine:
    Cost of living is a lot more in U.S. (as others have pointed towards). It’s also more in the UK, Germany, Japan and plenty of other countries compared to Greece. I just read that Greek taxes are amongst the highest in the EU, so maybe your €18k salary is after tax?

    This shows the euro doesn’t quite work, because each EU economy is structured slightly differently – If you take your Germany-earned euros to Greece, you could buy a lot more, even though standard of living in Greece is not much lower.

    HaD is clearly looking for fresh brains. I heard on a TED talks video that increased reward actually destroys creativity – incentivising it makes people go into tunnel vision mode, and they run towards one obvious solution rather than thinking abstractly about it.

  10. If you want someone churning out high-quality hacks, say, every week, I think you’ll be disappointed. I had a short run doing articles for a magazine, and it’s hard as hell and really damaging for the creative juices to actually *have* to come up with something new and cool. Perhaps I set the bar too high (I usually want to do something no-one else has done or thought of yet), but I know I probably couldn’t do it. (And besides, everyone would probably laugh at my Dutch accent… :) )

  11. The cost of living differential between Greece and Germany does not really point out any flaw in the Euro as the exact same conditions exist in the US… I live in Ohio and a $40k salary is magical fantasy-land cash, as people with a similar skillset only make about $25k – $30k here. But the cost of living is much lower, so it is actually possible to live comfortably on $25k, even though $40k would have you living in a cardboard box full of ramen noodles in Santa Monica.

    Hackaday should open up this position to people living anywhere, they will probably get a lot more qualified applicants.

  12. @AnubisTTP
    It kind of is a flaw because every euro or dollar should be worth the same no matter where you go, but they aren’t. I understand cost of living going up relates generally to higher salary in the area, but this is why some people commute from low cost of living areas (where they live) to high cost areas (the workplace) thus taking advantage of differing values of the currency.

    Taking this even further, you could work online for a company in a country where cost of living is 5 times higher, making you rich compared to people who work where you live.

  13. How about you instead pay me to do it, but not in CA. It’ll fit in nicely with the hacking show I’ve been working on for quite a while. I swear one day I’ll actually finish an episode.

  14. thanks for all the replies!

    it’s always interesting to see how economy works in other countries.

    the problem is not specific to the euro currency. it involves VAT (23% in Greece), taxes, health insurance and all above mentioned. Even gas prices make a difference…in GR gas price is 1.62 Euro/litre etc….

    Study Greek economy for a laugh….low salaries, extreme taxes, health insurance etc, everybody on loans and credit cards…..titanic should be emblem! :p

    thank god we have OUZO and TSIPOURO to drink to forget our problems. :P:P:P

    many hopes that a new “hacker” will join the HAD team in mutually profitable terms.

  15. Why not Just use the money to pay people who submit (well, the authors) nice hacks; Or offer prizes like Instructables?

    You’ll get more, and of higher quality. Plus, the money will encourage people to show their stuff, and finish hacks.

    Also, switching to disqus would be fine with me.

  16. I think it could be more interesting to have someone of a reasonable skill level, rather than someone with a vast knowledge of everything hack related. That way you could have them learning new skills to complete projects. Generally people are more enthusiastic when they have just learnt something new as apposed to something they’ve been doing for years. This would also make the position easier to fill.

    I think part of the hacker mindset is to learn new skills as an when needed. Not just for the sake of it.

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