Jobs -- Engadget

jobs posts

RIM posts job listing for 'WebKit Developer,' gets one step closer to a real browser

by Joshua Topolsky posted Nov 1st 2009 at 4:33PM

Needed some more evidence that future BlackBerrys may be getting a much needed improvement in the browser department? You got it. Following up on the news that Research In Motion has acquired Torch Mobile (developers of the WebKit-based Iris browser), the Candian phonemaker is now looking to fill the position of "WebKit Developer," according to a job listing. The posting calls for a number of skills which would come in handy whilst creating a next-gen browser for the BlackBerry OS, clearly calling for someone with hands-on experience coding... WebKit style. Look, if you love Canada and hate the BlackBerry browser, here's your chance to make the world a better place. What are you waiting for?

[Thanks, Daniel M]

First two Microsoft retail stores now hiring

by Vladislav Savov posted Aug 21st 2009 at 12:53PM

Interested in handling the Zune HD and other such goodies ahead of time? Microsoft's first two retail stores are now hiring, and if you've always dreamt of being a "retail associate" now's your chance to stand on the front lines. The job will require at least some geographical proximity to the Scottsdale, Arizona or Mission Viejo, California store locations, a love for technology, and the memory to remember all those Windows 7 SKUs, but those are just small hurdles -- the honor and courage will have to come from within.

Steve Jobs back to work at Apple

by Nilay Patel posted Jun 29th 2009 at 2:01PM

And he's back, folks. Six months after Steve Jobs took a medical leave from Apple due to health reasons, the company has announced that he's back on the job, working a "few days a week" on the Apple campus and from home the remainder. Of course, we'd been hearing of Steve's continual involvement in "key aspects" of Apple's business for a while now, so this seems like more of a rubber stamp on the status quo than a major change, but now that it's official we're sure the questions from shareholders and other interested parties regarding Steve's health will only grow louder and more insistent -- especially given the news of his liver transplant earlier this year. We'll see how Apple decides to handle the situation when the time comes -- until then, we're just thankful that he's returned and is doing well.

Engadget is looking for a lead designer / developer!

by Joshua Topolsky posted Apr 23rd 2009 at 1:00PM

You guys may not know this, but we have some really, really cool stuff coming up in the world of Engadget -- and not just on the editorial front. In fact, we're currently looking for a salaried, full-time designer with backend / developer chops to join us in the creation and maintenance of said cool stuff. If you're an incredibly smart, talented, hard-working human that loves Engadget, happens to have killer design sense, and knows their way around a screen full of code -- we'd like to speak to you. Keep in mind that we'll only be looking at candidates with a portfolio, and we're going to be seriously scrutinizing the work that we see. Read on for a list of our requirements.

Continue reading Engadget is looking for a lead designer / developer!

Want to write for us? Engadget is looking for a European editor!

by Joshua Topolsky posted Apr 15th 2009 at 11:00AM

Oh sure, you love gadgets -- but do you have the chops to write about them? We'd love to know if you think you do, because we're looking to actually pay people to do this stuff. Professional writing experience isn't necessary (though it doesn't hurt), but what we really care about is that you can write skillfully about gadgets with wit, concision, and authority. And being obsessed with Engadget is good, too. Here's what we're looking for right now:

European editor - Part-time or full-time (freelance), must be based in Europe, preferably London.

Want to apply? Read on.

Continue reading Want to write for us? Engadget is looking for a European editor!

Netflix on the lookout for gaming platforms engineering guru

by Ross Miller posted Apr 13th 2009 at 4:47PM

We've heard whispers of Netflix heading to other, non-Xbox 360 game consoles before, and now adding to the susurrus is a job listing from the company for Engineering Lead - Gaming Platforms. The description calls for someone familiar with the technical hurdles of current-gen consoles for building a small team to "rapidly prototype and iterate on a variety of platforms." Whether or not this means we'll be seeing PlayStation 3 or Wii services in the near (or even distant) future is anyone's guess, but with Microsoft's version so far a streaming success, we wouldn't be surprised if the company took a few steps to increase the probability that 3 billionth delivered flick is digital.

[Via Joystiq]

Nokia slashes 1,700 jobs due to "pruned" demand

by Laura June posted Mar 17th 2009 at 11:34AM

Finland-based Nokia has just announced that they will cut 1,700 jobs in the corporate development and global functions departments. These cuts will equal about 1 percent of Nokia's entire workforce, and are more than double in number than earlier reports suggested. The company says that the cuts are being driven by "pruned" worldwide demand for its products. Shares of its stock fell 2.6 percent in Helsinki trading after the announcement, while our hopes and dreams fell just 1 percent. Onward and upward, dear Nokia!

Study finds horrible working conditions at Microsoft, Dell ODM factory

by Laura June posted Feb 11th 2009 at 9:46AM

Despite the fact that the world economy is suffering from cutbacks in nearly every job sector, factory workers in places such as the Meitai factory in Dongguan City, Guangdong, China -- which assembles and produces keyboards for companies including Lenovo, Microsoft, Dell, HP and IBM -- have been relatively insulated from the downturn, and their jobs secure. The National Labor Committee has conducted a covert operation to investigate the working conditions at the factory, however, and found them to be less than acceptable. The workers -- who arguably are not compensated very well to begin with -- are cheated out of wages for negligible wrongdoing, forced into overtime, fed food that even a Dickens character would refuse, work twelve hours a day seven days a week, and sleep in dorms which are "primitive" (yes, workers live at the factory). The report that the NLC has compiled is quite long, detailed, depressing, and begins, ironically, with a Bill Gates quote. Hit the read link for the full story.

Update: It looks like the source material at the read links is only working intermittently.

[Via Boing Boing]

Recession Roundup: volume... oh nevermind

by Laura June posted Jan 29th 2009 at 7:39PM

We like to spread good vibes around here, so believe us, we're getting pretty tired of this global economic collapse. However, there's more bad news to dole out. Kodak's reported a 24 percent sales drop and announced it's cutting up to 4,500 workers this year, while Toshiba posted its first loss in seven years, and announced cuts that would bring their expenditures down 80 percent from the current year. Finally, although this was previously predicted, Sony's announced that its profits were down a staggering 95 percent last quarter -- its first-ever third quarter loss posting. The Federation is not going to be pleased.

Read - Kodak posts loss, to cut up to 4,500 jobs
Read - Toshiba reports Q3 loss
Read - Sony's quarterly net profits tumble 95 percent

Recession roundup: volume eleventeen zillion

by Laura June posted Jan 28th 2009 at 2:33PM

We're getting rather tired of having to "roundup" the misery, loss of profits, and layoffs in this modern era of plenty and luxury, but there's seemingly no end in sight, so here we go. Texas Instruments announced plans to cut 12 percent of its workforce (apparently as a safety measure as its profits last quarter actually topped analysts' estimates). Meanwhile, Panasonic's announced some modest cuts of roughly 600 workers, in addition to closing some of its plants in Asia as it posted a net loss for the first time in six years. Moving on, Hewlett-Packard's laying off nearly 25,000 people in a "restructuring" scheme, while those IBM losses we've been hearing about (and which have been rumored to number nearly 16,000) are now quietly happening in several locales across the U.S. Finally, big boxer Best Buy's just confirmed impending cuts at their headquarters in Minneapolis, but won't release any hard numbers until February. Seriously, world: the future is disgusted with us.

Read - Texas Instruments cutting jobs
Read - Panasonic to cut 560 jobs, close plants
Read - IBM, HP quietly cut thousands of jobs
Read - Best Buy plans layoffs at headquarters

Recession roundup: Sony warns of $1.7b loss, other companies not doing much better

by Laura June posted Jan 22nd 2009 at 3:31PM

Evidence that the economy has been ground to a fine powder continues to pile up, and today's brought another batch of bad news. Tales of woe abound, but looming largest is Sony, which announced its 2nd quarter earnings yesterday, then warned today that they expect to post a $1.7 billion loss this year (though we've seen other reports that are now putting the number at well over $2 billion). Additionally, Samsung is expected to post a first-ever quarterly loss when it reports its earnings Friday, which are expected to run somewhere in the neighborhood of a $67.7 million net loss. Moving on, Seagate's also announced an unsuprising cut of about 6 percent of their workforce in Thailand. Finally, LG has reported a $487 million loss, while TomTom announced a "cost cutting program," meaning they're cutting about 7 percent of their global workforce. Seriously, does anyone have a light-hearted Dilbert strip or something to ease some of the pain? Sheesh.

Read - Sony, Warning of Annual Loss, Escalates Cost-Cutting plan
Read - Samsung may report first ever quarterly loss
Read - LG Electronics Posts $487 Million Loss
Read - TomTom Cost-cutting programme
Read - Seagate to lay off up to 800 local workers

Microsoft cutting 5,000 jobs, sadface emoticons abound

by Laura June posted Jan 22nd 2009 at 10:34AM

Amid the flurry of terrible economic news, Microsoft yesterday reported an 11 percent drop in profits for the second quarter (down to $4.17 billion from $4.71 billion last year). Well, now it looks like things aren't going to get any better in Redmond for the time being: the company's announced it's going to lay of 5,000 people over the next year and a half, citing the implosion of the global economy, saying they fully expect their revenue to experience further decline this year. Not fun. Check out Steve Ballmer's truly depressing (yet terribly non-dramatic) memo to Microsoft staff after the break.

Continue reading Microsoft cutting 5,000 jobs, sadface emoticons abound

Sony to shutter Japanese TV plant as part of restructuring efforts

by Darren Murph posted Jan 21st 2009 at 10:44PM

Hey Sony -- we know that experiencing your first annual operating loss in 14 years calls for drastic measures, but this is bordering on downright rash. Barely a month after announcing that 16,000 employees would be axed, Sony has now revealed plans to close one of its two television plants in Japan and rid itself of 2,000 domestic full-time jobs as it attempts to "revive its electronics business." Of note, it's stated that those 2,000 -- which seem to be a part of the previously mentioned 16,000 figure -- will be shed via "early retirement and other programs." Just think what a 40-inch XEL-1 would do for business. No, seriously Sony, just think.

[Image courtesy of DigitalWorldTokyo]

Job loss roundup: like other roundups, only less fun

by Laura June posted Jan 21st 2009 at 11:45AM

Remember yesterday... when everything was awesome and hopeful? Well, with this morning's coffee came the cold hard truth once more: the economy is seriously stinking up the joint, and it only seems to be getting worse. Logitech's announced their third-quarter earnings (down 70 percent) and simultaneously said it's going to shrug off 600 of its employees, while the folks over at Intel have said they're shutting down a manufacturing facility in the Philippines which houses 1,800 employees. Sony's vaguely announced a "restructuring" which is bound to result in misery and job loss, while Sega confirmed that "about 30" people have been vaporized from the pay sheet. So... everything's cool with this blogging job, right guys? Guys!?

Read - Confirmed: Sega cuts staff
Read - Sony announces restructuring plan
Read - Intel announces RP operation shutdown
Read - Logitech third quarter profits fell 70 percent

Ericsson slashes 5,000 jobs, blames Sony partnership

by Thomas Ricker posted Jan 21st 2009 at 3:59AM

With profits tumbling 31%, Ericsson just announced its intent to shed 5,000 jobs across the globe (1,000 in Stockholm). The loss resulting from a "dramatic drop" in contributions from its Sony Ericsson joint venture. The 5k figure represents about 6% of Ericsson's 79,000 employees.