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View Full Version : K2 Hiring Snowboard binding Design Engineer



nord
05-18-2010, 08:28 PM
Kind of a Techie Topic
K2 is looking for a Snowboard Binding Design Engineer.
Lots of travel 22+ weeks a year. Probably travel to China not to ski areas. I think its probably a tough job with long hours and fairly low pay for the job requirements and resposibilies.

Posted at

http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/egr/1741141554.html

Job Listing is Pasted below


K2 Sports is seeking a Design Engineer--Snowboard Bindings to join the Product Development team. Primary responsibility is engineering development of the binding product line. Working with the Category Manager and Sr. Design Engineer or Product Manager, develop a product line that meets quality needs, delivery goals, value objectives, cost targets, budget limits and innovation needs to be competitive in the market.

PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTABILITIES
1. BINDING DEVELOPMENT
A. Following the goals and objectives set by the Category Manager and Product Manager, utilize available development resources (Factories, ID firms, Graphic Design, in-house resources, etc.) to engineer a product line that:
i. Meets the needs of the appropriate riders (Team, novice-advanced rider, rental shop) for fit, durability, performance, convenience, comfort, and any other objectives
ii. Meets unit cost targets for each model
iii. Doesn’t violate competitor patents. Create new patents for “K2 Sports” where possible.
B. Manage generation, approval, and filing of 3D solid model and 2D drawing files.
C. Execute product test plan to ensure that designs meet performance and durability targets. Utilize FEA, factory test labs, Vashon Test Lab, Team riders and on-snow test group.
D. Material selection that balances performance, durability and cost.
E. Execute production buy-off of all components.
F. Support Product Manager in executing graphic sampling and buy-off to meet the goals of the creative department and also meets unit cost targets.
G. Support Product Manager in executing generation, and manage the sampling & buy-off of all binding packaging material, including Box, Warranty Card, Instruction Manual, etc.
H. Support Product Manager in achieving on-time full binding buy-off to get sample and production bindings delivered on time.

2. LINE MANAGEMENT
A. Develop, coordinate, maintain, and communicate detailed Development Plans, schedules and Hit Lists.
B. Maintain up-to-date database of 3D solid model and 2D drawing files.

3. QUALITY ASSURANCE AND WARRANTY
A. Approval of specifications for quality control of parts and processes.
B. Confirmation that QC processes are efficient and effective.
C. Establish suspect or high wear parts and work with Warranty to prepare and stock appropriate replacement part quantities.

4. SALES & MARKETING.
A. Maintain market awareness through interaction with the team, dealers and sales force, on hill experience, trade show research, shop visits, and other interaction.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
1. Education/Training:
A. BS in Mechanical Engineering (or equivalent)
2. Experience
3. Must be a Snowboarder
4. Travel
A. Must be able to travel frequently. As a minimum, must be able to make the following trips:
i. SIA (1 week total) in January
ii. On-Snow Demos (1-2 weeks total) in February
iii. Development On-Site Factory Support (10+ weeks total)
1. 2 weeks in March-April
2. 2 weeks in May-June
3. 2 weeks in July-August
4. 2 weeks in September-October
5. 2 weeks in November-February
iv. On-Snow Testing (as necessary)

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS
1. Work Experience
A. Experience in manufacturing (plastic processing, metal processing, and assembly).
B. Experience with CAD/FEA software (ProE/Mechanica preferred).
C. Experience initiating and completing design projects from concept through production.
D. Experience setting-up, running, and analyzing experiments.
E. Experience setting-up specifications for quality control and analyzing quality control data.

2. Skill Ability
A. Knowledge: Well versed in all aspects of development and manufacturing including prototyping, CAD, FEA, tool making, material selection, component selection, injection molding, metal processing, assembly. Must have an in depth knowledge of the snowboard market.
B. Mental: Must be willing to travel to trade shows, test sessions, and factories. Must be self-motivated and able to manage projects at the factory. Must have attention to detail for design, buy-off, and quality control. Must be able to manage a wide range of projects from engineering to aesthetics. Must be patient enough to deal with the language barrier. Must be strong willed to hold our position at the factory.
C. Interpersonal: Must be able to motivate factory to focus on our projects. Must be able to clearly communicate while traveling. Must be able to work in a team environment.

Interested candidates please visit http://erecruit.jarden.com to access all K2 Sports job opportunities posted on the website of our parent company Jarden Corporation. Only potential candidates will be contacted. All resumes will remain confidential. K2 Sports is an Equal Opportunity Employer. K2 Sports is a Division of Jarden Corporation.

huckster989
05-18-2010, 09:07 PM
kind of funny that K2 is posting jobs on CL

MightyQuinn
05-18-2010, 09:25 PM
Sick job!
Good place to search for enthusiasm and brilliance.
Please help them make snowboard bindings better!

nord
05-19-2010, 10:22 AM
kind of funny that K2 is posting jobs on CL


Lot's of companies place employment ads on Craigslist. Why is this funny?

krp8128
05-19-2010, 10:41 AM
Must be a snowboarder......

legallyillegal
05-19-2010, 06:38 PM
kind of funny that K2 is posting jobs on CL

it's called due diligence

if everybody was hired internally, how would anybody ever get a job?

waxman
05-20-2010, 12:19 AM
copy Burton or Tech9 but only supply 4x4 discs, simple...

keipow
05-20-2010, 11:52 AM
Many engineering jobs are posted on Craigslist.

I'm not a mechanical engineer, but this job spec looks pretty bad:
1. They should have realized that there are plenty of multi-lingual Chinese or Indian snowboarding mechanical engineers fed up with working at Boeing in Seattle.
2. They are looking for someone to do it all, from requirements to design, to implementation and manufacturing, even quality assurance and marketing/PR. That's just bad practice.
3. It's a given that K2 would pay less, just like the video game industry pays less for software engineers. But the spec writer was way too open about that.

Is this common practice in the skiing/snowboarding industry? If that is the case, I'm not surprised that we haven't had major advances in binding designs.

waxman
05-20-2010, 05:11 PM
Is this common practice in the skiing/snowboarding industry? If that is the case, I'm not surprised that we haven't had major advances in binding designs.

there were major advances in bindings 10 years ago: Switch/Clicker/O-sin SIS even Burton but "pros don't ride step-ins" killed them so it's been sit in the snow ever since....

doughboyshredder
05-20-2010, 05:24 PM
there were major advances in bindings 10 years ago: Switch/Clicker/O-sin SIS even Burton but "pros don't ride step-ins" killed them so it's been sit in the snow ever since....

They were killed because they sucked donkey dick. Engelsman only rode them because he was paid well to. I almost broke my fucking ankle when one of the internal high backs collapsed on me. Fuck step ins. The only good thing about step ins was not getting passed by a handful of skiers while strapping in. Other than that everything about them sucked.

And, if you're sitting down to put on your bindings, you are doing it wrong. Very, very wrong.

waxman
05-20-2010, 10:33 PM
dbs, it's not me sitting down, i rode the rossi system that had the highback on the binding
i pretty much quit snowboarding when rossi quit making SIS (i worked for them at the time and doing demos in the great white north in ski boots can be cold)
for the general public/ex-skiers/rentoids step-ins worked

bossass
05-21-2010, 12:22 AM
He's right. Step-ins deserved their fate. Besides, there's flow bindings for all the gapers who can't deal with straps.

K2 bindings are actually pretty tech. They have this auto system where the toe strap comes loose when you loosen the big strap. Connected to each other with a steel cable. Kinda gimmicky and fixing a problem that doesn't really exist, but whatever. Anyone who gets this job won't be able to just sit back and copy burton.

I'd be prone to snowboard more if getting around wasn't so damn hard. The areas I ski, getting to good snow, it's critical to be able to sidestep for 30 seconds and other actions of the like that leave most snowboarders in the dust. If you could invent a binding to fix that problem you'd be killing it.

nord
05-25-2010, 11:38 AM
Many engineering jobs are posted on Craigslist.

I'm not a mechanical engineer, but this job spec looks pretty bad:
1. They should have realized that there are plenty of multi-lingual Chinese or Indian snowboarding mechanical engineers fed up with working at Boeing in Seattle.
2. They are looking for someone to do it all, from requirements to design, to implementation and manufacturing, even quality assurance and marketing/PR. That's just bad practice.
3. It's a given that K2 would pay less, just like the video game industry pays less for software engineers. But the spec writer was way too open about that.

Is this common practice in the skiing/snowboarding industry? If that is the case, I'm not surprised that we haven't had major advances in binding designs.

Multi-lingual Chinese or Indian Engineer that Snowboards. With good English language skills? Social skills to do marketing/PR? Willing to take a pay cut? Work on salary instead of hourly (Boeing)?
Tons of those guys around. Hell, I saw a bunch of them in Starbucks yesterday sitting at a table with Jim Morrison and Elvis.

Basically, the small companies do the innovation. Because large ski companies see design as new colors/graphics and real engineering as a expense not a core compentency.