[mdlug] OT: Job Openings

[David McMillan]

     Not (directly) Linux-related, but a good code monkey with the 
ability to pick up new programming languages might find it a good fit.

     I've recently been approached by a friend who is a manager at the 
Detroit branch (north exurbs, really -- northern Utics, to be specific) 
of a major international industrial-robotics corporation.  They're 
apparently catching an upsurge in work that has them looking high and 
low for service technicians and software/application engineers.  At 
least some of the positions will probably involve a good deal of 
"travelling repairman" work, running about the country with a toolbox 
and a cellphone fixing broken robots (often with an irate customer 
breathing down one's neck).  Not exactly low-pressure -- an automotive 
plant shut down by a single broken robot can be losing money hand over 
fist.  But like most fixing-stuff jobs, demand is likely to remain high.
     The engineering jobs would be a switch for people accustomed to 
"formal" software engineering -- industrial robots definitely aren't 
like computers, and the phrase "program crash" often has much more 
violent (and expensive, and occasionally life-threatening) 
implications.  But it can be very interesting work, for people who enjoy 
seeing their code do real-world stuff.

     Since it's a relatively narrow field, finding people with 
experience is harder than, say, "normal" software engineers.  So I get 
the impression that someone with sufficient core skills could probably 
get on board and learn the specifics OTJ, if they're motivated.  So, if 
anyone knows of someone with decent coding skills, the ability to run 
wires and bend a wrench, and likes to learn new hardware/software, 
please pass this on.