Software Engineer/Toy Inventor

Position Summary:
Do you have a passion for software and experience design? Can you build production-level software and work with a wide a range of software and design tools to prototype physical and interactive experiences? Do you want the opportunity to conceive and build the next generation of toys and apps?

IDEO’s Toy Lab is a wildly creative division of IDEO (www.ideo.com), and we’re looking for a creative, multi-talented software engineer to implement playful and fun ideas on exciting new platforms, including the iPhone. The role is a hybrid between software engineering AND physical toy and game prototyping efforts. The position is based in our Palo Alto location.

Key Activities:
The candidate’s primary responsibility will be to engineer and support development of iPhone applications for kids (www.ideotoylab.com). The ideal candidate has direct experience building iPhone applications or, at minimum, expertise in C/C++ and object oriented programming environments. Experience with game design, Open GL, and multiple software tools (Python, Flash, etc.) is helpful. The role involves production level coding capabilities – so an understanding of device architectures and memory management is required.

The candidate will also contribute to the creation of physical toy and game prototypes. This requires an extended skill set beyond software engineering. This may include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following skills: electronics/smart product design, graphic/creative tools, CAD, hand drawing, model making or rendering skills.
The balance between software implementation skills and physical prototyping skills may be flexible based on the right applicant.
Please submit a resume and relevant work samples for consideration.

Additional Skills Required:
- Prototyping skills: Successful applicants can create quick software prototypes to test feasibility and allow for rapid testing of ideas.
- Team skills: Collaborate and communicate constructively with other team members
- Personal attributes: Motivated, energetic, detail oriented, and an ability to do self-guided work
- An interest in toys and designing experiences for kids!

Please apply online at: http://www.ideo.com/culture/career/software-engineer-toy-inventor/

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