Tanagram Partners

We are looking for a curious individual with a passion for the future of interaction and deep experience working with HTML, AS3, and XAML. Our newest member must also rock. This isn't a confidence thing for you or us, we aren't prima donna designers and don't work well with individuals who can't collaborate intensively. Rock to us means to be REALLY REALLY good at what you do. It means you understand the implications of aesthetics and beauty on complex functional design. It means you understand and are relevant with the "fashion" of design. It means you wake up in the morning thinking about visual and systemic gorgeousness and strive to create it. You must have a great portfolio that is relevant and shows you are actively pursuing the issues we are passionate about.

Here at Tanagram we actively look for ways to escape the world of WIMP interaction and I'm proud to say we are very very close to realizing it. We design complex interactive experiences—systems that make many designers cringe. Systems that allow users to touch and manipulate data with hands, not abstractions. We abhor refresh-encumbered interaction and enjoy individuals who understand that there is a better place.

Our current assignments include redefining geospatial hyperlocal media planning as a SaaS product*, inventing the the future of Augmented Reality interaction (no, it's not a silly iPhone app, think heads-up display technology and daily wear), and creating / refining online communities that are meaningful and truly help people. Our clients work with us to help them create the future and we are steadfast that our future is a better one.

In our process the UX designer's role begins at project inception. She participates in client discussions gathering information and providing references to current and leading edge design approaches (visual, haptic, etc) that may benefit the client's requirements. She references new trends, hot topics, and examples used by like and non-like competitors. Once requirements are gathered, she works with the project team as an artist, innovator, and strategist representing concepts and prototypes that are desired by her target audiences. Design aesthetics are always as important as simplicity and relevance. Our newest member must be a communicator, actively seeking and spreading inspiration. She is constantly challenging herself and the status quo.

If you feel like she could be you and have 10+ years of experience please send your resume and portfolio to careers@tanagram.com and we can start the discussion. We look forward to meeting you.

* apologies for the buzzword attack.

List<ITanagramTeamMember> tanagramTeam = Tanagram.GetTeam();
tanagramTeam.add(you);
var coolNewProject = tanagramTeam.KickAss();

Who you are:
You are someone who has impeccable skills in the realm of technology, communication and thought. Perhaps you have or do refer to yourself as a developer, but hopefully that title feels a bit constraining at times. Ideally you have a keen eye, if not a hand, for good design and a desire to realize it. Object Oriented Programming should be an important concept to you, but you should be actively interested in functional and dynamic languages as well. You should be passionate about the language you prefer, but not tied to it as you understand that there is no single language that can really solve all problems we technology experts face. Most of your work will be development focused, but we'd love for you to be interested in and aware of the architecture of the system you are contributing to at all levels. You will discover challenges on a daily basis, they will require creative and strategic solutions. Subsequently, you should be able to communicate such issues to others not only verbally, but be able to work through them in front of a whiteboard with other technology experts. Communication is key, as we'll be building what we consider a meaningful digital experience but never at the expense of our personal relationships.

Required Skills:
Degree – Computer Science, Math, Physics or Engineering degrees work well, but an intellectual in any field works for us.
Microsoft Platform – Microsoft technologies will be heavily utilized, but we appreciate(and use) other technology platforms and we will consider your experience in them meaningful.
SQL Server 2008 – Databases are commonplace, please know at least one platform well or be willing to learn SQL Server 2008.
.Net Framework – An ever-evolving framework that is currently in the 4.0 state, be up to date, or ready to get there.
C# – Will be used extensively, know it or know another OO language so well you can easily pick it up.
WPF/Silverlight/XAML – Will be used extensively, knowledge of it will be looked upon favorably.
XAML – Will be used extensively, knowledge of it will be looked upon favorably.
SOA/SaaS – These words should be understood not as the shallow marketing terms they represent most often, but as the conceptually important patterns that they represent.
Communication – This is a tough one. We are extremely collaborative and to participate you MUST have excellent communication skills.

Bonus Skills:
Design Patterns – Being able to talk through the formal Design Patterns gets you extra credit.
MEF – Knowledge of PRISM, ModelView ViewModel, and their heir MEF also gets you bragging rights.
WCF – We think there is some seriously good stuff in WCF, telling us about it would get you more bragging rights.
Entity Framework – There are lots of good ORM tools, talking through them gets you bonus points, knowing EF gets you bonus points as well.
Unit Testing – Being able to talk about Unit Testing for good and/or bad gets you more extra credit.
Self Documentation – Writing self documenting and expressive code would be a great way to impress us.
Design – If you know how to make things that are inherently sophisticated more simple without sacrificing capability then we want you…Now!

Don't just sit there! Send your resume and a creative cover letter to: careers@tanagram.com