Creative Technologist, Wayfair Next Wayfair
Boston, MA

Job Description

Creative Technologist - Wayfair Next & Far-Future R&D

What the Team Does:

Wayfair Next & Far-Future R&D is tasked with envisioning and implementing technology driven solutions that aim to shape the future of retail. We apply emerging technologies to existing customer challenges on current platforms (such as mobile, web, physical retail) and explore the evolution of retail on newer platforms (such as VR & Spatial Computing). We view the landscape of customer problems and opportunity from a wide perspective, with a technology lens, allowing us to identify uncommon applications of technology from one corner to solve a problem in another. We aim to not only adapt to trends in customer behavior, we hope to dictate new ones.

What You'll Do:

* Explore and develop concepts with emerging technologies, such as new user interaction technologies, augmented environments, spatial computing, robotics & AI to name a few (ever-growing list).
* Solve customer problems and deliver engaging customer experiences using the latest technologies.
* Coordinate, support and explore new efforts with external technology partners using unreleased technology (such as Magic Leap & Google).
* Provide technical guidance, help prototype applications, and collaborate across Wayfair's product, engineering, & business teams for ideas, strategy, design, implementation, launch, and maintenance.
* Clearly communicate project status, risks and challenges.

How You'll Make an Impact

* Help define what the future of retail can (and should) look like.
* Coordinate with many internal stakeholders as a trusted partner in managing & executing internally sponsored projects (we have our own idea + project management workflow called the 12-week hack through the ideation, prototyping, and hand-off phase as well as guiding them through hand-off process
* Work together with a tight-knit, collaborative group of hands-on creative technologists to surface and build new and exciting software/hardware installations.

You Are:

* Fluent in C#, Python, C++, Javascript or any other OO related language - e use the right tool for the right job and this varies between projects.
* Use technology as a tool to solve real-world problems.
* At least 5+ years of professional programming experience (or equivalent life experience)
* You have an Undergraduate or Master's Degree in some kind of engineering - Computer Science/Computer Engineering/Software Engineering/Mechanical Engineering/Electrical Engineering or equivalent with at least 2 years of professional development experience or at least 2+ years of full-time software development experience.
* Not just an engineer, you are an entrepreneur. You aren't just thinking about how to do something, you are thinking about what comes next and why.
* Excited by emerging technologies and curious about how to apply them to real world problems.
* Obsessed with hacking-up experiences, applications, gadgets, tools etc.
* A technology-focused professional who understands the creative process and is good at rapid prototyping, facilitating prototype testing and adapting to rapidly changing direction.
* A creative engineer with a broad range of skills in your toolbox, one who is not afraid to jump into an area not yet previously explored.