Home | So you want to work at SparkFun?

SparkFun is an online retail store that sells the bits and pieces to make your electronics projects possible. Whether it’s a robot that can cook your breakfast or a GPS cat tracking device, our products and resources are designed to make the world of electronics more accessible to the average person. In addition to products, SparkFun also offers classes and a number of online tutorials designed to help educate individuals in the wonderful world of embedded electronics.

What do we sell? Our products range from things like resistors and LEDs to humidity sensors and LCD screens. Our goal is to make finding the parts and information you need easier and affordable so you can create awesome projects.

And who are our customers? We sell to crafters and designers, artists and DJs, elementary teachers and college professors, and yes, electrical engineers. We have seen 5-year olds solder our kits and octogenarians attend our events. We believe anyone and everyone can play with cool electronic gadgets! So go on and let your geek shine - around here, we encourage it.

We like to think that we exist in the same group as our customers - curious students, engineers, prototypers, and hobbyists who love to create. We are snowboarders and rock-climbers, painters and musicians, engineers and writers - but we all have one thing in common...we love electronics! We want to use electronics to make art projects, gadgets, and robots. We live, eat, and breathe this stuff! The SparkFun crew works in various departments such as engineering, marketing, production, shipping, and keg replenishment, all united in one common goal - Sharing Ingenuity.

To find out some specifics about the SparkFun employees, find an incomplete list of current employees here.

You can also find us on Facebook, Flickr, or Twitter.

The culture is a very large part of what makes SparkFun better than a stick in the eye. The following are some rules that should guide the types of people we hire and help guide the decisions we make.

1. Transparent / allowed to fail : Let's be open and honest with ourselves and others. If we screw up, admit it openly, fix it, and move on. Let's protect open communication between everyone.
2. Least conventional as possible : We realize that business convention has its place. Let's separate business necessity (like paying taxes) from business tradition (like slacks) as much as possible.
3. Risk Neutral : We will consider, question and not be daunted by the rules around us. Be safe, but be unruly whenever possible.
4. Scrappy : We want to be known for something greater than our office furniture. Let’s create our own way of doing things. Do we really need more stuff? If we really need it, let’s get it, but let’s try to get it second hand. If something needs fixing, ask for help and roll up your sleeves.
5. Appreciation of individuality : This is not the place for close-minded individuals. If you work hard next to me, I'll respect your fascination with kitchen utensils.
6. Trust on an individual level : Show up, get the work done, and respect the toes and tattoos of others. We trust you to think through the decisions about your dog, your work schedule, and your dress. We trust you to be honest with your neighbor if they affect your work environment.
7. Ideas are created equal : Doesn't matter who had them. Anyone can do something cool and get recognized for it.
8. Opinionated : If we ever lose the ability to express our individual opinions, we are truly lost. Be cool and think through a problem. Everyone has an equal right to voice their opinion and listen to other opinions.

Notes from culture meeting #2. Dogs, skateboards, loud music, chaos - all in a day's work.