Jobs
We're looking for the best and brightest to join our team! We have offices in San Francisco and New York City. Check out our open jobs below.
- Software Engineer (San Francisco, CA)
- Vice President of Distribution and Business Affairs (New York, NY)
- Web Designer (New York, NY)
- Associate Marketing Manager (New York, NY)
Software Engineer
San Francisco, CA
Are you looking to shape the future of an exciting startup that has massive growth potential? Are you always interested in new technology, looking for the next cool problem to solve? Does working with a world-class team of bright and talented engineers excite you?
If so, this is the perfect job for you. Howcast is an early stage company founded by veterans of Google and YouTube. We are focusing on developing a social video site around instructional "how to" content, which we believe will have widespread appeal, and more importantly drive significant revenue. This isn't simply another user-generated video site - we produce our own high-quality content out of studios in downtown Manhattan that is featured on Howcast.com.
Our engineers drive product innovation and work in small, lean, and efficient teams. We get things done and have fun doing it. We firmly believe in releasing early and often, and rely heavily on the engineering team to take pride in the code that they write. We believe coding is a passion, not simply a job. Our engineering team is comprised solely of graduates from MIT, Stanford, Berkeley, and Columbia - so you'll be working with the brightest.
At Howcast, you will have the opportunity to build a high performance consumer website that people will use on a daily basis. Additionally, there are also several extremely interesting and novel problems that we'll be tackling over the next few iterations of our product, that we really believe will change the online video space - think video 2.0. Our technical founder has a proven track record of leading the launches of very successful web 2.0 products, including Google Video and Google Apps.
Responsibilities
- Design and develop a highly scalable Ruby on Rails website, with a strong focus on online video and social networking
- Write and ship great code that's maintainable and elegant, we value software craftsmanship
- Work with other superstar engineers to deliver small, high-quality releases on time
- Use your entrepreneurial drive and passion to think about how to take our team to the next level
Qualifications
- Smart, driven to get things done, take pride in the quality of code that you write
- Experience working in agile teams using test-driven or behavior-driven development is big plus
- Motivated self-starter who can accurately set goals and deadlines—this is very important
- Proven experience and track record of web development on sites that consumers use; you know things like AJAX, performance tuning, etc. like the back of your hand
- Must be able to learn new languages and frameworks extremely fast—we use Ruby on Rails (prior experience in Ruby on Rails is a big plus, but any strong developer will be considered)
- Experience with Flash video is a plus, but not a requirement (media streaming, video transcoding)
- Familiarity with social networking APIs and programming on mobile devices and operating systems a plus
- Outstanding design skills so you can take specs and requirements and write production-ready code
- Excellent communication skills to work well with other talented engineers
- Excitement to be an early employee at a company with tremendous growth potential; we work hard but have fun doing it
- B.S. or advanced degree in Computer Science or related Engineering
Compensation
- We offer competitive cash compensation and aggressive equity packages; we want you to succeed with the company
- Great health-care benefits packages
To apply, please submit your résumé with a subject line of "Software Engineer" to jobs+eng@howcast.com.
Vice President of Distribution and Business Affairs
New York, NY
We're in search of a bright, articulate professional with a passion for the media business and all aspects of the deal making process.
About Howcast Media
Founded by veterans of Google and YouTube, Howcast Media brings together the personality of user-generated content with the quality of a professional video studio to help consumers learn how-to do everything from the practical (“How to Paint a Wall”), to the unusual (“How to Get Paid for Donating Plasma”), to the entertaining (“How Not to Get Mugged”) at www.howcast.com. With high-quality video content and vibrant user communities organized around specific topic categories, Howcast provides a wealth of opportunities for distribution and advertising partners.
Howcast is set apart by our pursuit of the very best video content. We produce our own video content in our New York City studio with cutting-edge directors as well as through the Howcast Directors Program which provides emerging filmmakers with the opportunity to gain experience, exposure and a pay check. We’re also building The Howcast Network to bring together filmmakers and online experts with others in the film, technology and business communities to produce compelling instructional video content for Howcast.com, as well as to generate new projects and professional opportunities beyond the how-to space.
The Howcast Team
With offices in New York City and San Francisco, we are building a team of media and technology professionals to maintain and expand our digital presence.
We offer a competitive salary, stock options and benefits package. We’re also proud to offer an environment which prizes creativity and collaboration, recognizes personal achievements and believes in the potential of our team members.
Responsibilities
Reporting to the CEO, the Vice President of Distribution and Business Affairs will be responsible for growing the pipeline of content distribution relationships with leading broadband, cable and mobile partners as well as structuring and negotiating transactions to close. This requires paying strict attention to detail, being the lead negotiator on all legal matters for the company and being comfortable making partner presentations and negotiating with senior level executives representing the media industry’s most prominent companies. Day-to-day tasks also include the negotiation and drafting of term sheets, licensing and distribution contracts, IP agreements relating to technology services, software development and consultancy arrangements.
Requirements
- BA or BS degree (MBA is preferred).
- Law degree required - Must be admitted in New York
- At least 6 years of work experience, including 3 years of related business development experience.
- Exceptional communication and presentation skills.
- Ability to work effectively and cross-functionally with all levels of management, both internally and externally.
- Proven experience in negotiating and closing strategic partnerships with leading Internet publishers.
- General corporate legal background is required to assist in counseling various commercial relationships involving partnerships, commercial transactions and other legal matters
- Excellent negotiating, drafting and communication skills
- General problem solving skills, business acumen and focus on legal detail are of critical importance to succeeding in this role.
- General knowledge of entertainment law a plus
To apply, please submit your résumé and a cover letter with a subject line of "Vice President of Distribution and Business Affairs" to jobs+vpdba@howcast.com.
Web Designer
New York, NY
We’re in search of a talented and self-motivated web designer with a passion for emerging online social and video experiences.
About Howcast Media
Founded by veterans of Google and YouTube, Howcast Media brings together the personality of user-generated content with the quality of a professional video studio to help consumers learn how-to do everything from the practical (“How to Paint a Wall”), to the unusual (“How to Get Paid for Donating Plasma”), to the entertaining (“How Not to Get Mugged”) at www.howcast.com. With high-quality video content and vibrant user communities organized around specific topic categories, Howcast provides a wealth of opportunities for distribution and advertising partners.
Howcast is set apart by our pursuit of the very best video content. We produce our own video content in our New York City studio with cutting-edge directors as well as through the Howcast Directors Program which provides emerging filmmakers with the opportunity to gain experience, exposure and a pay check. We’re also building The Howcast Network to bring together filmmakers and online experts with others in the film, technology and business communities to produce compelling instructional video content for Howcast.com, as well as to generate new projects and professional opportunities beyond the how-to space.
The Howcast Team
With offices in New York City and San Francisco, we are building a team of media and technology professionals to maintain and expand our digital presence.
We offer a competitive salary, stock options and benefits package. We’re also proud to offer an environment which prizes creativity and collaboration, recognizes personal achievements and believes in the potential of our team members.
The Role
We’re in search of a web designer to join our team. Under the direction of the Senior User Interface designer and other members of the Howcast Product Team you will be responsible for creating and updating a wide range of digital promotional collateral graphics featuring Howcast. Additionally there will be the opportunity to be involved with the design and build of future features and sections of our core product: howcast.com.
The ideal candidate for this position is an enthusiastic, self-motivated, talented designer who appreciates the unique opportunity to participate in a dynamic new company. You should be comfortable designing for the web, with excellent visual design skills and a good eye for detail and consistency.
Responsibilities
- Creating beautiful, eye-catching promotional graphics
- Updating and revising existing designs
- Working with the Product Team to design new pages
- Implement designs based on wireframes/prototypes in accordance with style guide or directions
- Prepare existing designs for implementation, e.g. producing optimized images
Requirements
- Minimum of 1-2 years experience designing consumer-oriented websites and/or online advertising
- Strong typographic sensibility
- Good organizational skills and ability to meet deadlines
- Comprehensive working knowledge of Adobe Photoshop a must, including; Layer Effects, Layer Comps, Smart Objects, Save for Web (slicing, optimizing etc.)
- Adobe Flash animation skills (ActionScript not required, but always useful)
- Adobe Illustrator and print experience a plus but not required
- Cross browser, cross platform knowledge of CSS, and XHTML not essential, but preferred
Interested candidates should send the following to jobs+ux@howcast.com (please indicate position title in Subject line):
- cover email
- resume
- examples of work (copies or a link to an online portfolio). If work examples were produced as part of team, candidates should indicated what role they played in the overall project.
- indication of salary requirements is not required but preferred
- your favorite Howcast Video or Guide
Associate Marketing Manager
New York, NY
We’re in search of a bright, articulate marketing professional looking to grow their skill set and gain experience by joining small but growing, fast-paced startup in New York City.
About Howcast Media
Founded by veterans of Google and YouTube, Howcast Media brings together the personality of user-generated content with the quality of a professional video studio to help consumers learn how-to do everything from the practical (“How to Paint a Wall”), to the unusual (“How to Get Paid for Donating Plasma”), to the entertaining (“How Not to Get Mugged”) at www.howcast.com. With high-quality video content and vibrant user communities organized around specific topic categories, Howcast provides a wealth of opportunities for distribution and advertising partners.
Howcast is set apart by our pursuit of the very best video content. We produce our own video content in our New York City studio with cutting-edge directors as well as through the Howcast Directors Program which provides emerging filmmakers with the opportunity to gain experience, exposure and a pay check. We’re also building The Howcast Network to bring together filmmakers and online experts with others in the film, technology and business communities to produce compelling instructional video content for Howcast.com, as well as to generate new projects and professional opportunities beyond the how-to space.
The Howcast Team
With offices in New York City and San Francisco, we are building a team of media and technology professionals to maintain and expand our digital presence.
We offer a competitive salary, stock options and benefits package. We’re also proud to offer an environment which prizes creativity and collaboration, recognizes personal achievements and believes in the potential of our team members.
Responsibilities
Working closely with our Product Marketing Manager and other members of our team, you will help shape and ultimately execute on our marketing plan to reach target consumers as well as video producers, potential employees, industry influentials, advertisers, content and distribution partners.
Specifically, you will:
- Write, Proof and Deploy
- Blog posts and comments by you as well as for fellow team members
- Email newsletters and notifications
- Promotional campaigns on Howcast.com, partner sites and beyond
- Marketing collateral including brochures and customized proposals for business partners
- Brainstorm and Shape
- New ways to reach target audiences using both emerging digital marketing approaches leveraging social networks and mobile experiences as well as more real-world, "guerilla" techniques to get Howcast noticed
- Coordinate and Deploy
- Cross-channel event-specific marketing campaigns (e.g. Valentine's Day at Howcast)
- Howcast's presence at various events and conferences aimed
- Help Research and Investigate
- Consumer trends in the online and instructional spaces
- Emerging business opportunities and potential partners in advertising, distribution and production
- Make A Great Impact on a new, growing startup straddling the technology, film, editorial and marketing worlds
Requirements
- Passion for online experiences (particularly video and social experience) and/or cutting-edge yet straightforward marketing methods (Think Cluetrain)
- Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment requiring you to work with agility across teams and time zones (our other office is in San Francisco)
- 1-2 years of work experience (however, promising recent grads are also welcome to apply)
- Marketing, advertising or business writing experience and/or journalism background ideal (intern and amateur experience acceptable)
Qualifications
- College Bachelor's Degree (English, Writing, PR/Marketing, Communications degree a plus)
Skills
- Excellent writing, editing and proofing skills
- Strong networking and relationship building skills
- Keen attention to detail and good organization skills
- Proficiency with office and web software
- Microsoft Office (required), Google Apps (preferred)
- Salesforce (preferred)
Send all of the following to jobs+apmm@howcast.com:
- Resume
- Cover Email
- Introducing yourself and why you think you're right for this job
- Telling us which Howcast Video you like the most (visit http://www.howcast.com/videos )
- 2 Writing Samples of any of the following (even school samples):
- Articles, Reviews or Blog entries
- Copy Writing & Technical Writing
- Web Content
- Press Releases & Pitch Letters
- Promotional Materials, Email Blasts
- Marketing Collateral (Brochures, Fliers, Advertisements, Pamphlets)