I sort of agree/disagree with two points in a previous post. I agree that he had no clue as to how clueless he is but disagree that the problem isn't overwhelming ego. I think it takes monumental ego to assume your insight is superior to all others and that a relatively superficial effort on your part places you ahead of those devoting a lifetime of study to the field.
That Chris Nelson want ad was sure funny. Maybe the funniest thing was the fact that beyond getting the acronym "ASME" wrong, he still obviously had no concept of that the ASME is or what they do. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers embrace what is probably the widest engineering field in many regards. If one should go to their website to find their published Standards you would be directed to https://www.asme.org/shop/standards where he would soon find that ASME publishes some 821 different sets of standards on topics ranging from operating municipal incinerators to escalator design and specifying tolerances for screw threads. I would be interested in meeting a job applicant claiming familiarity with "the ASME standards".
The other requirements were equally amusing and expose the underlying business model and corporate mindset. Harry Schoell turned out not to be the polymath genius that was portrayed, so now their effort is to find someone who is. I find few capable of singlehandedly meeting these requirements short of fictional characters such as Tony Stark, Mr. Spock, Dr. Emmett Brown, Q from MI-6 and ..... er..... Tom Swift. Apparently they are looking for a good messianic model to follow rather than building up a competent and coordinated team. That always ends up well (sarcasm implied). Even Henry Ford was modest enough to realize that he needed people with an array of talents to get his company off the ground; and without them he really would have failed.
The applicant should have a Masters or PhD with 20 years experience or appropriate equivalent experience. After more than 20 years experience elsewhere, who is going to toss out what has to be a decent pension and benefits for this group? And who determines what is appropriately equivalent? The lawyer?
There are many, many CAD systems out there, but our boy (or girl) must be proficient in Solid Works. No one who has worked in environments favoring AutoCAD, MasterCam, Unigraphics or other popular drafting software need apply. Given they are starting essentially from scratch having been spun off from Cyclone, this seems a curious circumstance as one would think they have no serious institutional stake in Solid Works.
Our engineer should preferably be academically published and recognized. This makes utter sense because all engineering is done in the "publish or perish" realm of universities; those employees working in manufacturing firms never accomplish anything.
Actually, the above requirement seems to indicate that the new WHE company is going to follow the Cyclone model of exploiting credentials rather than demonstrating technology. This view is backed up by the requirement that the applicant prove "Engineering innovation as evidenced by successful patent filings as sole party or team member inventor." Yep,"we want to sell patents", that sure sounds familiar. Steam engines have been around since the 18th century and many thousands of patents have already been issued; haven't we already seen what happens when you embark on a mission to reinvent the field?
I'd say they really need quit focusing on invention and instead spend some effort on just applying known principles in the best way possible given the current advances in the industrial arts. But that isn't flashy! Much easier to sell the idea of a blockbuster patent (that really isn't such a blockbuster) rather than sell the point that you are just refining the concepts as far as is reasonable today.
All the rest of the requirements need the aforementioned fictional characters to master. They need proficiency in IC and EC engines and associated enabling technologies such as in the materials sciences. The same individual will be experienced in testing and validation ..... because NO ONE turns that kind of thing over to dedicated specialists. He/she should be a Tool & Die Maker, or at least a good machinist, because there will be plenty of spare time during the design and test phases to build hardware. The applicant must have extensive working knowledge of mass production and all the processes needed to put a product into mass production; OBVIOUSLY no one does solely that kind of thing for a living.
What I believe is really needed is a decent engineer with a good knowledge of mechanics, very basic expertise in thermodynamics and fabrication; as CTO this individual's demonstrated field of expertise should be proven leadership skills in MANAGING a team of specialists involved in product development projects. It isn't that they can be technically ignorant, but rather than make it a one man (or woman) show, it should be about assembling the right team. Back in the old days such individual efforts were more common, but the competition was also far less intense.
Really, I wonder what Chris Nelson would think of a "Want Ad" for a lawyer that must be proficient in:
Criminal Law Patent Law The Uniform Commercial Law Constitutional Law Tax Law Securities and Corporate Law
and said lawyer must have served a significant period of time on the bench?
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