Careers at Forio

We're looking for people with enthusiasm and vision, people who thrive on working with others to build a product and a company that makes a difference in the lives of people worldwide.

We believe in continual learning, mentoring, and education for ourselves and our customers. With every client there are a new set of experiences. There are plenty of opportunities to learn new things.

At Forio, we recruit smart, talented individuals with a passion for learning, innovation, and growth. We believe in helping each other achieve our highest potential through strong leadership, mentoring, and personal collaboration.

Java Web Developer

Forio Online Simulations is looking for a talented Java web developer to join our growing, fast-moving team. We want someone who is passionate about developing web applications, has a high degree of technical competence, and wants to create software that makes a difference to people and organizations.

This is a full-time position based out of our San Francisco office. An extensive work history is not required. Local applicants or those looking to move to the SF Bay area are welcomed.

In contrast to many developer roles in larger organizations, we are able to offer a unique and highly attractive blend of opportunities to the right people. These include:

Build Leading-Edge Web Applications Our work is at the leading edge of Internet and simulation services, enabling managers in a range of industries to develop and support sustainable strategies that take account of the interactions between players in a market.

Make A Real Contribution As a recent addition to the Forio team, we are able to offer you the opportunity to contribute to all areas of growth of our business. Your efforts will be fully valued: you won't be held in a role, unable to deliver of your best.

Engage In Personal Growth Our business is growing and we must each grow with it. Not only in our roles and experiences but as individuals, too. You should be willing to grow personally in your skills, stature, and professional confidence. We offer training, both formal (internal and external courses) and informal, through active sharing of learning and experiences and through our constant quest for improvement. There's a steep learning curve on offer in business, technical and personal skills.

Enjoy The San Francisco Location We've a great location in the South Park region of San Francisco in a building shared with other leading web startups. Walk a block to AT&T Park and take in an evening ball game, enjoy the city on the weekend. We have good access to local and commuting public transportation.

About You

To succeed at Forio, you'll need to be a bright, original thinker looking to apply your skills in a simulation-oriented online business gaming environment. A natural problem-solver with strong analytical and conceptual abilities, you value intellectual rigor and seek rational, considered solutions to problems.

From a technical perspective, you are experienced in cutting-edge open-source technologies like Hibernate and Spring, have been playing with AJAX since before it was given a four letter name, and have a flair for web usability and good design. We expect you to have a solid Java background and be able to learn new technologies as they are required.

You hold a bachelors or advanced degree in an analytical discipline and have a track record of success to date in web development, preferably with experience working directly with clients. You have 1-4 years of post-college work experience or you have had significant accomplishments in independent arenas such as open source projects.

Interested?

Send resume and links to jobs@forio.com. We prefer plaintext resumes as they are easier to read. Include a short email note telling us what appeals to you about this position and why you think you'd be a good fit. (no attached cover letters, please).

JavaScript/HTML5 Web Developer

We are looking for experienced web developer who is passionate about developing web applications. A strong background in Javascript, AJAX and HTML/CSS design is a must. We want someone who can enthusiastically compare/contrast the latest AJAX libraries, is an avid reader (or writer!) of design and software blogs, and is always on the lookup for new design patterns and widgets. Experience with server-side development using languages like PHP, JSP, Velocity is helpful but not required. Come join our team and help us bring our product line to a new level of sophistication.

We're a great opportunity for someone early in their career who wants to make a real contribution in a growing company. You will be directly involved with building up our core technological platform, working directly with customers, and helping to shape the direction of our business.

This is a full-time position based out of our San Francisco office. (South Park, close to Caltrain and BART). Local applicants or those looking to move to the SF Bay area are welcomed. We reimburse for relocation expenses.

Interested?

Send a resume to jobs@forio.com. Include a short email note telling us what appeals to you about this position and how you think you might contribute. (no attached cover letters, please).

Linux Sysadmin / Developer

Forio is looking for a technical, energetic person who has experience in setting up, maintaining, and monitoring highly available web servers. This is a great opportunity for someone who is passionate about Linux and open source technologies, likes the challenge of running a highly available web site, and would like to work in a small (15 person) start-up team in San Francisco.

About You

The ideal candidate would have significant experience with our core technologies of Linux, Apache, and MySQL, and have experience with some of the following: Tomcat, load balancing, cloud hosting, scripting, source control, build systems, and related technical areas. Experience with backend software development, particularly in areas such as C, Linux/network programming, and Java development is a plus.

Responsibilities

The position primarily involves system administration on production and development servers. This includes backups, patches, monitoring, apache/tomcat administration and management of developer applications such as source control and CI systems. From time to time there will be set up of new systems for special events, production use, and developer use. There will be shared after-hours on-call responsibility for server alerts on production system. Finally, there is an opportunity for software development on special projects, based on skills and current needs. (Examples include cloud hosting management and integration with third party software applications).

Interested?

Send a resume to jobs@forio.com. Include a short email note telling us what appeals to you about this position and how you think you might contribute. (no attached cover letters, please).

Lead UX / UI Designer

Forio is looking for a lead user experience / user interface designer. We are looking for someone who is passionate about designing and developing innovative web applications, who has a high degree of technical competence and is excited about web and data design.

The highlight of the opportunity is this: Forio is working with a major publisher producing business-oriented data visualizations and simulations on a monthly basis. This work began this spring and will last for several years. This is a great opportunity for someone who wants to produce a series of visualizations on a variety of topics that reach hundreds of thousands of people. You will have the opportunity to shape the overall design of an entire product line and guide others in implementing pixel perfect, beautiful experiences.

This is for a full time on-site position based out of our San Francisco office.

About You

You have a passion for innovative design and are looking to apply your skills in a simulation-oriented online gaming environment. A natural problem-solver with strong conceptual abilities and eye for detail, you have expert design sensibilities, strong experience in visual design, and intellectual rigor. You are able to run with general art direction and UX specs to help develop a beautiful and functional application.

You should be comfortable gathering project requirements, creating design specifications, making screen mockups, working closely with developers during implementation, and using feedback for the next iteration of the project.

From a technical perspective, you have a passion for user experience design, information architecture, and interaction design. No specific degree or experience is required, but a strong product design portfolio (including personal projects) will be very helpful. Ideally you will have some game UI experience and be an avid gamer.

You should have a firm understanding of CSS and browser compatibilities, know which features work in which browsers and when to utilize a certain tool from your web development tool belt. You should feel comfortable developing sites that look and perform equally, or degrade gracefully, across multiple platforms.

We're looking for:

• Great communicator. Design is important, and you need to be able to explain why you make the decisions you make.
• Strong knowledge of a design software package (Adobe Photoshop/Fireworks preferred) and wire framing tools (OmniGraffle, Balsamiq, etc).
• Strong knowledge of HTML, CSS.
• Experience working on multiple browser PC and Mac browser platforms, including: IE and Firefox.

Nice-to-have's

• Experience with CSS frameworks such as SASS or LESS a big plus.
• Skills in client-side development in JavaScript.
• Working knowledge of jQuery or other js browser frameworks, as well as other js libraries such as Underscore or CoffeeScript.
• Experience in usability testing and design (A/B) tests.

What it's like at Forio

Forio has become a major player in the world of web-based simulations and predictive analytics software. We are a forward-facing company that is constantly pushing the envelope of what can be achieved in different platforms, and are constantly experimenting with new technologies to do so.

We are a team of experienced and passionate professionals, and now is a great moment to join us and have the opportunity to have a part in determining how we do things and what tools we use. We are a friendly team that encourages close collaboration and discussion.

We work with major brands and companies and you will have an opportunity to engage the client directly.

We have a fantastic office in the heart of San Francisco, and are conveniently located close to Caltrain, buses, and BART. We also like to break out beers every Friday and talk about the stuff that makes us tick.

Simulation Modeler and Project Development Leader

Forio Business Simulations is looking for a passionate, dedicated, system dynamics modeler to lead the next generation of online business simulations. This position is a great opportunity for system dynamics modeler with strong analytical and conceptual skills and a keen interest in game design.

You will be a key contributor to the team with responsibility to create, manage and execute simulation designs ensuring both quality and timely delivery.

You will drive the overall design for the project, translate the creative vision to feature sets, while working with project stakeholders and software engineers on design viability and implementation.

This is a full-time position based out of our San Francisco office. Local applicants or those looking to move to the SF Bay area are welcome. We reimburse for relocation expenses.

About You

Experience in a creative leadership role as a lead simulation designer.

Deep understanding of system dynamics modeling and simulation design and production cycle.

Solid awareness of online user interface design and ability to create something genuinely original.

Ability to deal with balancing mathematics and data analysis as well as virtual economy design.

Experience of launch and post-launch development.

Interest in game design.

Communicate, develop and document complex business simulations with a good grounding in how these are traditionally developed and expressed.

Visualize original sim game play, thinking many steps ahead of the sim user, especially within a multiplayer context.

University or College degree with system dynamics background preferred.

Responsibilities

Lead creative design of innovative online experience, with strong emphasis on design elegance.

Deliver engaging, high quality design while managing through technical limitations and prepare for live operations and iterative additions including system design, game play mechanics and content progression, simulation prototypes, virtual currency models, and in-game economies.

Make extensive use of data mining to fine tune design.

Responsible for facilitating design discussions through multiple design teams and support departments.

Generate and review new design ideas and actively participate in creation of long term vision.

Interested?

Send a resume to jobs@forio.com. Include a short email note telling us what appeals to you about this position and how you think you might contribute.