Not too long ago, the only unmanned aerial vehicles were planes flown by women. Now we live in a world where planes can fly themselves. We thought we were pretty high-tech when we set up a blog, coded our own template, and figured out how to optimize our site for Google; however, the companies that design, develop, and produce autonomous aircraft put us to absolute shame.

Insitu is one of those companies. They build UAVs that have amazing reconnaissance, communications relay, and geophysical surveying capabilities. Most of their work has been with the military so far, but Insitu is operating in an infant industry with an amazing potential for growth. In fact, over the last 3 years Insitu’s revenue has grown by 1,702.4% to $50 million annually. This performance has put them on Inc. Magazine’s List of the 500 Fastest Growing Private Companies in 2006 and 2007. Insitu CEO Steve Sliwa was also named CEO of the Year for 2007 by Seattle Business Monthly. Clearly this company is taking off. We’d tell you more about what they do, but the business of autonomous aircraft is way over our head.

On that note, let’s take a look at the jobs Insitu is offering. Most of their job descriptions contain words, terms, and abbreviations that we don’t really understand. Usually we’d complain about this, but for these types of jobs it makes sense for them to be explicit about the skills needed for the job. We did our best to find jobs that might be appropriate for a recent college graduate since Insitu does not have an entry-level hiring program. With the amazing accomplishments that some college students have achieved (the DARPA challenge contestants for instance), we think that it’s quite possible to have the equivalent of 2 years of relevant experience by graduation day. Individuals with a military background will be particularly well equipped for jobs at Insitu. Here’s a quick run down of the jobs we think might be attainable right out of college: Electronic Technician (Software Team), Software Engineer, Flight Test Engineer, and Field Systems Representative. Those who are seriously interested in working at Insitu might be better off looking over Insitu’s job openings themselves.

Beyond the cool factor of what Insitu does, we’re also impressed with their corporate culture. They describe themselves as “a lifestyle company with innovative and creative employees who pour as much into their personal lives as they do into their work at the office.” Insitu has a “business comfortable” dress code and is dog friendly. There is also a heavy emphasis on “Living in the Gorge” – meaning the Columbia River gorge, which offers extraordinary outdoor opportunities. You can go kite surfing, mountain climbing, steelhead fishing, or snowboarding with just a short drive. There is even a list of nearby activities on the Insitu website. The way Insitu treats its people has to be part of their amazing success.

So if we’ve piqued your interest, start researching! Don’t put your job search on autopilot, leave the autonomous systems to Insitu.

Note: On April 22nd we revisited entry-level jobs at Insitu.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

• Insitu Home Page
• Careers at Insitu
• About Insitu
• Insitu’s Team
• The Insitu Lifestyle

If you’re the type of person who could work at Insitu, you probably aren’t interested in the Nintendo Wii that we’re giving away. What’s exciting about a video game when you can help create a plane that flies itself? Those Wii remotes that interpret your motions so that playing Wii Tennis is like playing real tennis just don’t seem that special compared to an unmanned aircraft.

Leave a comment and tell us why you don’t want a Wii.

We've identified Insitu as having career opportunities in the following categories:

• aerospace
• all employers
• defense
• engineering
• flight
• software development
• Washington

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One response to “Insitu”

1. Jeremiah says:

   January 3, 2008 at 12:33 pm

   Why I wouldnt want a WII in relation to UAVs is that i am a UAV Instuctor Pilot currently deployed to Iraq and am looking at places such as Insitu. Flying a UAV is in someways like playing a video game, in that everything is through the computer/tv screen in front of you. Watching someone drop a 500 pound bomb on a known enemy safehouse can be intense. When viewing that from 5000 feet through your screen while you control the camera you veiwing with, puts it on a completely different level. Alot less intence with a feeling of a video game then the real thing, and at time it takes a little while to convince yourself that it actually did just happen a few dozen miles away, not in a Hollywood soundstage.

   Focusing on perfecting my craft and working at growing companys such as Insitu is what I’m focusing on currently, and I doubt a WII will help me get to where i need to be. Thank you for your time.

   Reply