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Linden Lab Still Looking for Engineering VP To Help Define Future Of Second Life — Now Open to Remote Hires Based in 10 Oddly Specific US States (UPDATED)

Second Life logo virtual world job Linden Lab

This new help wanted ad from Linden Lab looks like the exact same one I mentioned last March, with one significant difference:

In this VP Engineering role, you will own the technical and architectural roadmap of Second Life and advocate for robust and lasting strategy as a part of the Second Life Leadership team. You’ll interact with senior Linden Lab leadership, and apply strong judgement and analysis toward important business decisions. Equally important, you’ll manage and coach your engineering teams; leading by example while collaborating with a group of people you enjoy working with. 

The only difference I can spot is that there's an option to take on this senior role from a remote location — specifically, if you're in California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Texas, Utah, Virginia, or Washington state "only". (Oddly specific list of US states, wonder why.)

Notable that Linden Lab hasn't been able to hire someone for this senior role yet; or perhaps someone was tried but ended up not being a good fit. Another possibility:

This could just reflect the larger trend of tech execs preferring to keep working remotely even after the pandemic ends, only coming into the office several times a week/month. All the states mentioned in the ad are located in the same state as a Linden Lab office (California, Washington, Massachusetts, and North Carolina), in driving distance to one of them, or in a state with at least one major airport (Florida, Texas, Virginia), so that's a possible factor. In other words, they haven't been able to find a desirable hire who's willing to move to the still-expensive San Francisco HQ location.

Any other ideas?

UPDATE, 4:10PM: An insider suggests that the 10 oddly specific states mentioned in the ad are "simply the list of states where Linden Lab already set up remote workers. It’s expensive to add a new state." That's due to additional taxes and state regulations the company then has to comply with: "The first employee in a state is expensive."

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4 responses to “Linden Lab Still Looking for Engineering VP To Help Define Future Of Second Life — Now Open to Remote Hires Based in 10 Oddly Specific US States (UPDATED)”

  1. go for it Avatar
    go for it

    Perhaps one of those commenters here who always point at something that Lindends did not do good should apply for this role and finally do it right and actually achieve something. Unless of course the only thing they can do is critique.

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  2. Let's go Avatar
    Let’s go

    @”go for it”. If you can’t see your problems, you can’t fix them.
    A key component like the map was left broken for months, despite the reports, until the “critique” started to spread from blogs to Twitter. Now we have a working map again.
    There have been good critiques pointing at issues, constructive criticism, lots of ideas, wishes, and also kudos.
    It’s great to listen to whom actually cares for SL and their feedback. It’s rather dumb wishing a fanboy echo-chamber only: that only leads to failures and disasters.
    I’m sure there is who would apply. Hopefully the Lab will find someone smart, with novel ideas, not retired yet or with a better career already, and ready to “apply strong judgement and analysis toward important business decisions”, and who lives exactly in one of those States.

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  3. camilia fid3lis nee Patchouli Woollahra Avatar
    camilia fid3lis nee Patchouli Woollahra

    I wonder if they would be open to hiring anyone who’s prepared to move to one of these states or San Francisco as a condition of employment.

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  4. logic Avatar
    logic

    go for it, yours is a fallacy:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appeal_to_accomplishment
    it doesn’t take a PhD in automotive engineering to tell that your tire is punctured.
    But you tell them to shut up, happily letting your broken car to be driven into a ditch. Enjoy.

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