Current Profiles of Iowa Tech Companies

When tech professionals from Seattle to Singapore look for a job, they come to Iowa. Well… they may not all exactly put their pinky toes down on the state’s corn-growing soil, but they most likely do click on Dice.com—the largest technology online job board in the U.S. and quite possibly the world.

 

This global frontrunner in online job postings got its start in Urbandale, Iowa. (Yes—in the not so distant past, people had to rely almost exclusively on the fine print in local papers when they looked for positions.) Now in 2008, Dice.com enables individuals to effortlessly search nearly 95,000 tech jobs worldwide—give or take a few—without getting their hands inky.

 

An acquisition by EarthWeb—a huge win for the organization—meant Dice’s headquarters moved to its parent company’s offices in New York. But the tech brains of the operation remain in the Midwest. Dice’s employees at their suburban Des Moines location help ensure that the more than 2 million unique visitors that come to Dice.com every month leave happy. For people outside the tech industry, Dice expanded its operations to include three other targeted online job boards, including:

 

These Web-enabled job sites not only help people find positions but also manage their careers. The fact that Dice’s job boards focus on a particular industry makes professional development easier because everything caters to people with a specific background, including virtual job fairs. The company’s top competitors—Career Builder, Monster, and Yahoo Hot Jobs—can’t match Dice’s level of interesting jobs and quality resources for their targeted industries.

 

“We’re moving from a static place to post openings to a dynamic, interactive community,” says Scott Melland, CEO of Dice. “Looking ahead, we want people to have Dice career experts answer questions and we’re looking at discussion forums for tech professionals.”

 

As a technology firm serving technology professionals, Dice relies on its employees to help it keep up with the accelerating rate of change in the industry.

 

“At Dice, I have a unique opportunity to work on many aspects of a large-scale, globally competitive Web site, while living in Iowa,” says Paul Melde, VP of technology at Dice. And everyone who works here—from programmers to Web designers to help desk technicians—gets to see his or her thumbprint on the company at the end of EVERY day.

“Very interesting….”

 

“Did you notice how that label caught her eye?”

 

“Yeah, I wonder if the pink color or the phrase ‘great value’” attracted her attention.”

 

“Then her gaze jumped to the price bar…”

 

“But not for long.”

 

No. This is not a conversation between two incredibly bored security guards doing play-by-plays on store monitors! This is the type of dialog retail merchandisers and product developers at Kimberly-Clark can have when they’re using virtual simulation tools created by Mechdyne Corporation, which has its headquarters in Marshalltown, Iowa.

 

That’s right! This cutting-edge technology company develops collaborative visualization systems that allow precise measurement of a customer’s reaction to new products before they exist (i.e. a 3-D make believe shopping experience). Companies can then use this data to discover and develop in a more effective and efficient manner.

 

In the case of Kimberly-Clark, a three-walled, 3-D, virtual lab allows customers to push a shopping cart down a virtual aisle. Onlookers can observe what turns people’s heads and what catches their eyes—literally! A retinal scan tracks their focus on the color, size, or price of items like lipstick, toothpaste, or clothing.

 

And that’s not all! “We’re the world leader in consulting and development of these immersive systems,” says Dr. Chris Clover, president and CEO of Mechdyne. “We create technology labs for all types of customers from Fortune 500 companies to major universities to military departments to use in their research and development and product design.”

 

In the auto industry, Mechdyne’s systems allow car manufacturers to test drive new models before producing a single component. Designers can step inside these virtual prototypes or look at them from every angle to work out kinks. Having the power to place their hands on imaginary steering wheels can slash the design time from three years to just 365 days! John Deere is using this for tractors, too!

 

Not only does the company enable businesses to produce better products, but it also allows other people to explore new territory. In collaboration with energy companies, Mechdyne has developed virtual tools that make it possible to discover and extract oil and gas deposits in a cheaper, more environmentally friendly manner. Plus, Mechdyne’s displays in museums bring virtual reality to people just like you! In their exhibit at the British Museum in London, you can unwrap a virtual mummy to see how people looked after they died (gross, yet curiously cool). Or in an aquarium in Taiwan, their systems give you the opportunity to virtually swim back in time without getting wet! And right here in Iowa, you can participate in sports at the Iowa Hall of Pride courtesy of Mechdyne.

 

So do you need to be an ultra-brainiac to join this amazing tech firm? Well no, but you do need to take math and science and have a can-do attitude. “Our technology work is very different than most technology companies and highly specialized in 3-D and virtual reality,” Chris says. “No one really comes out of college with a degree perfectly suited for us, so we interview candidates with two- and four-year degrees in technology, engineering, computer science, and electronics. We also need professionals who excel in customer service, sales and marketing; it’s not all about wires and gadgets. Most of all, we want smart, positive, and proactive individuals that are willing to learn both tech and customer service skills.”

 

At Mechdyne, the staff members design and build virtual reality and 3-D labs and also install and test them for customers. “An employee may finish designing a system in our Marshalltown Technology Center one day, and then fly to London the next day to install it at a client’s office,” Chris says.

 

“The technology we work with is so exciting,” Chris says. “We are literally changing the world by the work we do for our customers.” Since 1996 when Chris started Mechdyne as a mechanical simulation company, the business has grown to include offices throughout the U.S.—including Houston, Virginia Beach, and Washington D.C.—and also expanded globally with a presence in every continent except Antarctica. Along the way, Mechdyne acquired Fakespace Systems Inc., which provides advanced display technology and implementation services, and VRCO Inc., which specializes in immersive and interactive software development and support.

 

At the nerve center of this operation, Chris directs the short- and long-term strategy of the company, looks for ways to grow, analyzes operational efficiency and effectiveness, guides research and development, looks for hiring opportunities, and travels the world. “You definitely don’t have to leave the state to get a cool technology job,” Chris says. “In fact, we think we have some of the coolest tech jobs that exist, and we recruit from Iowa. We tell individuals that you can stay in Iowa, work in a cool field, have a great quality of life, AND see the world.”

 

“Technology jobs offer some of the highest salaries coming out of college,” Chris says. “And if you work hard, it can be a lucrative career.” The average annual starting salary for a new hire at Mechdyne is $40,000–$50,000.

 

“We’re looking for staff who worked hard in school and are willing to continue to learn and to work hard developing their skills for a career,” Chris says. “Team players who are willing to adapt, be flexible, and learn new things have endless opportunities.”

 

As Mechdyne forges ahead into new visualization technology like extreme resolution with 8,000,000 pixels and more (think skin-pore-viewing sharpness) to virtual reality rooms, they’ll need the next generation of innovators to join them on the adventure. If you choose to get a tech education—it could be you.