Associate Engineer

Contract Details

  • Full-Time (40hrs per week), generally within normal working hours and days, though with some weekend and evening work. We operate a TOIL scheme.

  • Permanent position

  • Salary range £35,000 - £38,000 (dependent on experience)

  • 25 days of holiday per year, plus bank holidays, rising by 1 day per year of service up to a maximum of 30 days per year

  • Based in the Company’s office/workshop in Camden, London NW1

  • Regular onsite work at event sites in the UK and abroad. Work abroad is mostly in either Europe or North America, but would not be limited to those areas.

Company

Clockwork Dog is a services agency providing interactive technical solutions to immersive and playable experiences.

Our mission is to advance the practice of delivering live interactive experiences by offering innovative, reliable and accessible tools for producers, creatives and technicians.

As well as selling our hardware and software solution COGS directly to customers via our website, we offer full-service production, providing system design, installation, programming and maintenance of interactive solutions for live events.

Role

We are seeking an Associate Engineer to support the production services side of the business, reporting to the Head of Production.

The Associate Engineer will be responsible for the commissioning, programming and troubleshooting of interactive technical systems, working on a variety of projects at different sites as required to support the operation of the production department. They will also assist with the planning and designing of our systems and solutions. The majority of our projects are immersive theatrical experiences, but we’ve also recently worked on escape and challenge rooms, mini golf courses, and marketing activations.

While all projects use Clockwork Dog’s proprietary hardware / software system COGS, projects also involve the use of third-party hardware and software, as well as custom-built solutions.

The Associate Engineer will be line managed by the Head of Production, but will also work closely with our Production Manager and Technical Solutions Engineer, as well as our Company Directors on occasion. Our project work is fairly collaborative within the team: we expect that the Associate’s work on projects will be matrix-managed by the Production Manager, and that the Associate will receive guidance and advice from the Technical Solutions Engineer (though will not be managed by them).

Over time, it is expected that the Associate Engineer will become a ‘power user’ of the COGS system, who can be relied upon to specify and build innovative technical solutions, accurately isolate any issues and efficiently resolve them. It is anticipated that the Associate Engineer may become a Technical Solutions Engineer with the Company, once they have built up knowledge of and experience with COGS and its use on our projects. Such a move would come with a change in Job Description and an accompanying change in salary range.

We appreciate that this is a niche role within a niche industry, so experience with COGS or other interactive hardware and / or electronics solutions is not essential - but if you have any experience on projects incorporating complex show control solutions, interactive electronics, robotics, microcontrollers etc., we’d love to hear about them!

We are keen to build a team reflective of a wide range of experiences, backgrounds and personalities. However you identify and whatever your background, we would welcome your application to Clockwork Dog.

If there are any reasonable adjustments that would help support you in your application, please do let us know when you apply.

What you’ll be doing

  • Assisting with identifying and designing technical solutions to creative problems, collaborating closely with other external technical theatre departments (Set, Props, Lighting, Sound and Video).

  • Assisting with specifying and scoping technical solutions, generating documentation and plans to share with clients, partners and team members.

  • Building and developing technical solutions, working alongside other internal team members and external collaborators where necessary, primarily programming within COGS but also occasionally using other third-party systems.

  • Testing and commissioning technical solutions, recording and handling change requests, notes and issues as they arise.

  • Attending production meetings as required to offer technical expertise and advice on interactive systems.

  • Troubleshooting problems within an interactive technical installation, accurately diagnosing issues, debugging logic programming, and finding effective resolutions.

  • Acting as a Technician, Chief Technician or COGS Programmer on projects, as required.

  • Outside of project work, assisting with the planning and execution of the Company’s R&D.

  • Sharing responsibility for maintaining the Company’s workshop, ensuring hardware stocks and tools and equipment are kept in good order.

  • Contributing to Company planning as appropriate, representing a technical production view of Clockwork Dog’s work.

  • Following the Company’s Health and Safety policies and ensuring that team members meet the same expectation.

Key Skills and Experience

  • An interest in live interactive work (e.g. immersive theatre, escape rooms).

  • Good communication and interpersonal skills - able to clearly express technical concepts, and comfortable dealing with colleagues, partners and clients in a personable manner.

  • Strong events technical knowledge, with a good working knowledge of current lighting and sound principles, ideally as applied in immersive settings, and ideally with experience of using technical control softwares such as QLab, grandMA3, Eos.

  • Some familiarity with the principles of basic coding and scripting

  • Good working understanding of the principles of computer networking, ideally in a show control context;

  • Capable and intuitive IT user - fluent working with Google Workspace / MS Office, and comfortable using both Mac OS and Windows.

  • Proactive and self-motivated - able to take the initiative and react quickly in a constantly changing environment and a fast-evolving company.

  • An ability and willingness to travel internationally for onsite work

  • The right to work in the UK

Desirable

We do not expect anyone to meet all of these criteria. These elements are indicators of a potential good fit, if you demonstrate any of them.

  • At least 1 year of relevant experience in professional technical theatre or events - preferably in an immersive or site-specific setting.

  • Practical technical competencies with wiring, crimping and soldering.

  • Hobbyist-level or higher development of electronics or microcontroller projects (e.g. Arduino projects, breadboarding)

  • Advanced use of technical show control software (e.g. Q-SYS, AppleScript in QLab) and/or use of non-show control software tools for show control functions (e.g. Node-RED)

  • Basic carpentry skills, for fitting components into props and sets.

  • Entry-level or higher JavaScript development experience, ideally with experience of using the React JS library.

  • Experience with using 2D or 3D CAD or modelling software (e.g. AutoCAD, SketchUp)

  • Access to their own car for work travel within the UK

What We Offer

  • Company laptop

  • Monthly socials with trips to immersive shows (ideas welcome!)

  • Annual team retreat

  • Bi-monthly hack days

To Apply

To apply, please send a cover letter and a copy of your CV to services@clockwork.dog.
We will receive applications on a rolling basis, and will respond to candidates on a rolling basis as well, so we would encourage you to apply as soon as possible.

We expect to hold two rounds of interviews with a successful candidate: the first to meet shortlisted candidates to discuss the role, and the second to introduce a candidate to other members of the team and follow-up with any other questions following the first interview.

Any interviews would ideally take place in person at our office in Camden, NW1 8NJ, but remote interviews can be arranged if necessary.

If you would like an informal conversation about the role, or working at Clockwork Dog, please contact Sam Clear, Head of Production, on sam@clockwork.dog