ETCH Jobs of the Week 10/11/24
Sabbatical: My Summer of Refresh, Relax, Recharge, Reimagine, and now Return
ETCH Jobs of the Week (JOTW) is a collaboration between ETCH (now The EdSheet at Whiteboard Advisors), your home for EdTech news and information; and my recruiting practice, Tenzing, which helps orgs positively impacting education efficiently attract, source, vet and hire mission-aligned talent.
As many of you know, I’m now officially back from my sabbatical. It was great to get up to NYC for EDTECHWEEK, and catch up with folks in person, like Matt Tower (editor of this newsletter), Andy Midgette, and Jason Carter, all of whom have recently gotten new jobs. Congrats gents! A lot of people asked me questions about my sabbatical, such as, “How was it?” “What did you do?” Where did you go?” So I thought I’d reflect on it here while it’s still fresh in my mind.
Going OOO
Planning for my sabbatical turned out to be a useful exercise, pushing me to set things up to run autonomously while I was out. I’m grateful to having a strong enough team - including Arie, Deanna, Dave, and Bula, and close collaborators like Matt and the EarlyHR team - Michelle, Janel, Samantha, and Tammy - who made this possible. A big thank you to all of you for your support!
Coming back has allowed me to be more thoughtful about which tasks and projects I should pick back up, and how I want to re-engage. For instance, if recruiting projects and client check-ins were running fine without me, then my time could be better spent on developing new relationships and potential service lines / solutions.
Just go with it
When planning the sabbatical, I set aside a lot of time for professional reflection and introspection. However, I realized pretty quickly that what I actually needed was to take a genuine break. A few early trips helped me shift mindsets.
Things got off to an inauspicious start when we had to get towed on Long Island over July 4th weekend after our transmission line decided to bleed out. The car already had a tenuous relationship with my wife, and as I coasted to a stop in front of a farm stand in an area with terrible cell coverage, I pondered how I was going to get out of this mess.
Fortunately, with the help of AAA, a very entertaining tow truck driver, and a local Latino auto shop that stayed open through the holiday weekend, I ended up getting treated to one of the most authentic North Fork experiences one can have on the island. Me and the car lived to see another day!
Next, some nature. We bypassed the rest of New York City in favor of some time in the Adirondacks, which was spectacular.
We took our kids to The Wild Center, in which we encountered an imaginative stickwork sculpture called Hopscotch, a wild walk consisting of a trail of bridges suspended above the forest, playful hikes with intricate Rube Goldberg-like ball runs designed to keep kids engaged, and a natural play area sprouting up between the pine trees.
Finally, some inspiration for how humans and nature can work together to create beautiful things. We went camping in Ohiopyle and visited Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater in Western, PA, both of which exceeded my expectations.
Fallingwater was incredible, especially how Wright integrated the house, guesthouse, and trails into the landscape. Ohiopyle, with its white water rafting, natural slides, and waterfalls, was like an outdoor amusement park for all of us.
After pit stops in Pittsburgh (add walking the Roberto Clemente Bridge to catch a Pirates game to your bucket list) and the Cleveland area to visit family, we headed back East and concluded the main travel we had planned for the summer.
Dabbling
Shortly after these trips, my wife returned to work to prepare for the new school year, and I started checking off items from my “wouldn’t it be nice to do if I had the time” list. During this phase, I began noticing the lingering impact of the aesthetic and nature-based experiences we found on our travels.
My friend Drew and I chopped down some dead and excess trees on our property and created a natural play area for the kids.
While renovating the attic for the girls, I realized there was a perfect spot for a climbing wall.
Then, when the family deserted me for the weekend, I discovered the perfect west-facing area in our backyard for a sitting spot - to think about life or take in the sunset.
I started to wander out to my bench each morning for a thinkabout, and noticed periwinkle-ish colored wildflowers growing along the path. I scanned them with my PictureThis plant identifier app, and discovered they were chicory. I’ve since started foraging, roasting the roots for coffee, and sauteing the greens.
Returning with Fresh Perspective
As I began transitioning back to work, I felt more connected to my family, my environment, and my spirituality. I’m more relaxed, playful, and open, and I’m determined to keep that mindset as I move forward.
As I’ve been catching up with folks in my professional network, I’ve noticed that many people - both job seekers and hiring managers - are still struggling with the hiring process. In some ways, it’s worse than ever, despite advancements in HR tech and AI. There’s a growing need for human-first, relationship-driven solutions. Fortunately, I now have the headspace to begin mapping out some different interventions, models, and strategies, and test some of them out with a subset of our clients.
More on that soon, but in the meantime, feel free to reach out if you want to kick around some ideas: tenzingtalent [at] substack.com
Cheers,
Everett
Now, let’s get to the Jobs of the Week…
Full Stack Senior PHP Developer | RocketLit
Location: Remote (Full-time or Contract)
Education Focus: K-12 science literacy and assessment
Mission: Enhance learning experiences through personalized, accessible educational tools
Job Summary: The Senior PHP Developer will work on RocketLit’s platform, which provides leveled reading materials for K-12 students. The role involves developing new features, maintaining the back-end, and ensuring a smooth user experience. You will collaborate with educators and engineers to improve scalability and functionality. Experience with PHP, MySQL, JavaScript, and modern frameworks is essential. This position offers the flexibility of either full-time employment or contract work.
Compensation: $70K–$90K + benefits (health, dental, vision, 401K with matching, and remote perks).
Business Development Representative | Anatomage
Location: Remote
Education Focus: Healthcare and 3D medical education technology
Mission: Anatomage is dedicated to improving the quality of life for all people through providing education and healthcare institutions the most accurate and comprehensive real-human-based medical visualization platform.
Job Summary: The Business Development Representative will focus on generating leads, qualifying prospects, and setting up meetings for the sales team. They will actively reach out to healthcare and education professionals to present Anatomage’s 3D anatomy and imaging products. The role requires building strong client relationships, managing a pipeline, and contributing to sales strategies. This position demands excellent communication skills and a proactive approach to growing business opportunities.
Location: Remote
Education Focus: K-12 literacy
Mission: We help educators and librarians encourage reading by making it easy to create and promote reading challenges for their communities.
Job Summary: The Senior Designer at Beanstack will collaborate closely with design, product, and marketing teams to develop engaging digital experiences and branding. They will create user interfaces, marketing materials, and web assets, ensuring design consistency across platforms. The role demands expertise in design tools and some front-end development knowledge. Candidates should thrive in fast-paced environments and be able to manage multiple projects. The position focuses on shaping the brand’s visual identity to support lifelong reading habits.
Compensation: $100K–$120K + benefits (health insurance, 401K, stock options, bonuses, and remote perks).
Delivery and Practice Head | Magic EdTech
Location: New York, NY
Education Focus: EdTech custom software development & IT outsourcing
Mission: Lead IT project delivery, ensuring quality and efficiency in education technology services
Job Summary: The Delivery and Practice Head will oversee IT project execution, ensuring timelines, scope, and quality standards are met. Responsibilities include leading teams, driving automation testing, and ensuring continuous improvement across product lines. The role also involves revenue management and supporting account growth by providing innovative solutions. Collaboration across departments to align with global strategies is key. The position emphasizes building high-performing teams and ensuring delivery excellence.
Compensation: $150K–$157K annually
Location: Remote (U.S.)
Education Focus: K-12, Higher Ed, Professional Education
Mission: Our mission is to inspire everyone to learn together. We work toward this goal by focusing on openness, relationships, equality, ownership, and simplicity.
Job Summary: The VP of Engineering will lead Instructure’s engineering teams, particularly in Budapest, overseeing key product development for platforms like Canvas and data analytics. This role involves ensuring operational excellence, providing architectural guidance, and fostering cross-team collaboration. Responsibilities include leading a large engineering team, advocating for engineering best practices, and integrating advanced technologies like AI. The position also emphasizes strategic planning, delivering on product roadmaps, and promoting a strong company culture.
Compensation: $280K–$325K annually
Need more hire power? Tenzing will do all the legwork (e.g., sourcing, vetting, and managing the hiring process) for half the cost of traditional headhunters.