Seattle-based Glowforge isn't writing the future, they are printing it. 3D laser printing it, that is. And carving and engraving it. They are a 3D laser printer manufacturer, and their printers are straight out of science-fiction. Traditional 3D laser printers use additive manufacturing to build up material such as plastic layer by layer. With Glowforge, you can print on hundreds of materials by putting a piece of material like leather, wood or acrylic inside and letting your printer carve out your product using laser light.
They have a super passionate and diverse team that loves what they do and pride themselves on creating the future. Their mission is simple: creating a world where anyone can print anything.
Diving Into the Values at Glowforge
Facilitating Creation
Glowforge is a company that believes in enabling people to create. They value what their product allows people to do and they are very proud of that. And they realize that without the great people that apply their skills with the company, they would be nowhere. So above all, they value their own.
Miriam Shoemaker, a People Operations Coordinator with Glowforge said, "I love that my job entails taking care of people at a company that puts taking care of its employees (and customers) as their top priority."
Glowfolk
The People of Glowforge
Glowforge employees come from a very diverse set of backgrounds and experiences. You are as likely to meet someone who has worked for companies like Google or Amazon as you are to meeting someone who just returned from teaching English in a foreign country. The company also likes to hire recent college graduates.
Miriam said that some of the first things they look at in a candidate are their passion, energy, and background. "We look for passion for our product, and for what Glowforge stands for as a whole. The cultural cornerstones of our company include hiring amazing and diverse people, who take care of each other and delight our customers. Our Glowfolk are diverse, intelligent, humble, passionate and respectful -- we look for these traits collectively throughout the entire interview process when making a hiring decision."
The Culture at Glowforge
United By Purpose, Not Personality or Background
Glowforge doesn't hire people to fit their culture, they hire people to add to their culture. Their culture is built on these four principles:
They take diversity more seriously than most companies do. In fact, they offer $5,000 for referrals that lead to diversity hires. Due to this initiative along with just generally loving a diverse workplace, the company has become a poster child for diversity in the workplace.
Glowforge managers hold one-on-ones with their employees, as a way of empowering employees to share all of their thoughts and feelings about what is going on with the company. The one-on-ones have guidelines but are executed differently for each individual employee. This creates an open and honest, family-like culture at Glowforge.
Stephanie, an Office Assistant, said, "Glowforge is more than a company: it's a home. I get to be surrounded by incredibly talented individuals solving incredibly rewarding problems -- it just doesn't get better than that."
This open communication also allows employees to get their work done more efficiently. "I love working at Glowforge because I feel challenged every day but know that every challenge is manageable due to the great team we have. Our ability to communicate across departments allows us to work fast, hard, and effectively," an Accountant at Glowforge said.
The Office at Glowforge
In the Heart of SoDo
The Glowforge office is located in up and coming SoDo in Seattle. It is only a few blocks south of T-Mobile Park, where the Mariners play, and Century Link Field, where the Seahawks and Sounders play their games. If you like sports, you can very easily wander up to those stadiums after work for a game.
There are also several cafes, restaurants, bars and other venues within very close proximity to the office. The office space itself is open, which leads to some great group conversations and collaboration.
The Benefits at Glowforge
Multi-Dimensional Benefits Package
Some great perks to being a Glowforge employee are the daily catered lunches, floating holidays, $2,500 paid vacation (that number increases by $500 for every year you are at the company), allocated work from home time and stock ownership. Some other awesome perks are:
Employees also get to borrow a printer of their own indefinitely for free. This is definitely on the top of a lot of Glowforge employees' lists of the coolest perks.
Additionally, you get to work on a product that is futuristic and unique. This is the type of product that high-level engineers want to work on.
