Before reading any further, please understand that the position, while requiring a person with VB skills, is not a true VB coding position. If you are a pure VB software developer, or seeking to become one, this is job is not going to meet your interests.

Likely candidates will be:
  • A recent college graduate with some prior work experience
  • Someone whose primary interest is not VB or software development (likely something like stats or econ instead) but who is very comfortable with VB or VBscript.
  • Someone who enjoys learning about and experimenting with new technology.


That said, I am seeking a person with VB/VBScript experience to join my team at Knowledge Networks. Knowledge Networks is a privately-held market research company, founded in 1998, focusing in high-quality, representative online market research. This means that we are not a company running pop-up web surveys. We have a dedicated Panel of respondents recruited through traditional random-digit-dial that reaches a representative sample of the United States, including non-Internet households. You can learn more about us at http://www.knowledgenetworks.com/

The official title of the opening is "Dimensions Programmer" as the person will be expected to become expert in the SPSS Dimensions product. Prior experience with Dimensions would be a huge plus, but is not expected. Dimensions is a new suite of market research applications for survey programming, data collection, data management, tabulation and reporting that uses a custom VB-like language from start-to-finish. You can read more about Dimensions at http://www.spss.com/dimensions/

Below is the job description I am posting on other job boards:

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Knowledge Networks is seeking an SPSS Dimensions programmer for its Menlo Park office. We are also considering Visual Basic (or VBScript) programmers with no Dimensions experience, with the understanding that most work will be done using Dimensions, and that the role is not one of pure software development. A person entering the role is required to be, or become, expert in the SPSS Dimension product, particularly mrStudio.

The programmer will join an existing team of survey programmers and be responsible for both (a) the technical aspects of online market research execution as well as (b) assisting with process automation and improvement. Working with limited supervision, the Dimensions programmer will use the SPSS Dimensions platform to program surveys, manage data and associated deliverables, and develop custom features. The position will work closely with Client Service teams and programming teammates, and the key day-to-day activities are: programming, quality assurance, data manipulation, tabulation, and project communication/coordination.

Knowledge Networks is a market research company and, as such, the Dimensions programmer should have, or expect to gain, an overall understanding of market research products and procedures. The role also requires a technically-adept person who is detail-oriented, process-driven, and able to handle multiple responsibilities simultaneously. As teams are distributed across the country, a person applying for this position should have good communication skills, both verbal and written. This is a full-time position that requires no travel.

Candidates have:
• Bachelor degree, variety of majors can apply.
• 2+ years work experience.
• 2+ years programming experience in Visual Basic or VBScript.
• HTML experience.
• MS Word and Excel experience.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to solve new problems and handle multiple tasks simultaneously.
• Detail-oriented and precise.
• Work well with distributed teammates, with a focus on final deliverables.

Candidates with the following are strongly preferred:
• Experience with SPSS Dimensions products and data model, in particular mrStudio.
• Knowledge of PERL, Javascript, .NET, SQL.
• A basic understanding of the research process and statistics.
• Experience with online surveys, tabulation, or automation scripts.
• Experience with SPSS, SAS, Quantum or handling similar data layouts.
• Past experience working with a non-technical user base to develop technical solution.

Additional skills considered:
• Computer multimedia experience (Flash, Photoshop, A/V editing).
• Read/write knowledge of Spanish.

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This job is:
  • Hiring now.
  • Full-time salaried with benefits.
  • Located in Menlo Park, CA. Relocation costs are not covered.
  • For people authorized to work in the United States; we are not sponsoring.


The exact number of years of work/programming experience are negotiable. If you are interested, please email me a letter of introduction with a copy/link to your resume. I will follow up with potential candidates for phone interviews.

Thank you.

Thomas