Hi Everyone! I have some big news to share… The Happiness Engineer role is once again open to new applicants!
What is a Happiness Engineer?
Happiness Engineers are what we call the customer support representatives at Automattic. Our purpose in the company is to engineer happiness, both for the customer and the company. We are the advocates of Automattic to our customers, and we are also the voice of our customers to Automattic. We are not there to simply fix problems, or get broken sites working again. We look to alway go above and beyond, engineering happiness in any situation, with anybody we interact with.
The role of a Happiness Engineer is unique, yet critical, right now in the world. COVID-19 has turned many people’s lives up-side-down. Change is not necessarily a bad thing. But continued restlessness and uncertainty can easily breed pessimism and negativity.
People who contact support may feel this the most. We’ve see customers contacting us while dealing with family/kids at home. Or those who have been thrown into a rough spot with work and needing to quickly whip up a site for their business. Or even start a new business all together. Often times, they are contacting us while dealing with unfamiliar stresses around them – many of which are not directly related to the issue they are contacting us about.
Happiness Engineers have a unique opportunity right now where we are given a small window to engineer some happiness in the lives of our customers facing perilous times. To be fair, Happiness Engineers are also going through the same hardships. COVID-19 has hit us all. But I myself find some happiness in being able to iron out the frustrations of customers, or even simply being a listening ear for a little, and see them leave chat with a little more optimism and hope for what’s ahead.
Count Me In! How do I apply?
OK, that last section wasn’t your typical “come work with us” blurb. But it shares a bit about where my heart is at as I work right now. And I hope you get the picture, we’re not simply looking for technical support reps. We are looking for those who are eager to engineer happiness in others, despite what they themselves might be feeling or going through right now.
The official application page can be found here: Work With Us – Happiness Engineer. We’re looking for applicants from specific time zones around the world. And if you have WooCommerce experience, we would love to hear about that, too! Applications are open until May 7th, so check it out and give it a go if you think the role is for you.
Wrapping Up
It took me two applications before I got into the role of a Happiness Engineer. If you’re new to my blog, you may want to checkout some of my post below to see what a journey it was for me to get here. In short… it was tough – but very much worth it!
If the role interests you and you have any questions, feel free to contact me. I can’t provide any “inside information” or get you any closer in the door. But I can share a candid perspective about the role and what I think about the work as a Happiness Engineer.
Comments
4 responses to “The Happiness Engineer Role is Open!”
What is the actual work that happiness engineer does. Customer support as you have mentioned ,is it like a bpo ? Call based helping customers ? Please let me know .
Hey there! Happiness Engineers look after all support operations at Automattic. We are hired directly by Automattic, and so I wouldn’t say we are outsourced like a typical BPO (business process outsourcing). Most of the day, we answer user inquiries through live chat and email. (Automattic does not have phone/voice support.) But our work also includes answering forum replies, investigating bugs reported by users and reporting those to our developer teams, assisting users getting their site going through screen share session, and more. You can also read more about our role here: https://automattic.com/work-with-us/happiness-engineer/
Loved the post, wondering how life is for you in Japan? My sister went there and they were very hesitant to even speak to her as a foreigner even though we are half Japanese and speak Japanese… I like the idea of being a Happiness Engineer. I have a 1-year-old and a 4-year-old, I don’t think this would be the right time to apply for the job, but I like the idea of becoming a different kind of Happiness Engineer right now anyways. In a few years, I would like to start earning an at-home tech income, hesitant between focusing on computer and writing pathways. You seem to be much more tech-savvy than I am! If you had three things to tell a beginner to learn towards getting a tech career in the future, what would it be? HTML and CCS? Or? Thank you for the help! ?
Hi there! I’ve lived in Japan practically all my life. I could start a post series about that topic – there have definitely been many ups and downs. But I can fully relate to your sister finding many Japanese people being hesitant to talk to you, even if you’re speaking perfect Japanese to them. There is a huge cultural gap there that I know many foreigners commonly experience.
“but I like the idea of becoming a different kind of Happiness Engineer right now anyways.”
Great thought! Everyone can do with a bit more happiness right now?
If you were going to start out in a tech career, I would recommend learning a programming language or two. While proficiency in writing code is a necessity for many jobs, I find being able to understand the way computers “think” pretty important, too. Programs are completely logic, so being able to think logically is a must. I would dare say, even more important than being able to write code.
If you’re considering the Happiness Engineer role here at Automattic, then a passion for customer support is also a must. I read a good few books and articulated my own support philosophy before joining the company.
And the third skill you would need would be good communication skills – especially writing skills. In a distributed company like Automattic, I can not over emphasize the importance of being able to write concisely and unambiguously. People will read what you write at different times and with different thoughts/perceptions, and so being able to convey your thoughts accurately is very important.
I hope that answers your questions. Thanks for reaching out!?