# An(other) Interview with Jon Oxer

- Show: [The Amp Hour](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour)
- Published: 2017-06-26
- Length: 1h 37m
- Episode: 349
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2017-06-26-an-other-interview-with-jon-oxer
- Listen: https://theamphour.com/349-another-interview-with-jon-oxer/

## Summary

Jon Oxer, founder of Freetronics and Superhouse, discusses his recent sale of a software company and the subsequent need to seek employment or consulting work due to tax liabilities. He details the challenges of job hunting as a non-traditional engineer, the difficulties of remote work for hardware roles, and the specific engineering constraints of low-volume satellite projects versus high-volume toy manufacturing. The conversation also covers his DIY home automation projects, including retrofitting window motors and reverse-engineering 433 MHz protocols, as well as his interest in drones and autonomous robots.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2017-06-26-an-other-interview-with-jon-oxer#t=0) Introduction and Career Transition
- [5:54](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2017-06-26-an-other-interview-with-jon-oxer#t=354) Job Hunting and Imposter Syndrome
- [35:17](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2017-06-26-an-other-interview-with-jon-oxer#t=2117) Engineering Constraints: Satellites vs. Toys
- [31:17](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2017-06-26-an-other-interview-with-jon-oxer#t=1877) Freetronics Business and Product Strategy
- [1:03:56](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2017-06-26-an-other-interview-with-jon-oxer#t=3836) Home Automation and Protocol Hacking
- [56:50](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2017-06-26-an-other-interview-with-jon-oxer#t=3410) Drones and Autonomous Robots

## Topics

- [Careers & education](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/engineering-careers-and-education)
- [PCB design & layout](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pcb-design)
- [Microcontrollers & dev platforms](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/microcontrollers-and-platforms)
- [Connected products & IoT](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/connected-products-and-iot)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Robotics & autonomy](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/robotics-and-autonomy)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies, companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Freetronics (company)
- Superhouse (product)
- RGSAT (product)
- ESP8266 (chip)
- ESP32 (chip)
- Espressif (company)
- OpenHAB (tool)
- Arduino (product)
- Blackmagic Design (company)
- Google (company)
- DJI (company)
- Phantom 4 (product)
- Raspberry Pi (product)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [123: Banished from Running Linux](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2015-10-28-123-banished-from-running-linux) (Embedded.fm)
- [338: Working With People Is Terrible](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2020-07-24-338-working-with-people-is-terrible) (Embedded.fm)
- [130: Criminal Training Camp](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2015-12-17-130-criminal-training-camp) (Embedded.fm)
- [S4E44 Dave Jones | Music, NASA, and Napkin Sketches to Circuits](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-11-17-s4e44-dave-jones-music-nasa-and-napkin-sketches-to-circuits) (Being an Engineer)
- [181: Work on It for Ten Years](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2016-12-30-181-work-on-it-for-ten-years) (Embedded.fm)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2017-06-26-an-other-interview-with-jon-oxer. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to The Amp Hour.