Looks like things are happening at Kawasaki

avidchimp
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7/1/2026 2:47pm
MOTO13 wrote:

For thay kind of pay? A supervisor? Holy sh*t...that is frigging horrible. 

avidchimp wrote:
And unless you want to sit on a freeway for two+ hours a day you have to live close to Irvine, which 120K a year ain't...

And unless you want to sit on a freeway for two+ hours a day you have to live close to Irvine, which 120K a year ain't gonna cut it.

Zoom wrote:

Foothill Ranch. Plus its not 100% in person. Most HQ employees are 4 days a week in person, 1 day remote.

Kinda splitting hairs there my Man. HQ employee's yes that works, but how much technical work are you getting done on a product driven job from home?

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GrapeApe
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7/1/2026 2:47pm
MOTO13 wrote:
I can't believe they'd actually put god dam pet insurance as one of the main benefits. Like that is supposed to attact someone or be the...

I can't believe they'd actually put god dam pet insurance as one of the main benefits. Like that is supposed to attact someone or be the deciding factor...lol. "Yeah honey...the pay sucks, the hours are long and the commute is horrific...but they're offering pet insurance."  What a joke. But, it's Cali. I bet if you really pushed, you could get emotional dependent plant care coverage at a reduced cost thrown in as well.

Why are you so emotional about a job listing? 

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ti473
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7/1/2026 2:50pm
MOTO13 wrote:
Yeah..."pet" insurance. Is this like a death benefit if you lose a pet...or wtf is this bat shit crazy thing? Cause, at $120k, if this is...

Yeah..."pet" insurance. Is this like a death benefit if you lose a pet...or wtf is this bat shit crazy thing? Cause, at $120k, if this is a death benefit, I'd be going through about 35 cats a month. 

You're fucked up....

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MX Guy
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7/1/2026 3:01pm

Maybe there’s heavy bonus structure?…

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The Shop

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7/1/2026 3:19pm
It’s good to know Kawi is pet friendly. But damn how can anyone live on that in Ca….
RichieW13 wrote:
$120k (with full benefits) isn't THAT bad.  Especially if you are younger and don't have kids.  But I imagine that job has a lot of stress...

$120k (with full benefits) isn't THAT bad.  Especially if you are younger and don't have kids.  But I imagine that job has a lot of stress and headaches to go with it, which makes the pay seem a little underwhelming.  

Stress? STRESS!

Being tasked with preventing Chase from tucking the front!?

Seems like a 7 figure job. They should be trying to recruit from Spacex!

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JustMX
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7/1/2026 3:26pm
MX Guy wrote:

Maybe there’s heavy bonus structure?…

Is it based on Sexton's results?

Good luck with that.

Better be ready to doordash or uberin the evenings.

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Sparkalounger
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7/1/2026 3:29pm
mx317 wrote:

In Tennessee that would be a livable wage, but in California you would be living in a single-wide trailer in the desert. 

RichieW13 wrote:
You guys are crazy.  In the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim area, the median household income for first-time homebuyers is $167,000.  So if you had this job and...

You guys are crazy.  In the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim area, the median household income for first-time homebuyers is $167,000.  So if you had this job and married to somebody who is working full-time, you are likely above median.

https://finance.yahoo.com/economy/policy/articles/much-buy-starter-home…

Legit, non-sarcastic, earnest question.

All I hear is how expensive cost of living is there.

Quick Google search says $800+k for a house in that area.

 
 
How does that mesh with household incomes of $167k?

 

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RichieW13
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7/1/2026 3:53pm Edited Date/Time 7/1/2026 5:07pm
mx317 wrote:

In Tennessee that would be a livable wage, but in California you would be living in a single-wide trailer in the desert. 

RichieW13 wrote:
You guys are crazy.  In the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim area, the median household income for first-time homebuyers is $167,000.  So if you had this job and...

You guys are crazy.  In the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim area, the median household income for first-time homebuyers is $167,000.  So if you had this job and married to somebody who is working full-time, you are likely above median.

https://finance.yahoo.com/economy/policy/articles/much-buy-starter-home…

Legit, non-sarcastic, earnest question.All I hear is how expensive cost of living is there.Quick Google search says $800+k for a house in that area.  How does that...

Legit, non-sarcastic, earnest question.

All I hear is how expensive cost of living is there.

Quick Google search says $800+k for a house in that area.

 
 
How does that mesh with household incomes of $167k?

 

I'm guessing houses close to Foothill Ranch are going to be a little more expensive than the article I linked.  It cited $167k median income and $665k median home price.  If they are using FHA loans with 3.5% down payment, that means a mortgage payment of about $4,600/month (including PMI, Property Tax, Interest, Insurance.  $167k income means take-home pay of around $9,500.  So that leaves about $4,500/month to live off of.  And if they were able to save up $130k for a down payment, the mortgage payment would drop about $1,000/month.

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captmoto
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7/1/2026 3:59pm
RichieW13 wrote:
I like that the pay "range" is $115k to $120k.  What is the difference between the person they hire that they would pay $115k and the...

I like that the pay "range" is $115k to $120k.  What is the difference between the person they hire that they would pay $115k and the person they would pay $120k?

After tax, that's about 3 draft beers per pay period at 26 checks a year.   At 120K, I'd also look for the memo about Kawasaki moving...

After tax, that's about 3 draft beers per pay period at 26 checks a year.  

 

At 120K, I'd also look for the memo about Kawasaki moving their HQ to Lake of the Ozarks. 

Reminds me of the cocktail waitresses in lower economies who can't afford the drinks they're serving.  

For quite a while now, many of the people that worked in Mammoth and big ski towns can't afford to live there. 

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captmoto
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7/1/2026 4:07pm Edited Date/Time 7/1/2026 4:10pm

According to Google, the median price for a home in Foothill Ranch is 1.1 to 1.2 MILLION dollars. That job is probably a minimum of 60 hours a week. Foothill Ranch to practice tracks could be a 2 hour drive.

That's just too much dick washing for $120k.

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7/1/2026 4:15pm
Nairb#70 wrote:

They probably already have someone chosen, who do you think it is?

Yep. Those ads don't go out until they already have a candidate chosen but they have to post an open position to make it, "fair for all."

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RDnutz
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7/1/2026 4:44pm
RichieW13 wrote:

California does have state income tax.

yep you are correct. Sr moment brain fart on my part. What CA doesn't do is tax Social Security. When we retired 12 years ago in SoCal SS/SSDI was our main income source for a beat and pleasantly surprised with the SS treatment. We relocated to CO and they tax up to 85% of your SS income if you make too much other $. We routinely get hit with a tax of 50% here because of our other income like IRA, 401k, etc.

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RDnutz
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7/1/2026 4:46pm
RDnutz wrote:
Having lived in 50+ years of my life in SoCal I agree with all the negatives, but it's more than the salary: health insurance is insanely...

Having lived in 50+ years of my life in SoCal I agree with all the negatives, but it's more than the salary: health insurance is insanely expensive if you have to buy on your own. vision insurance +, Pet insurance is great if you have pets (we always had 2 rotties and vet bills can get expensive) but I'd rather have dental at this stage PTO bank is great, 401k match is rare these days but its free $, = that's a value-added bene package. CA also has no State Income tax which is worth a chunk of $ too.

 

The job probably means being on the road a lot, so renting an apartment (maybe with roomies from work) means no huge house expenses and if you lived close(r) to work and/or adjusted your commute times that would help there. Relocating a family there would be harder but for some individuals it could be doable for a couple years.

Ob917 wrote:

Am I reading your post wrong? 
CA has no state income tax? Nobody told me that shit 

  • no state tax on SS income
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7/1/2026 5:05pm
RDnutz wrote:
Having lived in 50+ years of my life in SoCal I agree with all the negatives, but it's more than the salary: health insurance is insanely...

Having lived in 50+ years of my life in SoCal I agree with all the negatives, but it's more than the salary: health insurance is insanely expensive if you have to buy on your own. vision insurance +, Pet insurance is great if you have pets (we always had 2 rotties and vet bills can get expensive) but I'd rather have dental at this stage PTO bank is great, 401k match is rare these days but its free $, = that's a value-added bene package. CA also has no State Income tax which is worth a chunk of $ too.

 

The job probably means being on the road a lot, so renting an apartment (maybe with roomies from work) means no huge house expenses and if you lived close(r) to work and/or adjusted your commute times that would help there. Relocating a family there would be harder but for some individuals it could be doable for a couple years.

Ob917 wrote:

Am I reading your post wrong? 
CA has no state income tax? Nobody told me that shit 

RDnutz wrote:
  • no state tax on SS income

So, this would apply to who, Roger? They already got their guy picked 

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Sparkalounger
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7/1/2026 5:08pm
RichieW13 wrote:
You guys are crazy.  In the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim area, the median household income for first-time homebuyers is $167,000.  So if you had this job and...

You guys are crazy.  In the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim area, the median household income for first-time homebuyers is $167,000.  So if you had this job and married to somebody who is working full-time, you are likely above median.

https://finance.yahoo.com/economy/policy/articles/much-buy-starter-home…

Legit, non-sarcastic, earnest question.All I hear is how expensive cost of living is there.Quick Google search says $800+k for a house in that area.  How does that...

Legit, non-sarcastic, earnest question.

All I hear is how expensive cost of living is there.

Quick Google search says $800+k for a house in that area.

 
 
How does that mesh with household incomes of $167k?

 

RichieW13 wrote:
I'm guessing houses close to Foothill Ranch are going to be a little more expensive than the article I linked.  It cited $167k median income and...

I'm guessing houses close to Foothill Ranch are going to be a little more expensive than the article I linked.  It cited $167k median income and $665k median home price.  If they are using FHA loans with 3.5% down payment, that means a mortgage payment of about $4,600/month (including PMI, Property Tax, Interest, Insurance.  $167k income means take-home pay of around $9,500.  So that leaves about $4,500/month to live off of.  And if they were able to save up $130k for a down payment, the mortgage payment would drop about $1,000/month.

Im sticking with 3x for a $500k max home value. 4+× is getting deep.

Thank you for the nice reply though.

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7/1/2026 5:08pm
chuckie108 wrote:

What exactly do all you guys do who think 120k plus beni's is a pittance? I may need to aim higher (or move to Wisconsin?).

it's more a reflection of the insane cost of living in 909/951/714/760 area codes than a it's a reflection of a good living. 

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FGR01
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7/1/2026 5:23pm
RichieW13 wrote:
It's not a "main" benefit.  It's just a benefit.  I think that listing is from Indeed, and a lot of Indeed listings are scraped from other...

It's not a "main" benefit.  It's just a benefit.  I think that listing is from Indeed, and a lot of Indeed listings are scraped from other sources.   The listing on the Kawasaki website has Pet Insurance listed as one of many benefits.  Indeed probably just happened to list it first. Pet insurance is probably just part of the bulk insurance program (Health, Dental, Vision) that the corporate office signed up for.

https://recruiting2.ultipro.com/KAW1000/JobBoard/f2ca734a-88d6-e1ac-304…

Yeah, that is a pretty extensive list of rather disparate functions for 1 person to perform for that salary.    Seems to be their MO.  Lump the work of 3 or 4 people together for the price of one.   Look at this one.  Be the executive assistant to the President and do the work of an an entire support staff.  All for the salary of $75-80K.   Don't forget you have to be bilingual and fluent in written and spoken English and Japanese and will be preparing translations for the President.  

https://recruiting2.ultipro.com/KAW1000/JobBoard/f2ca734a-88d6-e1ac-3045-794fdba792fc/OpportunityDetail?opportunityId=ac7943cf-97b1-4a1c-9448-2464a5ae0f37

 

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need2ride
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7/1/2026 5:24pm

Pet insurance is for the single female they give that position to. 

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Sparkalounger
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7/1/2026 5:32pm
RichieW13 wrote:
It's not a "main" benefit.  It's just a benefit.  I think that listing is from Indeed, and a lot of Indeed listings are scraped from other...

It's not a "main" benefit.  It's just a benefit.  I think that listing is from Indeed, and a lot of Indeed listings are scraped from other sources.   The listing on the Kawasaki website has Pet Insurance listed as one of many benefits.  Indeed probably just happened to list it first. Pet insurance is probably just part of the bulk insurance program (Health, Dental, Vision) that the corporate office signed up for.

https://recruiting2.ultipro.com/KAW1000/JobBoard/f2ca734a-88d6-e1ac-304…

FGR01 wrote:
Yeah, that is a pretty extensive list of rather disparate functions for 1 person to perform for that salary.    Seems to be their MO.  Lump...

Yeah, that is a pretty extensive list of rather disparate functions for 1 person to perform for that salary.    Seems to be their MO.  Lump the work of 3 or 4 people together for the price of one.   Look at this one.  Be the executive assistant to the President and do the work of an an entire support staff.  All for the salary of $75-80K.   Don't forget you have to be bilingual and fluent in written and spoken English and Japanese and will be preparing translations for the President.  

https://recruiting2.ultipro.com/KAW1000/JobBoard/f2ca734a-88d6-e1ac-3045-794fdba792fc/OpportunityDetail?opportunityId=ac7943cf-97b1-4a1c-9448-2464a5ae0f37

 

Wow...

I had to read it to believe it.

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7/1/2026 5:55pm
RDnutz wrote:
Having lived in 50+ years of my life in SoCal I agree with all the negatives, but it's more than the salary: health insurance is insanely...

Having lived in 50+ years of my life in SoCal I agree with all the negatives, but it's more than the salary: health insurance is insanely expensive if you have to buy on your own. vision insurance +, Pet insurance is great if you have pets (we always had 2 rotties and vet bills can get expensive) but I'd rather have dental at this stage PTO bank is great, 401k match is rare these days but its free $, = that's a value-added bene package. CA also has no State Income tax which is worth a chunk of $ too.

 

The job probably means being on the road a lot, so renting an apartment (maybe with roomies from work) means no huge house expenses and if you lived close(r) to work and/or adjusted your commute times that would help there. Relocating a family there would be harder but for some individuals it could be doable for a couple years.

If you aren’t paying state income taxes in CA, then either you make next to nothing or you’ve gotten lucky that they haven’t caught you yet.  CA actually has the highest top marginal income tax rate of any state in the country now at 13.3%. As for the salary, the median household income in Orange County, CA (which is much higher than CA as a whole) is about $116,000.  This is a supervisory, not senior manager or director role.  Most people in CA don’t make that much more than everyone else.  They just make sacrifices to live in the best climate in the country.  I moved away over a decade ago, and every summer and winter I second guess my decision.  Then I look at my 401k balance and remember why I did it.  

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7/1/2026 6:10pm
MOTO13 wrote:
Yeah..."pet" insurance. Is this like a death benefit if you lose a pet...or wtf is this bat shit crazy thing? Cause, at $120k, if this is...

Yeah..."pet" insurance. Is this like a death benefit if you lose a pet...or wtf is this bat shit crazy thing? Cause, at $120k, if this is a death benefit, I'd be going through about 35 cats a month. 

ti473 wrote:

You're fucked up....

I this the proper term for moto13 is "Retarded"🤣

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agn5008
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7/1/2026 6:23pm

It’s not far off of what I make in PA and I paid $180k for my house. I am by no means struggling, but I couldn’t imagine buying a house for $500k+ on my salary. But then again, I do spend way more money than I should on this amazing sport 😂 

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MikeID
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7/1/2026 6:33pm
Yep. Those ads don't go out until they already have a candidate chosen but they have to post an open position to make it, "fair for...

Yep. Those ads don't go out until they already have a candidate chosen but they have to post an open position to make it, "fair for all."

I think you are definitely right on this.  HR has been taken over by indians and they’re staffing up with H1Bs.  

Probably hooked up to Bajaj so they can “help” Kawi’s race program from the inside.

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j368
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7/1/2026 6:44pm
RDnutz wrote:
Having lived in 50+ years of my life in SoCal I agree with all the negatives, but it's more than the salary: health insurance is insanely...

Having lived in 50+ years of my life in SoCal I agree with all the negatives, but it's more than the salary: health insurance is insanely expensive if you have to buy on your own. vision insurance +, Pet insurance is great if you have pets (we always had 2 rotties and vet bills can get expensive) but I'd rather have dental at this stage PTO bank is great, 401k match is rare these days but its free $, = that's a value-added bene package. CA also has no State Income tax which is worth a chunk of $ too.

 

The job probably means being on the road a lot, so renting an apartment (maybe with roomies from work) means no huge house expenses and if you lived close(r) to work and/or adjusted your commute times that would help there. Relocating a family there would be harder but for some individuals it could be doable for a couple years.

No state income tax, you sure about that? Correct me if I’m wrong, but CA has about the highest state income tax at about 15%. 

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j368
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7/1/2026 6:46pm Edited Date/Time 7/1/2026 6:48pm
agn5008 wrote:
It’s not far off of what I make in PA and I paid $180k for my house. I am by no means struggling, but I couldn’t...

It’s not far off of what I make in PA and I paid $180k for my house. I am by no means struggling, but I couldn’t imagine buying a house for $500k+ on my salary. But then again, I do spend way more money than I should on this amazing sport 😂 

$500k will get you a dump in the hood that needs a lot of work with bars on the windows. 

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RDnutz
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7/1/2026 7:29pm
j368 wrote:

No state income tax, you sure about that? Correct me if I’m wrong, but CA has about the highest state income tax at about 15%. 

no I was thinking SS- brain fart. CA has "progressive" tax schedule with 9 brackets 1%-12.3%

California’s Tax Treatment of Social Security Income

California does not tax Social Security benefits at the state level — but the federal government may still tax up to 85% of them depending on your total income.

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Hasletjoe
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7/1/2026 7:40pm

Well, the upside is you most likely would not be effected by they billionaire tax. At least for the first few years....

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wisey
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7/1/2026 9:47pm Edited Date/Time 7/1/2026 9:51pm

Pet insurance is now common in California. It is the go to for those who identify as a cat. 

The salary can suffice here with dual income and responsible spending. 

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runic121
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7/1/2026 10:03pm
agn5008 wrote:

Pet insurance?!? Damn! 

Yeah. You lead with that... I'm in.

erik_94COBRA
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7/2/2026 5:43am

Here's the actual job posting:

Racing Technology and Development Supervisor | Kawasaki Opportunities

Looks like a demanding job with a very unique skill set that probably doesn't exist at that price point.  They want a supervisor, machine shop supervisor, CNC programmer, and test engineer - all that with travel >50% of the time.  

 

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