Looks like things are happening at Kawasaki

philG
Posts
10997
Joined
5/12/2012
Location
GB
7/2/2026 5:55am
Here's the actual job posting:Racing Technology and Development Supervisor | Kawasaki OpportunitiesLooks like a demanding job with a very unique skill set that probably...

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.  

 

I got pinged to fill a vacancy by an agency local to me, a while back. 

Polite Email, no ' we have this great opportunity' spiel , just a simple ' we saw your CV online and wondered if this would be of interest. 

It was 2 jobs, as half of the things required were a different skillset to mine totally, AND the salary was off by a factor of 2. 

I pointed out that anyone who would take that job, at that money, clearly cant do it , because if they could, they would already be making twice that. 

That seems like a big job, for not a lot of money. 

 

2
davistld01
Posts
9285
Joined
4/1/2008
Location
Springfield, MO, USA
7/2/2026 7:01am Edited Date/Time 7/2/2026 7:02am
Here's the actual job posting:Racing Technology and Development Supervisor | Kawasaki OpportunitiesLooks like a demanding job with a very unique skill set that probably...

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.  

 

philG wrote:
I got pinged to fill a vacancy by an agency local to me, a while back. Polite Email, no ' we have this great opportunity' spiel...

I got pinged to fill a vacancy by an agency local to me, a while back. 

Polite Email, no ' we have this great opportunity' spiel , just a simple ' we saw your CV online and wondered if this would be of interest. 

It was 2 jobs, as half of the things required were a different skillset to mine totally, AND the salary was off by a factor of 2. 

I pointed out that anyone who would take that job, at that money, clearly cant do it , because if they could, they would already be making twice that. 

That seems like a big job, for not a lot of money. 

 

If this has been Kawasaki's M.O. in securing team management personnel, they may find themselves going around the same old mountain again. The age-old adage: "You get what you pay for", is usually a valid one. 

DunnySeat
Posts
265
Joined
4/13/2021
Location
Laguna Beach, CA, USA
7/2/2026 7:04am

No wonder their bike sucks. That salary is laughable.

1
7
davis224
Posts
7475
Joined
8/15/2006
Location
Cornland, IL, USA
Fantasy
7/2/2026 7:10am

...why is everyone tripping out over pet insurance and equating it to some "woke" thing?

I live in the Midwest and my wife's Wyoming based company offers it. It's not some new foreign concept, pets can get expensive. 

11
3

The Shop

TeamGreen
Posts
37079
Joined
11/25/2008
Location
Thru-out, CA, USA
7/2/2026 7:29am
davis224 wrote:
...why is everyone tripping out over pet insurance and equating it to some "woke" thing?I live in the Midwest and my wife's Wyoming based company offers...

...why is everyone tripping out over pet insurance and equating it to some "woke" thing?

I live in the Midwest and my wife's Wyoming based company offers it. It's not some new foreign concept, pets can get expensive. 

When you travel …a lot… as in this job that’s being offered…pet care while you’re gone is certainly an issue, too.

Kinda bummed about who’s retiring…he’s one of the good guys. 

2
disbanded
Posts
6927
Joined
8/26/2007
Location
Evergreen, CO, USA
7/2/2026 8:06am

Who's the old guy that goes to the races, looks kind of like Chase, wears a Kawasaki team shirt, and smokes cigarettes?

7/2/2026 8:09am
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 😂 

A good sized group of the guys balking at 167K have wives with Amazon Prime addictions that require 100k of that right off the pop, but they don't want to frame it like that. That 3 Row SUV, hot yoga membership, lululemon wardrobe, and Starbucks in the Super Target entryway all add up.  

2
3
7/2/2026 8:55am

Thats about 1700 after taxes.rent for a 1 rm apt around there is what 2-2.5k. Ur not starving but your not setting up yr retirement much 

1
Flatliner
Posts
4209
Joined
11/3/2009
Location
CA
7/2/2026 11:07am
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.

You've got this big fancy position with a manufacturer, and the living situation would be an apartment with roommates?  Ahh the American dream in full force.

 

4
agn5008
Posts
1987
Joined
3/8/2021
Location
PA, PA, USA
Fantasy
7/2/2026 11:47am
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 😂 

A good sized group of the guys balking at 167K have wives with Amazon Prime addictions that require 100k of that right off the pop, but...

A good sized group of the guys balking at 167K have wives with Amazon Prime addictions that require 100k of that right off the pop, but they don't want to frame it like that. That 3 Row SUV, hot yoga membership, lululemon wardrobe, and Starbucks in the Super Target entryway all add up.  

My dirtbikes, gear, parts, riding fees, gas, truck, etc all add up too. My wife’s butt looks pretty damn good getting out of that third row SUV while wearing lululemons after yoga class. She also works full time, makes almost as much as me, and is an adult. If those things make her happy, then I’m all for it. 

All I can think about is how I hope she wears lulu’s when she gets home tonight. What were we talking about again? 

7
1
englishman
Posts
2801
Joined
3/7/2008
Location
England, GB
7/2/2026 2:40pm Edited Date/Time 7/2/2026 3:48pm
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

 

Interesting and makes me wonder if they have someone from overseas they want to  bring in to fill that post. 

I have some experience with these kind of “work skill” visas and generally what happens is they tailor the job requirements so specifically that virtually no US citizens/permanent residents apply and of those that do apply the company can easily give reasons why those applicants don’t qualify for the position, then the overseas person they want to bring in is able to acquire the skilled visa - because the company can show they’re the only person qualified to fill that position. 

I’ve seen it done many times.

I’m probably wrong - unless it goes to a non citizen / permanent resident and then I’ll more than likely crow a little ;-) . 

3
FGR01
Posts
6109
Joined
10/1/2006
Location
USA
Fantasy
7/2/2026 3:28pm
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

 

englishman wrote:
Interesting and makes me wonder if they have someone from overseas they want to  bring in to fill that post. I have some experience with these kind...

Interesting and makes me wonder if they have someone from overseas they want to  bring in to fill that post. 

I have some experience with these kind of “work skill” visas and generally what happens is they tailor the job requirements so specifically that virtually no US citizens/permanent residents apply and of those that do apply the company can easily give reasons why those applicants don’t qualify for the position, then the overseas person they want to bring in is able to acquire the skilled visa - because the company can show they’re the only person qualified to fill that position. 

I’ve seen it done many times.

I’m probably wrong - unless it goes to a non citizen / permanent resident and then I’ll more than likely crow a little ;-) . 

You may very well be on to something.  That is a crazy list of responsibilities for that salary for someone that is already a professional level translator.  And we're talking Japanese here, not Spanish.  Japanese is a level 5 language and very few non-native speakers ever achieve a level of proficiency to be translating for the President of Kawasaki.

2
Broseph
Posts
1202
Joined
4/28/2018
Location
Stevenson, WA, USA
7/2/2026 3:49pm Edited Date/Time 7/2/2026 3:50pm

Duties:

-Supervise 4 people

-Design racing parts in CAD

-Create engineering drawings

-Perform FEA and failure analysis

-Track all shop projects

-Run the shop day-to day

-Program cnc machines

-Set up cnc machines

-Run parts on cnc machines

-Travel 50% of the time

Experience:

-15 years in the race team environment

and

-10 years programming and running cnc equipment

All for $115-$120k in California 😳

In the Portland area we’d pay $120k for someone 5 years out of school with even half of those skills. 

3
2
Jkawi
Posts
544
Joined
3/5/2015
Location
CA
7/2/2026 4:00pm

You guys should look at vancouver or Toronto in Canada. $167k salary for an $800k house is a dream. Toronto is an avg of like $129k salary and avg home price is over a million$ Vancouver is similar.  Full time trades guys are going homeless. They cant afford the homes they get paid to build. Unfortunately our leader is challenged in economics apparently.

1
3
7/2/2026 4:06pm
Broseph wrote:
Duties:-Supervise 4 people-Design racing parts in CAD-Create engineering drawings-Perform FEA and failure analysis-Track all shop projects-Run the shop day-to day-Program cnc machines-Set up cnc machines-Run...

Duties:

-Supervise 4 people

-Design racing parts in CAD

-Create engineering drawings

-Perform FEA and failure analysis

-Track all shop projects

-Run the shop day-to day

-Program cnc machines

-Set up cnc machines

-Run parts on cnc machines

-Travel 50% of the time

Experience:

-15 years in the race team environment

and

-10 years programming and running cnc equipment

All for $115-$120k in California 😳

In the Portland area we’d pay $120k for someone 5 years out of school with even half of those skills. 

I make more than that driving a tractor-trailer, listening to moto podcasts all day. 

1
2
CPR
Posts
6895
Joined
10/4/2018
Location
AU
7/2/2026 4:08pm
You Guys Are Getting Paid meme banner.jpg?VersionId=ojjRQFmG8y15YTcnfrNhsY 6cfqZI
1

Post a reply to: Looks like things are happening at Kawasaki

The Latest