Student Blog
Brought to you from your @GoogleStudents friends. From pre-university to PhD (and beyond), we got you.
Better Know an Office: Boston
August 2, 2011
Introduction: We continue with our “Better Know an Office” series, inspired by Stephen Colbert’s
Better Know a District
.
This recurring series will take us to different Google offices around the globe. Today, “Better Know an Office” heads to the banks of the Charles River to Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Located in the heart of greater Boston’s technology community and
across the street from MIT
in Kendall Square,
Google Boston
is
Google’s second largest office
east of the Mississippi River. However, this wasn’t always the case. It was only a few years ago—in 2003—that Google Boston consisted of a small sales team with an office in a hotel. In parallel, a small engineering team also started in Cambridge. Overall, these teams totaled around 40 employees. It was not until 2007 when Steve Vinter, Google Boston’s site director, arrived that these small teams started to
expand
. Since then, the office has been growing and recently went through another growth spurt with the
acquisition
of Cambridge-based ITA Software in April 2011.
The Google Boston office manages a wide array of
engineering
projects, including
Mobile
and
Chrome OS
teams, the latter of which has been involved in the creation of an
open source operating system
. Engineers at Google Boston are also behind
Google Book Search
, including recent work on the release of the
Google eBooks for eReader
, and the Google Boston office was involved in the launch of the
Google +1 button
this past spring.
The workplace environment at the Google Boston office maintains its “Googliness” through its unique office layout. In addition to conference rooms named after Boston-based movies (Good Will Hunting, The Perfect Storm), Boston beers (Sam Adams, Harpoon) and Boston authors (Dickinson, Hawthorne), Google Boston has an entire
New England-themed floor
. On the second floor, employees can escape to Cape Cod beach—a lounge decorated with adirondack chairs and beach cabanas—or walk through an area designed to resemble historic Beacon Hill. If the second floor sweet escape doesn’t do it for you, the office environment also fosters playful competition and Googlers come together in common areas to play board and card games such as Dominion, Magic, Innovation, Race for the Galaxy and 7 Wonders.
Outside of work, Google Boston employees are involved in many
community outreach programs
. As part of Google’s commitment to K-12 initiatives and to the Cambridge and Boston communities, Google Boston annually welcomes high schoolers from MIT’s
MITES Program
(Minority Introduction to Engineering and Sciences) for a fun afternoon consisting of an office tour, product demos and discussions with a panel of engineers. Google Boston also partners with MIT to
support innovation in the sciences
. This support ranges from focused research awards to sponsorships for research development. Googlers from the Boston office volunteer at the
Cambridge Boys and Girls Club
, tutoring after school power hours for students in math and science. They recently donated 25 computers to the Club as well. Lastly, through
Citizen Schools
, Googlers act as “citizen teachers,” educating middle school students once a week on topics of personal passion and interest. Last year, Google Boston’s very own software engineer, Alan Su, was honored with the
Citizen Teacher of the Year
national award.
From site expansion, to innovative projects, to a playful work environment and community involvement, the Google Boston office is definitely on the rise. Just like the Cheers
theme song
, the Boston office is a place “where everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you came.” So, what are you waiting for? Go
pahk your cah in Hahvuhd Yahd
and check out the
opportunities
waiting for you at the wicked cool Google Boston office!
Posted by Melissa Arguinzoni, BOLD Intern
Post a Comment
Labels
A Day in the Life of a New Grad in Google Dublin
7
AdCamp
2
AdMob
11
Ambassador Program
14
APAC
7
Appy Trails
28
Back to School
4
Better Know a New Grad
1
Better Know an Intern
16
Better Know an Office
4
Black History Month
10
Caitlin Talks to an Engineer
9
Chrome Extensions
3
Chromebook
1
College Tips by Google
1
Community
14
Conferences
16
consortium
1
CSSI
5
Day in the Life
2
deSTEMber
1
Development Programs
1
Diary of a Business Associate Intern
1
Diary of a Summer Intern
41
Diary of a Summer Intern - Erika
9
Diary of a Summer Intern - Franklin
3
Diary of a Summer Intern - Jess
3
Diary of a Summer intern - Luke
3
Diary of a Summer Intern - Madelaine
4
Diary of a Summer Intern - Pablo
3
Diary of a Summer Intern - Rio
4
Diary of a Summer Intern 2012
18
Diary of an MBA Intern
2
Education
19
EMEA
44
Europe
7
Events
13
Exploring Design at Google
4
GHC15
6
Going Green
6
Gone Google
2
Google Code University
1
Google Code-in
1
Google Games
3
Google Japan
1
Google Lime Scholarship
1
Google on campus
2
Google Online Marketing Challenge
10
Google Science Fair
2
Google.org
1
Google+
6
Googlers
14
Googlers Beta
11
Grace Hopper
11
GradTips
9
Hangouts On Air
21
Inside ITRP
6
Intern Insights
31
Intern Program
73
Interns Making an Impact
7
Interviews
1
Jobs
5
just for fun
30
K-12 (Pre-university)
14
LATAM
2
Life at Google
17
Middle East
1
My Path to Google
29
My Summer at Google
15
My Summer at Google 2012
10
North America
4
Office Environment
4
Open Source
9
PhD
7
Products
94
Programs and Competitions
116
Recruiter Tips and Tricks
15
Rice Plus
4
Scholarships
56
Search
1
STEM
2
STEP
1
Student Tips
15
Students
13
Summer of Code
1
Teach Parents Tech
10
Tech Students
3
Tips and Tricks
27
Women in Engineering
20
Young Innovators
10
YouTube
2
Archive
2018
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2017
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2016
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2015
Dec
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2014
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2013
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2012
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2011
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2010
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2009
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2008
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Feed
Google
on
Follow @GoogleStudents
Interested in opportunities and programs for students? Visit
google.com/students
.
