A New Company, and a New Industry

Cognex Corporation was founded in 1981 by Dr. Robert J. Shillman, a lecturer in human visual perception at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Shillman decided to leave academia to start Cognex, investing his life savings of $100,000 into the company. He invited two MIT graduate students – Marilyn Matz and Bill Silver – to embark on this business venture with him, offering free bicycles to convince them to leave MIT for a summer. What began as a summer job for Marilyn and Bill turned out to be the start of a career, as they stayed on to help co-found the company. These three individuals gave Cognex its start – and its name, which was derived from the phrase "Cognition Experts".

Cognex quickly became the leading supplier of machine vision to semiconductor and electronics capital equipment makers, who integrated Cognex vision into many types of machines used to make semiconductor chips and printed circuit boards.

Throughout the 1990’s, Cognex worked with these customers to push the boundaries of machine vision-aided manufacturing. Cognex developed ever more capable vision algorithms to meet the demanding speed and performance requirements of its semiconductor and electronics customers and with Cognex’s help, vision migrated into more and more stages of the manufacturing process.

Today, machine vision is essential in virtually every step of semiconductor manufacturing, and the large majority of these applications were developed by Cognex engineers. In 2005, Cognex founders Dr. Robert J. Shillman, Bill Silver and Marilyn Matz were honored by Semiconductor Manufacturers International (SEMI) with the 2005 SEMI Award, in recognition of their important technical contributions to semiconductor manufacturing.

Working at Cognex

At Cognex, you’ll find a dedicated and talented team of people who enjoy their work and take pride in their accomplishments.

Cognex offers a dynamic work environment shaped by our mission and values, and a corporate culture that combines creativity, fun, and humor with a dedication to excellence.

If you are looking for a financially strong, global company that is the leader in its industry but one that maintains the fast-paced, creative environment of a start up Cognex is the right place for you.

Mission and Values

Cognex Mission Statement:

To be the standard around the world for excellence in machine vision and to exceed the expectations of our customers, employees, shareholders and neighbors.

Cognex Values:

Cognex has identified 10 core values as key to our success:

1. Customer First:

Customer satisfaction is our top priority. We listen to our customers, and then we do whatever they need, whenever and wherever they need it.

2. Excellence:

At Cognex, good is not good enough; we strive for excellence in everything that we do.

3. Perseverance:

We take on the most difficult challenges, and we do not stop until the job is done right.

4. Enthusiasm:

We enjoy what we do; we approach each day's challenges with energy and excitement.

5. Creativity:

We delight in being different from the rest and in taking creative approaches to solving problems.

6. Pride:

We derive great satisfaction through our individual accomplishments and those of our company.

7. Integrity:

We adhere to the highest ethical standards in our relationships with customers, fellow employees, vendors, and shareholders.

8. Recognition:

Cognex's success is due to the hard work and dedication of our employees and vendors, and we acknowledge their contributions in both tangible and intangible ways.

9. Sharing:

When Cognex wins, we all win. We share our success with everyone who contributes to it. We believe that the biggest reward for success is the chance to succeed again.

10. Fun:

We work hard, and we play hard. We celebrate often to recognize our accomplishments and to motivate ourselves to achieve even higher levels of success in the future.

Date: 2015-12-18; view: 601