For Potential Employers

Honest insights into what makes me thrive and what doesn’t work for me

What I Love in Work Environments

  • Autonomy & Trust
    • Freedom to choose the best technical approach for problems, since most approaches to most problems have benefits and tradeoffs, and engineers are often the most informed to make those under-the-hood decisions.
    • Consistent working hours that respect work-life balance, because everyone is more efficient when they’re not burnt out
    • Results-focused rather than micromanaged processes, allowing an engineer to truly solve problems, not just implement pre-served solutions
  • Emphasis on Engineering
    • Code reviews that focus on learning and improvement, making each developer more effective in the process
    • Dedicated time for refactoring and technical debt reduction, making all future development faster in the process
    • Openness to experimenting with new technologies and approaches, without just hopping on the latest trend because it’s trendy
  • Growth & Learning
    • Conference attendance, training budgets, and learning opportunities
    • Mentorship programs (both giving and receiving)
    • Cross-functional collaboration and knowledge sharing
  • Team Culture
    • Open communication where ideas and concerns are welcomed; after all, more brains means fewer small mistakes
    • Diverse perspectives and inclusive decision-making, since more perspectives reduces our collective blind spots
    • Collaborative problem-solving rather than blame culture, since everyone eventually makes a mistake. As Andrew Carnegie once said, “Fire you? We just spent a million dollars training you!”—that is, mistakes should be learned from (and systemically prevented), not punished.

What I Prefer to Avoid

  • Perpetual Work-Life Imbalance
    • Regular expectations of working nights or weekends. I’ll give you my fullest, but it needs to be on a manageable schedule.
    • Culture that equates long hours with productivity or dedication. The most effective and least-burnt-out employees are well-rested.
    • Lack of respect for vacation time and personal boundaries.
    • High-stress environments without support systems capable of bearing the stress

My Greatest Professional Strengths

Problem-Solving Architecture

I excel at breaking down complex problems into manageable components and designing scalable solutions. My approach combines deep technical knowledge with strategic thinking to build systems that grow with business needs.

Performance Optimization

I have a passion for making things fast and efficient. Whether it’s reducing blocking times, optimizing database queries, or improving user experience, I enjoy finding creative ways to enhance performance metrics without sacrificing code quality.

High Adaptability

With a strong grasp on the unchanging foundations of software engineering, I adapt quickly to new technologies and methodologies. I’ll often begin using new tools the same day I learn about them, and I’ve usually got a workflow locked down in under a week. While I already have expertise in a few technologies, I’m more than happy to learn new ones that work best for the project and/or the team.