What do you do here at RBN?
I am a Cloud Solutions Engineer. I work closely with clients through operational concerns during migrations to the cloud and AWS or greenfield cloud-ready development. Frequently, I find myself examining applications for suitability for autoscaling, helping decompose existing applications from a monolithic design to microservice-oriented design, and advising technical decisions during project development.
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I would have probably said ‘veterinarian’. We had a lot of pets growing up. My mother thought it would teach us responsibility for the well-being of others. To that end, I think she got it right, though should my housecat suddenly speak English he may bemoan his incarceration in my apartment or tuna on an all-too-infrequent basis.
You worked for RBN previously and came back recently. What brought you back?
I look forward to the excitement of seeing new environments, new projects every month. There are so many technologies that we use at RBN, and I am learning new things daily. I’m using things that didn’t exist technology-wise during my last tenure at RBN. [pullquote]There are so many technologies that we use at RBN, and I am learning new things daily. I’m using things that didn’t exist technology-wise during my last tenure at RBN.[/pullquote]
What do you love most about your job?
There are novel developments and new things to do all the time. No one day is the same as the last. It’s nice to feel that the things one does have an immediate impact with the client.
What is your office nickname, and how did you earn it?
‘Sassy Tassy’. I’ll leave it as an exercise for the reader to determine why.
If you could switch your job with anyone else within RBN, whose job would you want and why?
I’d love to switch jobs with Dave T . He’s part engineer and part manager. He has the gift of gab, is straightforward and honest with clients, and a great technical liaison between the RBN team and the client. I feel like I could do well in that type of role one day and could learn a lot from him.
Three words to best describe you:
Inquisitive, encyclopedic, and silly.
If you were on death row, what would your last meal be?
Before I went back to Germany, all I could think about was how much I looked forward to a cheap brötchen from the train station. They are little open-faced sandwiches, made from freshly baked rolls. There’s something about the casual food of Germany — eating at train stations, even if it’s as simple a mozzarella, tomato and basil sandwich — that makes one feel like they’re eating healthily and well, in comparison to most street food in the United States.
What’s your spirit animal?
I would say my spirit animal is a cat. Cats are inquisitive in nature, calm, cool and collected — up until the moment they are not.
What are your three most overused words/phrases?
Danke Schoen (Thank you very much in German) , keen and righteous!
What advice would you give anyone starting out in the cloud development industry?
Keep your cool. Everyone has an emergency. Every client’s project is important. You’re going to be doing a lot of juggling, so allow yourself the opportunity to take a deep breath and consider your actions. Everyone makes more rational decisions when they’re level-headed.
What do you do for fun outside of work?
Backpacking, dancing, playing with new technologies, and playing video games.
Do you have any hidden talents?
I can whistle and dance like none other. If you ask for a demonstration, I’ll freeze up — but should you play the right music, it will happen almost autonomously and without much consideration.
What do you look for in your workplace?
I seek camaraderie, frequent opportunities to learn and grow, and a workplace and projects that allow input and acknowledge every voice (after all, everyone brings their own experience to the table).