What is your current job?
My title is Director of Software Engineering at Audible (an Amazon Company). I manage an organization that has two focus areas: Audible's customer-facing Android experiences on Amazon devices (Kindle Fire tablets, FireTV, etc.), and Fraud&Trust (keeping our customers and business safe from large-scale hackers).
Why did you choose this profession?
As an engineer, l love the challenge of building innovative global-scale software systems, and the simple elegance when it's done well. I enjoy working with passionate engineers that are experts in their trade, figuring out how to best deliver for customers, and helping my teams grow their skills/careers.
What more do you wish to accomplish in your professional career?
Where to start?! There are so many interesting problems to solve.
Tell us about a decision or change you made that turned out to be a positive career move.
I loved working at MIT Lincoln Laboratory (6 years) and working on problems with national-scale impact. I was surrounded by fascinating people with diverse backgrounds (physicists, mathematicians, nuclear engineers, Public Health experts, etc.). I also wanted to focus on global-scale software architecture, which is a priority at Amazon. The transition to Audible/Amazon has exposed me to cutting edge software patterns and systems; I'm having a blast!
How has Haverford influenced your professional career?
Haverford has helped reinforce my value set; work is certainly important, and not as important as how we treat each other and making sure our contributions are net-positive for society. This mentality, which is crucial for happiness and success (IMHO), has helped me seek opportunities with like-minded folks. There are lots of talented people working on interesting projects; and to be fulfilled I think we all need something more. Haverford excels at cultivating this type of awareness and I'm forever grateful to be part of the Haverford community.