Just a little note that I’m officially changing my duties around a bit at work. During my three years at Schematic, year one was spent as a Senior Software Developer, the second was spent as a Manager for our Open Source Platforms Group (the PHP team), and for the third, I went back to the hands-on technology side as a Senior Software Architect in OSPG. Now, I’ve decided to make a move back over to the management side as “Senior Manager, Technology” in our Atlanta office.
“What is this ‘Senior Manager, Technology’ thing?” you ask? Well, basically, it means I’ll be leaving some of my hands-on development duties behind (though still using them occasionally!) to focus on managing a crack team of developers across various technical disciplines. I’ll also be helping to match these people up to projects they’d like to work on, helping ensure their career growth is on the right track, that they’re happy, enjoying their work and so on. I’ll also be actively involved in recruiting and other types of managerial-type activities. I tend to think that I’m a good fit for this role given my years of experience down in the trenches, getting my hands dirty with code and project teams, while also being somewhat business-savvy given my experience and education.
It’s a different kind of challenge for me, but I’ve got some experience with it and am happy to help out our growing technology team in the Atlanta office. I will be working on the occasional project at a high level, such as in a Solutions Architect role, or maybe even acting as a Software Architect from time to time. I’ll continue to act as the Platform Chair of our Open Source Platforms Group team, too, which means that I’ll continue to be involved in shaping coding standards, best practices, and other key technical processes around Schematic.
“But…you’re a developer! Surely you’re not leaving that behind!” you exclaim. Of course not! I’m going to use my spare time outside of work to pursue other things that interest me right now, such as Cocoa and iPhone development as well as working with the Arduino platform to do some tinkering with electronics. And don’t worry, I’ll still be spending a lot of time with my dear old friends, PHP, Zend Framework, and other open source technologies.
So, this is all very exciting! For the three of you that read my blog, this is a short summary of what I’ll be up to for the foreseeable future. See you PHP’ers out on the conference and user group circuits, too!