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Introduction

Hi, I'm Michael and I write code, blogs, and bad poems. I've started multiple companies, launched many products, led teams, and built many things:

  • Pad for self-landing drones (a camera and pad that gurantee the drone will land where the pad is e.g. for automatic battery replacement or sensor swap)
  • Multiple video games (6-man chess, foo fighters, & cave exploration)
  • Drone controller and sensor reader
  • Models for predicting the crop yield of tomato fields
  • Baby translator
  • Multilingual healthcare app
  • EDI integration
  • EDI integration II (Yes - twice! At the same company. What can I say, I'm a glutton for pain!)
  • QuickBooks desktop integration
  • QuickBooks RAG chatbot
  • Universal payment gateway integration (Went from months to a week to integrate with a payment gateway - 4 in total.)

I don't know how anyone can get bored of tech - it is the infinite playground.

Recent Writings

How Django Transactions Work: 3/3, PSQL Locks

This is the finale in a three-part series on how Django transactions work. I cover everything from the app and framework code all the way to the database layer.

How Django Transactions Work: 2/3, NEVER Put These in Transactions

Transactions are central to Django apps, but if you put the wrong code in transactions, you may cause an outage!

How Django Transactions Work: 1/3, Overview

Transactions are how Django manages all the DB operations that your app runs. Learn how to best use them and avoid costly mistakes.

Values

Aug 19th was the end of my four-year journey at Stitch Fix. From intern to senior software engineer and finally data platform engineer, I experienced a whirlwind of people, teams, and projects. I want to thank the countless people who helped me become a better engineer and person, specifically a handful of people who made all the difference.

Cameron Jacoby convinced me to intern there with the kindest and best interview I've ever experienced. She was patient and compassionate during the interview; from her, I learned that an interviewer was not a filter but a matchmaker looking out for the best interest of both the company and the candidate. She continued to offer me the same patience and compassion after I got hired.

After graduating college, the prospect of working under Nick Reavill's guidance and care convinced me to come back despite my lack of interest in retail. Nick taught me that an engineer's job is not merely to create what a stakeholder wants but to distill their needs into a viable, maintainable product. Nick empowered me to do that.

I survived the tumultuous first weeks despite an outage I caused and an unexpected deliverable because of my manager, Karena Lee's trust and confidence in me. And I thrived for the next two years under the mentorship of Jon Worek, who selflessly and without hesitation invested his time and energy in my success day after day, sprint after sprint. Whenever someone asks me for help, I remember Jon's generosity and say yes!

During the depth of a horrific project that tested my will to carry on and my passion, I relied on the kindness and consistency of teammates like David McClain, Tara Eckenrode Goff, and Jason Carr. Jason, who managed us during that project, showed me that leadership means doing what's best for your team no matter the professional cost to your career or the pressure from above - projects aren't engines to callously power with the lives and sacrifices of our teammates. At this point, I experienced the depth of the valleys at Stitch Fix, here Bruce Wong offered me a lifeline.

I've never learned so much from someone in so little time. Bruce showed me that software engineering is a political act. In a world of scarcity, what we build, when, and who builds it determines our future success and autonomy. It is the difference between a long career full of success and a short one full of disappointment.

All these people ended their StitchFix journies before mine, so I want to thank them here and publicly. Why? Because I've been doing interviews and essay reading for Code2040, and the applicants ask me what makes a great engineer and teammate. Not by accident, I found the answer in the company of my former teammates.

However, they are not just great engineers and managers but decent people. They are people of character, compassion, wisdom, and all those soft skills recruiters are looking for. This is what it looks like to live those values, and I am the benefactor and result. Thank you.

Contact Me

michael@mta.io | linkedin | github | gists