Meedan is excited to have Martin Peck on board as our Systems Engineer! As Meedan’s software development and IT operations grow, Martin will ensure that all systems are truly go. Learn more about him in the short Q&A below.

1. What has been your experience before you joined Meedan?

I have worked in a number of industries, including telecommunications, healthcare, even mobile gaming! Being a part of businesses large and small has taught me that I especially enjoy the challenges associated with younger companies developing new technologies.

While I started off in software development, over the years I have applied these skills toward test automation and high performance computing, systems and application security, and technical operations.

I find that DevOps utilizes a number of these interdisciplinary talents, and these experiences in turn make me a more effective operations engineer.

2. Tell us about an exciting and insightful experience that has shaped your perspective and work.

A few years ago I travelled to Sierra Leone to study their aid benefit programs and technical solutions for the Ebola crisis. It was a real eye opener for me to see how lack of infrastructure and technical literacy complicated efforts to build functional and accessible technology.

3. What is the DevOps ecosystem like in the southwest? What are the strengths and what gaps do you see?

I live in the northwest corner of Phoenix, Arizona. My parents grew up here, and when they were young this was all farmland.

Over the past decade technology employment has really grown, and there is a healthy tech scene in the city. The diversity of talent here is a strength, but the rapid growth has also left businesses struggling to find people with the right skills.

With Intel and TSMC building new chip fabs here, I expect this talent crunch to continue. The governor of Arizona recently announced a collaboration among government, industry, and academia to bolster Arizona’s workforce called Drive48 which will help educate and train people for these careers.

4. What brought you to Meedan?

A friend referred me to Meedan, and I was impressed with the positive social mission behind the company. As I get older, meaningful work is more and more important to me, and I appreciate that my efforts at Meedan contribute to a better world. :)

5. What’s a project you’re excited about right now?

It’s not public yet, but there are some developments which will greatly scale up Meedan’s services and infrastructure. The challenges associated with deploying new features and scaling them up are both interesting and rewarding!

Another aspect of my work involves securing the applications and systems used by Meedan. Information security is a complex and dynamic field; I enjoy that the challenges never end. It has been enlightening and fulfilling to tackle these issues for Meedan.

6. Tell us some fun facts about Martin.

• Many years ago I learned to code PASCAL on an IBM PC compatible my dad used for work. It had a TURBO button that boosted the CPU to 12Mhz!
• My wife and I raised horses, goats, and chickens on a farm in Oregon for 13 years. I miss the animals, but I don’t miss mucking stalls or bucking hay bales.
• When I was young and invincible I loved to free climb in Eldorado Canyon, Colorado. I still enjoy rappelling (with a rope) :)