Before joining Stackery, I spent 10 years as a frontend engineer at digital agencies, building a spectrum of client projects. Though the work was challenging, I was exhausted and unfulfilled by rushed project cycles, marathon meetings, and disposable output. Fortunately, what I needed to do finally became clear: quit.

It was time for some serious self-care and to journey into unchartered waters. Identifying positive and negative work experiences shed light on new goals and priorities. I would find a small and focused product team -- building tools that serve real needs, with talented and inclusive people who enjoy their work and their lives.

After some introspective time off to renew my focus, I moved to Portland and discovered Stackery.

I joined Stackery in September 2017 as the fifth team member. Right away, I was contributing substantially to the codebase and sharing significant ownership of the first release. Trust and transparency were paramount from day one, as I began making sweeping functional changes and architecture decisions.

Our team has doubled since then and we continue to operate with a lean and autonomous approach -- powered by the mantra: "Ask for forgiveness, not permission" (thank you Grace Hopper). We begin each week with a planning meeting to define features, fixes, and improvements -- then we get to work solving challenging problems and building functionality. By mid-week, we check-in to discuss progress, set backs, and discoveries. On Friday afternoon, we have informal demos and share our collective progress to cap-off the week.

Encouraging a healthy work life balance is important to Stackery's culture. I have experienced the pervasive expectations entrenched in tech culture that violate work-life balance -- resulting in self-neglect and diminished quality of life. Our team discourages overwork and behaviors that result in burn out. The leadership at Stackery have established policies and practices to support harmonious, healthy lives. We have the freedom to adjust our workday, work from home, and take time off as needed -- a formula that fuels our best work.

Meaningful work, shared ownership, and work-life balance have been critical to restoring energy and purpose in my career. In making the leap from client-driven work to a startup, I discovered that these are the elements I need to thrive professionally. If our work and environment appeal to you, we're hiring!