How long have you been at Atiba and what is your role?

I’ve been with Atiba for about two years now and I’m a senior engineer.

What is your favorite part about working at Atiba?

It may sound cliche, but I love the awesome people I work with. I also love being able to help someone improve their technology.

What is your favorite project so far?

My favorite project was helping a major retailer refresh their networks at thousands of locations across the country.

If you weren’t working at Atiba, what would you be doing?

I would definitely work as a college professor.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?

My favorite piece of advice comes from Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, “Always know where your towel is.”

If you were the world’s tech czar, what would you change?

I would make vendor interactions more open and interchangeable.

How long have you been at Atiba and what is your role?

I’ve been with Atiba for about one year and a half. I work as a software developer for our web team. I primarily work with WordPress websites.

What is your favorite part about working at Atiba?

I’ve got two favorite things. I love the flexible work option and remote when I need to (although my cats drive me crazy at home). I also like the ability to talk across teams to solve complicated problems.

What has been your favorite project so far?

We created a point-of-sale and online sales system, including advanced packing and shipping logistics for Mississippi State University.

What’s one thing most people don’t know about you?

I’m an avid sim racer! I actually just completed a 6-hour race with my brother and people from all over the world. It was a ton of fun.

What’s the best meal you’ve ever had?

As a splurge, my wife and I ate at a very fancy restaurant in Carmel, California on our honeymoon. We had the chef’s menu along with the sommelier’s menu. We still talk about that meal 20 years later.

What’s one celebrity you would like to give a high-five to?

Alan Tudyk for sure. But here in Nashville, we leave celebrities alone so they can enjoy their time here.

How long have you been with Atiba and what is your role?

I’ve been working with Atiba for two years now as a business intelligence developer.

What is your favorite part about working at Atiba?

My favorite part about working at Atiba is the great work culture and community despite being a distributed workforce. Also, for me at least, most of my clients have been smaller companies and have been a pleasure to work with.

What motivates you to wake up and go to work?

I really enjoy problem-solving and getting the chance to learn new technologies. I frequently have conversations with new clients where I describe an approach to their current problem, which was something that I just learned for the first time when working with a different client on a previous project.

What has been your favorite project so far?

My favorite project was when I created a reporting process from the ground up for a healthcare startup. Since they are still figuring out how to run their business I have never been told “this is the way we’ve always done things.” They have been very flexible in doing things as recommended.

What’s your home office like?

My home office is decked out with board games, books, plushies, diplomas, and a little bit of random art. My board game collection is probably the geekiest thing about me too.

You’ve been handed a million dollars but you have to spend it all by the end of the day. What do you do?

Assuming investments don’t count, I would buy a fleet of vintage cars and a warehouse to store them in. It’s likely the value of the cars would increase over time.

How long have you been with Atiba and what is your role?

I’ve been with Atiba for almost five years and serve as a Team Lead and Lead Developer in our custom software group.

What is your favorite part about working at Atiba?

Being new to the field, I wanted my first software gig to be a consulting company to get as much exposure to the “tech business” as possible. Atiba has fulfilled my expectations in every regard from working with the full gamut of software technologies, helping clients see their visions become reality, and getting to learn from, grow, and work with incredible talent every day.

What motivates you to wake up and go to work?

Besides my mortgage, it’s the need to rise to a challenge. Software is one of the most unique environments I’ve worked in as I’ve never been faced with the same problem twice. Waking up each day I know I’ll have to help find the solution to an unknown issue, continue to set the bar higher, and end up accomplishing more than I thought I was capable of.

What is something most people don’t know about you?

I am and always have been afraid of heights, yet proposed to my wife after jumping out of an airplane. I’m still afraid of heights.

What’s one movie quote that you always use?

“I’ll be back” – used most often to ensure dinner guests that I do, in fact, intend to return from a mid-meal trip to the restroom.

What was the best vacation you ever took?

My best vacation has to be the surprise birthday trip my wife (then fiancée) planned to New Orleans for my 30th birthday. Over a long weekend, we lodged in the heart of the French quarter at Bienville house, had fresh beignets and coffee at Café du Monde, toured the bayou, had a jazz quartet sing me happy birthday at the Court of the Three Sisters, enjoyed a Sunday brunch Steamboat Jazz cruise up and down the Mississippi, and so many other incredible memories I haven’t mentioned, but will never forget.

What led you to get into your work today?

I came to Nashville with a background in electrical engineering and enthusiasm for music and wanted to get into the recording scene. After a few months of waiting tables and pursuing internship opportunities with local studios, I hooked up with a local metal band playing bass. The lead singer happened to be a data analyst (guru) for Change Healthcare at the time and told me I needed to reconsider what I was doing in Nashville. After putting me in front of some incredible people to illustrate his point, I got turned on to the idea of software development. After falling in love with the Nashville tech community and a rigorous tenure at Nashville Software School, I ended up at Atiba and have been here ever since.

How long have you been with Atiba and what is your role?

I’ve been part of the Atiba team for 14 years. I have had many different roles at Atiba, but I am currently Lead Developer and Team Lead on the Custom Software side of the house.

What is your favorite part about working at Atiba?

I’m a sucker for knowledge and consulting gives me the opportunity to be exposed to so much knowledge outside of just software development. I can find out how a boiler works, how stress on certain metals can be measured, or how a warehouse can be organized to make it most efficient.

What motivates you to wake up and go to work?

The interesting challenges I may face and hopefully solve that day.

What’s your proudest accomplishment so far?

I recently earned my 3rd-degree black belt in Taekwondo. It was a big undertaking and I’m grateful I had the opportunity to continue my training.

What led you to get into your work today?

I graduated from college with a BFA in Graphic Design which led me to design websites. The business units started wanting the designs to be more interactive before they signed off for the development team to build out. That required me to utilize Javascript and even a little classic ASP which was my first introduction to coding and I loved it.

Are you a morning or evening person, why?

I am definitely a morning person. I love watching the sunrise and feeling the calmness of a new day starting.

If you could high-five one celebrity, who would it be?

No question it would be Sarah Michelle Gellar. I’m a huge BTVS fan!

He’s been with Atiba for a long time and had several roles with the company, but we’re still looking for a way to use his secret skill. Let’s get to know Andrew!

How Long have you been with Atiba and what’s your role?

in 2011 I started as a desktop support tech. I then worked as a network admin. Currently, I’m the Team Lead for Network Services. In that role, I handle a wide variety of duties. I’m responsible for relationships with clients, managing a team of 9 techs & engineers, project management, onboarding new network services clients, and assisting in scoping projects. 

What is your favorite part about working at Atiba?  

My favorite aspect of working at Atiba is flexibility. I’m able to be at kids’ events and work around life. 

What motivates you to wake up and go to work? 

My family. I have 3 kids – a 7-year-old girl, a 4-year-old boy, and a 6-month-old boy. 

What’s your go-to snack during the day? 

I always reach for green tea. I try to be healthy & make good choices.  

What’s your home office like? 

I actually have an office built out in the garage. It’s separate from the rest of the house – 10 x 10 space with a standing desk. It’s great to have a quiet area to work away from the family noise. 

Is there a secret skill you have? 

I can juggle. 

With three kids it sounds like you’d have to be able to juggle! Thanks so much to Andrew for sitting down with us for this week’s employee spotlight.

How long have you been with Atiba and what is your role? 

I worked as outside counsel for Atiba for 10 years and have been in-house since July of 2019. I currently serve as the Chief Legal Counsel and the Chief Strategy Officer. 

What is your favorite part about working at Atiba? 

It would have to be the people. It’s hard to work with a company for a long time if it does not have great people. Atiba really does consist of some of the best people I have ever had the privilege of working with. 

What motivates you to wake up and go to work?

I left the practice of law because I did not feel challenged in my area of specialty. This made it difficult to get motivated to head into the office every day. Atiba, on the other hand, provides me with diverse challenges on a daily basis. A company with a nearly 30-year track history that still has room to grow is exciting and challenging at the same time. For me personally, that is the combination that I enjoy. 

What is something most people don’t know about you? 

That in July 2013- July 2014 I completed 52 triathlons in 52 weeks for a local charity…all with my wife and newborn first child packed into a small motorhome. 

What’s the best home-cooked meal you can make? 

I make a mean Bananas Foster.

Are you a morning or evening person, why? 

I am definitely a morning person. By about 8:30 PM I am wiped and looking for the bed. I naturally wake up early, so I like to get in my exercise and get the day started.