1. Tell us about yourself!
I'm the Director of Platform Engineering here at Kitu, working on the support team of engineers that are focused on all aspects of the Kitu platform including the deployment, security, access, and reliability of our systems. I am originally from Huntsville, Alabama. Growing up, I was always fascinated with logic puzzles, so it was a natural progression that computing became a hobby early in my life. A pivotal moment for me was the introduction to Linux (an operating system) in the late 90's which opened a whole new world and catapulted me into what would become my career.
With these hobbies and interests, it was an easy decision to pursue a degree in computer science. Throughout my career, I've had the unique opportunity to work in a few very different industries including:
Now, at Kitu, I'm thrilled to say I get to bring a variety of skills to the energy space, where computers are being used to lay the foundation for intelligent, resilient, adaptive, efficient, scalable, and secure energy networks.
2. What is your history with Kitu?
I found Kitu shortly after moving to San Diego in the Fall of 2021. I was really drawn to their mission and excited to start as a Senior Site Reliability Engineer. My primary focus in this role was the operational health of cloud resources and IoT devices. In early 2022, I transitioned into a director role with a broader focus on platform engineering.
3. What has been the most fascinating or interesting project you have been a part of recently?
Working with our various product teams to improve application scalability in a cloud-native environment has been a very interesting project. This work required taking a new approach to how applications were being built and deployed and has laid the groundwork for future scalability. This project has provided the unique experience of working with cutting-edge technologies like Kubernetes and Istio, while also facilitating a deep-dive into the inner-workings of our application stack as well as specific protocol behavior for 2030.5 and OCPP.
4. How would you describe the company culture at Kitu?
Without trying to intentionally sound cheesy, I would describe the culture as electric! I feel like Kitu is extremely collaborative. We're not afraid to embrace new technologies and I really like that we have clear, company-level goals. Each team does a great job of working together and pushing us towards our goals. This approach has fostered a wonderful collaborative energy that makes Kitu a great place to work.
5. Do you have any advice for new professionals looking to enter the industry of the "electric ecosystem?"
I think anyone getting into this space should start with a decent understanding of industry specific standards such as IEEE 2030.5, UL 1741, OCPP, and California's Rule 21. I would also say it's important to learn "how to learn new things." This is such a fast-paced industry, and things are changing rapidly, so being able to pivot and adapt is really a key skill that can set you apart.
6. What are your goals for the future of Kitu?
Our goals for this upcoming year are to hit much larger scaling targets than we've done in the past. To achieve these, we will be conducting extensive testing to identify and remove application bottlenecks to achieve massive levels of scalability. This project will be pivotal to hitting our growth targets while also being a lot of fun in the process!
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