My name is Matt Williams — this is why I joined Aha!

Building vs. breaking down. Engineers get to do both. We spend a lot of time developing and delivering new features for customers. But behind those features are a number of decisions leading to what you see in front of you. We have to unpack nuanced problems, understand the constituent parts, and learn the edge cases before committing to a solution. This is true of even the simplest enhancements. And it is a process I enjoy.

It is satisfying to get to the heart of what customers need and decide the best and quickest way to deliver it to them.

I am based in the Bay Area. It was a good place to start my career — with plentiful software engineering roles, especially in the startup world. Joining early-stage companies was how I first gained experience as an engineer. The environment was energizing. Everyone was hands-on, focused on defining a core problem to solve and delivering an initial offering to customers.

The most impactful startup I joined developed VR devices for stroke rehabilitation patients. I worked on the drivers for their proprietary electromagnetic tracking system (the pieces that capture your body's movement in the VR program). It was a powerful product: The technology allowed patients to recover mobility faster than traditional physical therapy. And by gamifying the exercises, patients could have more fun.

Behind the product was an even more excellent team. It was apparent that its leadership genuinely believed in the company's vision and cared deeply about its customers. They refused the venture capital that was pumping into the VR industry, opting to work with trusted partners and angel investors instead. And we had opportunities to meet some of the patients using our devices. This commitment to core values permeated throughout the entire organization — everything we worked on felt meaningful.

Seeing how our product improved people's lives left a profound impact on me. It was inspiring to know that my work as an engineer can help make a difference.

The company was acquired about two years into my time there. This brought on a cultural shift, but I was also ready for a change of my own. Working in startups had been rewarding — the fast-paced, figure-it-out-yourself environment offered a great learning experience. And I wanted to maintain that closeness to the product. But I was curious about joining a more established engineering team and wanted to learn how development is done on a larger scale.

I first heard about Aha! via Hacker News. What drew me in was the company's history and learning that co-founders Brian de Haaff and Dr. Chris Waters had been bootstrapping the business for a decade. To me, this was a good sign that leadership was actively involved and connected to what everyone was building. I was also struck by the focus on product and customer love. In talking to the engineering team during the interview process, it was clear that those values ran deep.

Since joining Aha! two years ago, I have contributed to features across our entire product suite. But most recently, I have been working on the Aha! Whiteboards product team. Similar to developing a VR product, it is fun to think through how to build engaging, complex whiteboard features in a visual space (such as our responsive tables and wireframing tools). But most importantly, being part of a product team means I get to stay close to our vision and customer needs in everything I do.

Delivering something that will make someone's day better, in a big or small way, is the best feeling I get to experience in my role on the Aha! team.

I even enjoy being on our engineering support rotation for this reason. We all take turns solving support tickets for a week at a time. Some fixes are critical and some are minor. Either way, I enjoy breaking down problems to find the most effective solution that takes the least amount of effort.

Our team set a standard to resolve issues quickly. But this is all driven by the desire to make people happier. Deploying that fix or feature, seeing an uptick in usage, hearing positive feedback from satisfied customers — nothing beats it.

That is why I joined Aha! — and why you should too.