Meet Rich Szeto, our new Senior User Experience Designer. He brings his artistic eye and fresh ideas to Socialtext, and we’re very excited to have him here.

What were you doing prior to joining Socialtext?

I was a Senior Designer at Rovi and worked on their site to create a more user-friendly experience.

What will you be doing for Socialtext?

I’ll be working with our Art Director to make Socialtext better for our users. I want the Socialtext experience to be cohesive, intuitive, and engaging, so I’ll be enhancing our designs to improve that experience.

What are 3 words you would use to describe yourself?

Creative, enthusiastic, and humble.

What do you do in your free time?

I try to balance my creative pursuits with more active ones. My hobbies include animation, game development, and creative writing, but you’re also likely to find me shooting hoops.

What gets you fired up about working for Socialtext?

Culturally, Socialtext is a great fit for me.  The people are friendly, dedicated, and passionate about the product. I’m excited to add my ideas to the team, have a positive impact on the user experience, and refine my craft.

 What are you most looking forward to at Socialtext?

I’m really looking forward to working with Mark Edelsberg, Socialtext’s Art Director. Mark has designed products I’ve worked with previously, so I welcome this opportunity to collaborate with him.

Meet Peter Smith, a new Support Engineer at Socialtext. This soccer-loving tech guy is eager to provide Socialtext users with solutions to any problems they may encounter.

What were you doing prior to joining Socialtext?

I worked as a Senior Online Communications Manager for an education software company called Expertus.

What will you be doing for Socialtext?

I will be providing top notch tech support to our customers. I feel pretty confident that this will be a great opportunity for me, because of my strong tech background, combined with my people skills.

What are 3 words you would use to describe yourself?

Passionate, passionate, and passionate. Really, I’m super passionate about my work and hobbies.

What do you do in your free time?

I’m really into soccer. I used to play often and now I’m excited about finding a new team to join. I’m also really interested in urban planning, biking, and kick scooters.

What gets you fired up about working for Socialtext?

Well, the easy commute is definitely a plus. But, really, I’m excited because everyone is really nice and there seems to be plenty of work for me to dive into. I love that feeling of accomplishment after completing a day filled with hard work.

What are you most looking forward to at Socialtext?

I’m really looking forward to working for a company that’s doing something interesting. Socialtext is in a unique industry and it’s exciting to be a part of it.

Meet Socialtext’s new Software Engineer, Tyler Kellogg. He is a coding machine whose upbeat personality keeps everyone thinking positively in the office. Tyler is excited to bring his experience and passion for engineering to Socialtext.

What were you doing prior to joining Socialtext?

I was working for E la Carte, a company that wants to have tablets on every restaurant table. It was a great opportunity to work on building hardware solutions from the ground up. Our tablets were called Presto, a solution to solve the ordering and payment problems at  restaurants.

What will you be doing for Socialtext?

Building software…and bringing boundless amounts of energy into the office.

What are 3 words you would use to describe yourself?

Disruptive, energetic, and positive.

What do you do in your free time?

Besides coding for open source projects? I’ve recently been enjoying the great outdoors. I can often be found running, biking, swimming, or backpacking. I backpacked through the West Coast Trail, which was a fun and memorable experience.

What gets you fired up about working for Socialtext?

I was really drawn to the company because of the people and technology. The people are smart and friendly, and it’s not everyday you get to work with someone who basically wrote Perl 6.

What are you most looking forward to at Socialtext?

I’m most excited about making an impact here…I’m not exactly sure how I’m going to do it, but there are so many opportunities that I know I’ll find a way!

Meet our new Senior Quality Assurance Engineer, Michael Larsen who is ramped up to ensure that our customers receive the very best products and features. And we literally mean ramped up maybe to level 11. This former 80′s hair band rocker has since acquired a long line of experience in this field that has given him the tools to trap the bugs before they are released and make the user experience roll like a ballad and at times an Indian Pow Wow. Since the beginning of his career he has become a full blown “Testhead,” teaching and sharing expertise inside the office and beyond. He is excited to bring his testing acumen to Socialtext and we can all attest to just how excited the team is to have him testing away.

What were you doing prior to joining Socialtext?

That depends on how far back you want to go (this could take awhile).

My story starts as an aspiring rock star in training in my late teens and early twenties, which corresponds to the late 80s and early 90s. I mention this because, in the process of performing with, promoting and managing a number of bands, most of my software and technical skills were developed here.

I discovered the Silicon Valley culture through an assignment from a temp agency. They sent me to Cisco Systems in March of 1991 when I was 23. My contract got picked up by the Release Engineering team, the division the software testers called home. I worked as a cable monkey to set up their various labs, and learned enough along the way to become their full time lab administrator. After a couple of years, the growing software testing group asked me to join their ranks, and so I did. Thus, I became a software tester and have been one ever since. I worked for a decade at Cisco Systems and then spent 2001 and beyond working for decidedly smaller companies, usually in the capacity of a “Lone Tester.” That often meant I was the only tester on a project, but more often it meant I was the only tester at a company.

I’ve tested switches, routers, network management apps and content delivery systems (Cisco Systems), virtualization software (Connectix), human capacitance touch devices (Synaptics), video games in all their various shapes and sizes (Konami Digital Entertainment America), immigration and employment law software (Tracker Corp), and a large entertainment portal to keep track of what you watch on TV (Sidereel). Through it all, I’ve had one common thread, and that is the fun of going through and finding what is not working in all of those environments, getting it fixed and keeping potentially irate customers happy when their experience is problem free.

What will you be doing for Socialtext?

Well, I can say what I won’t be doing (and I’m actually glad)… I won’t be a Lone Tester any longer. One of my goals was to work with a team of testers so we could learn from each other, mentor each other, cover more ground and develop more and better ideas than we would on our own. Along with that, I hope to bring a history and passion for software testing to Socialtext. I already know I have huge shoes to fill and expectations to meet based on good friends who are Socialtext alumni (Chris McMahon and Matt Heusser, respectively).

What are 3 words you would use to describe yourself?

Enthusiastic, engaged, high-spirited (I’m cheating, that’s four words, but I’m pulling a technicality with the hyphen).

What do you do in your free time?

I’m actively engaged with the broader software testing community, and have been for several years. This involves producing podcasts on testing topics, writing about and speaking about software testing (TESTHEAD is my software testing blog), and teaching/mentoring other testers (as well as being taught/mentored by other testers). Outside of software testing, I enjoy snowboarding, hiking, mountain bikes and Scouting. I’ve been a Boy Scout leader for nearly 20 years; my son is an Eagle Scout and my older daughter, who just turned 14, has joined Venturing. I’m also a big fan of Native American culture, especially Native American dance. The Stanford Pow Wow is a must attend event for me every year.

What’s has been the most fun moment working for Socialtext so far?

Diving in and learning as much as possible about the Socialtext product. Additionally, getting to work directly with Ken Pier (Sr. Director of Product Quality) has been a high point. Ken is a guy I’ve only heard stories about and interacted with socially for the past few years in the broader testing community. I’ve heard a number of software testers I respect say that Ken is a force of nature. I’ve now seen it first hand !

What gets you fired up about working for Socialtext?

“I guess you could say that I am having a Sy Sperling moment here… “I’m not just an employee, I’m also a client!” I’ve been actively using and working with Socialtext for the past several years. I worked with a number of software testers to write the book “How to Reduce the Cost of Software Testing.”

Where did we write, edit, and review the material to be included in the book? Socialtext!

Many of my blog posts have also been crafted and reviewed by other testers before publication on my blog here in the Socialtext wiki.

I interact with a number of people who, along with me, edit audio files so that they can be mixed down and published as podcasts. Where do we communicate and manage that work? If you were to say “Socialtext” you would be right again!

In short, I get to work with, influence and get deep into the guts of an app I already work with pretty extensively. Even with that, I’m still just scratching the surface of what the product can do, as has been amply demonstrated to me these past couple of weeks.

I’m fired up because I get to work on something that I use, and rely on, every day. To also see that Socialtext itself works the same way, and actually uses the product it creates, to perform and manage its work, is also awesome. It’s great to work with a company that does its best to practice what it preaches.

Mark Edelsberg has joined Socialtext as our new Art Director and the team couldn’t be happier. Over the coming months, Socialtext will be releasing great new features and improved functionality. In addition, Mark and his team will focus on creating a fantastic User Interface and innovative User Experience. Look for his new design elements as Socialtext brings our new offerings to light. The video below showcases his dedication. We think you will enjoy it.

What were you doing prior to joining Socialtext?

Prior to joining Socialtext I worked at Magnet Systems, another software company, just a few blocks away. I was designing their corporate website and developer’s portal as well as a variety of mobile applications for both phones and tablets across iOS and Android platforms.

What will you be doing for Socialtext?

Pretty much the same thing. Working on giving our look a new feel on all levels.

What are 3 words you would use to describe yourself

Obsequious, purple and clairvoyant.

What do you do in your free time?

I collect vintage electronics and I am working on a book about them. I’m also into doing home improvements, playing soccer, snowboarding, traveling, and hanging out with my 7 month-old daughter Anna while neglecting my dog, Lumpy.

What’s has been the most fun moment working for Socialtext so far?

Finding a 14-year-old bottle of scotch behind the file cabinet in my temporary cube. This intrigues me on many levels.

What gets you fired up about working for Socialtext?

As our new hire Eric Walmer sifts through analytical software and database query applications, we like it when he pops his head out below the cloud so we can give him a thumbs up. With such expert skills as his great ability to communicate in numbers, along with his business-savvy time management sensibilities, we are pleased to share a few more aspects about his life. We put him to the five question inquiry and he even went for the bonus round.

What were you doing prior to joining Socialtext?

I was a Business Analyst for EMC which is the market leader in the information storage industry with a revenue of 20 billion dollars in 2011. I supported reporting for Latin America, Federal, Channel and Inside Sales.

What will you be doing for Socialtext?

I am a Sr. Sales Operations Analyst. I will be putting sales activity reports together that allow the leadership council to make key business decisions. Sales activity reports that highlight opportunity conversion rates can keep our sales team on the right track.

What are 3 words you would use to describe yourself.

Energetic, Upbeat, Passionate.

What do you do in your free time?

I enjoy spending time with my family and friends. I also enjoy all types of movies, spending time with my dog who I consider a friend and participating in Swiss wrestling tournaments with my friends.

What’s has been the most fun moment working for Socialtext so far?

Jumping in to help resolve trial issues on my first day in the office.

What gets you fired up about working for Socialtext?

Meet Rashmi Menon, an outstanding addition to our software development staff who is having fun tinkering with all things product. With an impressive background in the IT world, we look forward to core product improvements and new product innovations.

What were you doing prior to joining Socialtext?

I have been in software development for the past twelve years. The majority of that time I spent working for a certain database company in Redwood City, California.

What will you be doing for Socialtext?

I will be mostly tinkering with code and involved in architecting the new and improved core product.

What are 3 words you would use to describe yourself.

Passionate, Positive, Paranoid (the last two cancel out each other – Oh well!).

What do you do in your free time?

Did I mention that I have two kids under the age seven? I enjoy spending time with my family! Free time is hard to come by. When the stars align and time actually frees up, I enjoy taking really long walks. Curling up on the couch with a book and a cup of coffee is something I love thinking about :).

What’s has been the most fun moment working for Socialtext so far?

It’s hard to name one moment. The whole ride has been fun so far. I am really loving the collaborative culture within the company (Soooo in line with the product we build).