Life @ DoubleCloud as a Solutions Architect

Hi, my name’s Stefan and I’m one of DoubleCloud’s solution architects which means if you’re speaking with me you’ve probably got a complicated data problem that I’m trying to solve for you (I love a good puzzle!).

There must be something about working at a start-up as before I came to DoubleCloud last September there was quite a lot of consistency in the jobs I took.

I joined another start-up way back in 2008, helping it grow in the bid-managment and tracking sector.

I started there as a software developer but found out really early that I love working with databases (especially MySQL back in those days!). I ended up building entire data warehouses and infrastructure departments for them. By the time I left I was second in command to the CTO and the director of architecture, running a team of twenty five data engineers.

During that time the company merged with another and I was responsible for the entire integration of the tech departments.

However, I found I was missing working with huge amounts of data, getting hands on with problems which is how I ended up here at DoubleCloud.

Everyone here was extremely helpful during my onboarding, making me feel part of a team from the get go.

I was excited to join a start-up as I’d experienced that start-up spirit before and really missed it. I don’t like sitting in pointless meeting after pointless meeting (that easily could have been an email); I want to get my hands dirty and actually create something from scratch.

Which led quite naturally to DoubleCloud…

I get to build something of value again without having to worry about what each department is doing and what targets they need to hit for the quarterly reports.

In a startup all of the departments have to work together to reach the single goal of surviving, growing and succeeding.

Probably my favorite thing about working at DoubleCloud though is that I get to play all day with ClickHouse®.

I really, really, like working with that DBMS and the open source community around it that’s constantly growing and evolving.

I’m now part of a company that’s partly responsible for that growth and evolution and it feels great.

Aside from the actual product though, I really like the people.

We are (as of now) seventeen nationalities, based all over the globe (or the Disc for anyone interested in checking out my geek credentials) and are all working together as one team.

We’re all remote, meeting in shared offices or at events from time to time, so it really doesn’t matter where someone calls home. We all just enjoy our time together and it’s so lovely to get a glimpse of different cultures from around the world, all whilst still pursuing the same goals.

Outside of work I’m a father of two kids, both below five, so, as you can imagine, my free time is quite limited!

Being raised in Bavaria I love walking in nature (you can’t beat a Bavarian forest! Or to put it into our own words: “Du bringst an waidla ausm woid, oba an woid ned ausm waidla!”) but also like to relax by playing computer games (especially the old retro ones from the 80’s & 90’s) as well as building Lego sets with my wife.

And of course drinking a good (Bavarian) beer… that’s a must!

Finally, to finish this blog off, the marketing team asked me, If I could host a dinner party with three famous people, alive or dead, who would it be and why?

The first guest would have to be Friedrich Nietzsche as I’ve read all his books and would really love the chance to talk to him while he was still healthy and on top.

Second on the list would be Nicola Tesla as I’d love to meet the man everyone is talking about nowadays. I really want to see what he was like in person, if he really was as good as he seems to be.

Finally, the third guest I’d invite would be Carl Friedrich Gauss as during my time at university I loved the whole mathematics vibe and I think he’d make quite a good conversational partner, being from a time when an individual could still make such a big impact to mathematical history.

ClickHouse® is a trademark of ClickHouse, Inc. https://clickhouse.com