Stopping by because you heard there’s a job opening? Click here.
“Hey, I know Gina…why is she posting this manager-y stuff?” Click here.
Step, Ball, Change
Well whaddya know…my business card says “manager” on it.
That happened at the end of 2015. But the story starts a little before that.
Once upon a time (or 5.7 years ago, but that’s less lyrical), I threw my hat in to help with this “SQL Saturday” that was going to happen in Madison. I’d never been to one, but this dynamic group of people was looking for help coordinating volunteers.
So I helped.
And I got hooked.
And then there was a tweet about a job from one of the SQL Saturday Madison organizers, Steve Novoselac.
So I applied and joined Trek. And my #msbi world expanded like a supernova. The pulse and pace of the work was like nothing I’d ever experienced, and I learned every minute of every day.
In 2013, Jes Borland tapped my shoulder and asked me to co-chair the SQL Saturday Madison committee. It’s a whole other universe to be in charge, and I learned a great deal from working with her that year. Apparently I did a decent enough job that I got to take the reins completely in 2014, 2015, and am reprising that role again this year. I’ve been gob-smacked by the work of each iteration of the SQL Saturday Madison committee, and am humbled by the successful events we’ve pulled off.
Why why is #sqlsatMadison and the #sqlpass community so prominently featured in my career narrative? Wasn’t this post about a business card or something?
A few days prior to SQL Saturday Madison 2015, I summoned the courage to ask about another job, one with the potential for more responsibility and bridging between #msbi and software development in general. BCycle was looking for a ScrumMaster for their software development team. I’d worked with BCycle’s data before, as they are a subsidiary of Trek, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I loved more than just their data. Their vibe, their mission, and their team had gotten under my skin. If I’d never worked on SQL Saturdays or MADPASS, I’d have never had the courage or the experience to think I could make that step up.
Luckily, BCycle had enough faith in me to give me a chance. About 15 minutes after SQL Saturday Madison 2015 ended, I became a full member of the BCycle family.
My committee chair skills stood me in good stead as a new ScrumMaster, and I’d also had the great fortune to learn from a true master, John Seiler, before he was snatched from the world too soon. I spent the rest of 2015 learning about the astonishing technology ecosystem that powers BCycle: RFID readers to cellular communications, payment processing and NFC readers, content management platforms to mobile apps. And at the heart of all of that technology was the most joyful vending machine in the world, a BCycle kiosk. Ding, you get a bike to ride! It’s stable and sturdy and wants you to have a lovely roll along through town. And when you’re done, give it back – we like to share after all.
But wait, that’s not quite it. At the true heart of it, there’s the BCycle team: a band of fiercely dedicated yet remarkably kind people that throw themselves into making communities better through bike share. As each sprint ticked by, I grabbed a hold of that BCycle energy and threw my heart into helping the software team however I could. Sometimes I got to “go play data”, sometimes I had to figure out how to get 10 lbs of development work into a 5 lb sprint sack.
And then, like in some Jimmy Stewart movie, the hard work paid off. I got to step up to another new role: IT Manager for BCycle. Now I have the great honor to spend my days helping the whole team. One sprint at a time, they’re achieving great stuff with a full stack of code and computing power. As our president Bob Burns likes to say, there’s “lots going on”, and while I still get to “go play data” now & again, I’m learning a whole new set of skills so that I can take care of them with everything I’ve got. The best realization I’ve had so far is that nothing, absolutely nothing compares to working on technology that serves a mission you love. I care deeply about what BCycle is doing for each community we serve, and I’m so proud to be a part of the team.
Is there a SQL Saturday session from all this? I don’t know. But if it wasn’t for SQL Saturday and all I’ve learned from my #sqlfamily, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
Want to work with the BCycle team? Keep reading!
BCycle .NET Developer Position
Who Are We Looking for?
A .NET developer that likes working with a full stack of technology that’s evolving all the time. The BCycle IT team provides both SaaS and PaaS to our customers via solutions built on the Microsoft technology stack: MS SQL Server DB & BI, ASP.NET, MVC. We’re growing into the AWS sphere as well. And if you like data-focused software development, you’ve got to check us out. Our BCycle operators are hungry for better ways to understand their riders and their systems, so we love developers who love data puzzles.
Where Are We Looking?
We’d love to hire in the Madison WI area, but we’re big supporters of remote developers, too! If you’ve got a contact in any one of our 41 BCycle cities like Indianapolis, Nashville, Austin, Denver and soon LA and Las Vegas, let’s talk!
Why BCycle?
Bike share systems are changing the face of communities around the world.
BCycle, LLC brings Trek’s soul-deep love and knowledge of bicycling to help cities solve their transit problems and make their communities better places to live and work. But it’s not just about the bikes, it’s about the technology that makes bike share a genuine problem-solver. We create the Azure infrastructure, websites, payment integrations, mobile apps, web services, and station client software that is changing the transit landscape for the better. Our software team gets to work with partners outside our walls, too – check out our support of a national standard that could put bike share on all the big digital maps.
BCycle is dedicated to the future of shared mobility, and our geeks love being at the heart of that future.
Gina Meronek 