Joe

I've loved working with computers ever since writing my first BASIC program for the HP 9830A. (4K RAM, 1 line LED display - state of the art!) I studied computer science at University of Waterloo and MIT, and have worked in the software industry for over 15 years on diverse projects including computer music synthesis, supply chain management, and financial software - with an interlude during the dot-com years to start and sell a Linux server software company.

I think of programming as an art similar to writing. Every author has a unique style, and the fun lies both in the creative act of writing code, and in appreciating and building on the work of other great programmers. I'm also interested in food, music, and many other things - but the common thread is always seeing people combine raw materials, insight, and skill to create things. When I'm watching TV I can't resist The Apprentice, Project Runway, and of course Iron Chef.

I’ve worked at Lab49 for over two years. I enjoy it here because I'm surrounded by like-minded, talented, nice people. We get huge amounts of responsibility, exposure to real-world customer problems, and opportunities for personal and career advancement. It's still small enough to feel like a startup company (although growing rapidly), and there is plenty of room for creativity helping to build Lab49 as a business.

When I’m not working, I love to travel. I've worked in Paris, lived in Beijing, and had things stolen from me in Spain.

David

I studied Computer Science after working as an assembly language programmer for several years. After completing my degree, I moved to the Computer Aided Software Engineering sector, where I worked to develop software methods and support tools. While there I was involved in client, server and database development.

I then moved into the financial. I worked on front office trading, trend analysis, and I was the lead on one part of the LIFFE Connect trading platform. After nine years in the city, I took a leap into the darkness to work in the media sector. I was attracted by the prospect of building large custom computing grids and media frameworks. I then went on to work for BBC News as Lead Architect for a system controlling and managing all video, audio and metadata in a workflow for all BBC News outlets.

I came to Lab49 because I felt it was a company that I could both contribute to and learn from. I also knew some of the employees from previous roles.

I have always been a C++ programmer but, I became involved in Java pretty early in it history and have used it sporadically ever since. I have been getting into .NET programming over the last 3 years.

For hobbies I struggle to keep fit. I’m the guy in the gym wondering how far it is to the pub!

Jason

I studied computer science and economics at Northwestern University. Before joining the team at Lab49, I spent five years at a Big 5 consulting firm developing enterprise Java apps. I am currently a Senior Engineer working on trading apps revolving around CDOs and ABSs with Adobe Flex, Ajax, .NET, Apache and Perl.

When asked why I joined the team at Lab49, I reflected on my previous projects. One project was 3 years long and I worked under a brilliant French architect, the guy who I consider my mentor. Even at a large company of several thousand consultants, people like him were few and far between. When I interviewed and met people from Lab49, it became clear that everyone at the company was like him, an entire company of the smartest people I'd ever been around. I wanted to surround myself with those people.

My hobbies include playing drums and shred guitar, seeing live music, following commercial aviation, cooking Chinese and Indian food, baking cheesecakes and reading.

Steve

I have been at Lab49 since July, 2006. I was initially drawn to Lab49 because of its focus on technical expertise and the variety of opportunities to apply those skills in consulting.

I previously worked at a large consultancy before moving into academia for a few years. While there I worked on a 3 year pan-European multimedia framework project using SGML and C++ and gained a solid grounding in OO development.

For the past 12 years, I’ve focused my career in financial services and investment banking. Here my main technical focus has been on Java--everything from client-facing web applications and Swing trading applications to STP messaging-based systems.

In my free time, I enjoy surfing (there are indeed waves to be found in the UK), running and sleeping. I am a secret fan of Doctor Who, and I have kids as an excuse to watch it again.