Shannon: Congratulations on your selection as this month’s Trintecher Spotlight! How long have you been at Trintech?

Matt: Thanks! I’ve been at Trintech a long time. I started over 11 years ago in an entry-level position in Dataflow Services, and I’ve moved around a lot since then. I went from that position into Support, then to Engineering, and now I’m on the Cloud team.

Shannon: Oh wow, you’ve worked in several different departments! So, what’s your story?

Matt: Yep, I’ve moved around a fair amount, but that’s one of the things I enjoy most about Trintech. They give you the opportunity to expand your skill set and try different jobs that interest you. There are great opportunities here, and you can definitely find something you enjoy. If you look around at all the people that have been here a long time – they’ve all been in multiple roles. I think almost everyone on the Cloud team started in other departments. Right now, I straddle the fence between working with DevOps and working the queue [Level 3 Support tickets]. However, I’m slowly transferring to a more Cloud-centered role, like several others on the team.

Shannon: DevOps? That stands for Development and Operations, right? What does that involve?

Matt: Right. For several years, I’ve managed all the internal servers that our Engineering team used.  We had over 80 VMs [virtual machines] that they used for product testing and development. I set up the Cadency environments and maintained them for Engineering and QA. I kept them updated so that they were testing on the latest code. And, if anyone has a problem with one of their environments, I would troubleshoot it for them. I have to get them back up and running as quickly as possible because their whole job depends on it.

Shannon: I bet that keeps you busy. And, you mentioned that you also work with the Level 3 Support tickets?

Matt: That’s correct. One aspect of our job is handling escalations from Support. If something isn’t quite right or a customer needs help, we have to figure it out. Sometimes it’s the environment –  I troubleshoot QA’s environments already, so I’m comfortable with that sort of thing. But, it could also be anything else. Knowing and understanding the software is a key aspect when working on these escalations. The other is trusting my team. I work with incredibly knowledgeable people that I learn from every day.

In addition, we also work closely with Professional Services on new implementations. We manage all of the production environments, maintenance and upgrades. We also provide custom tools that help other teams, especially Support and Professional Services, as well as provide reports that help the Sales and Finance teams.

Shannon: Sounds like you work well together. So… I’ve heard you’re a bit of a prankster.

Matt: Yeah, we’ve got a good team. We keep each other laughing. And, yes, there have been some pranks, but I’ve toned it down over the years. Once, I hid a co-worker’s phone in the ceiling and kept calling it. However, they got me back when I left my car keys on my desk. They moved my car to the roof of the parking garage in the summer heat. We’ve also painted “For Sale” on someone’s car window in shoe polish along with their cell phone number, hoping they’d get bombarded with inquiries.

Shannon: Oh my gosh, that’s hysterical. What about outside of work?  What do you do for fun?

Matt: I like to travel and I enjoy photography, so I try to combine them when I can.

Shannon: What was the last trip you took?

Matt: A few months ago, I went to Trintech’s London office to work for a few weeks. While I was there, I also traveled to France, Morocco and Slovenia. Slovenia was, by far, my favorite! I also took trips to New York City and New Orleans this year and I’m hoping to take one more before the year is up.

Shannon: Slovenia? That isn’t typically on the top-10 list of places to visit. Why Slovenia?

Matt: I’d seen pictures and it’s beautiful, so I’ve wanted to go there for several years now. I wanted to see it and take pictures of my own. It has a lot of outdoor attractions – rivers, mountains and lakes. Some of the lakes there are emerald green – you don’t see that here in the South. And everybody speaks English, so it’s very easy to travel there.

Shannon: Have you got a picture you can share?

Matt: Yes, this is Lake Bled. It has a castle on one side and a church on an island in the lake.

Shannon: Beautiful! So, Matt, one more question for you… You’ve been at Trintech for a long time. What keeps you here?

Matt: The people. And I love the variety I have in my job. Sometimes that includes late nights so that our Engineering, QA and Support teams can hit the ground running in the morning when they come in. People come to me for help automating a process, or they might have a server-related issue or a question about Cadency. There is a lot of variety and I enjoy all the different tasks I work on throughout my day. And, Trintechers appreciate what you do for them. People always bring me cookies as a thank you.

Shannon: You do always have cookies! But, you do share. Thanks for sharing your story with us as well.