Lately, I’ve been the CTO at Limbr, working with amazing humans on building support systems for people’s mental health. I’ve loved being a part of the team, and working together to craft a wonderful product and culture, but it’s time for something new for me.

Previous to my time with Limbr, I’ve largely been a contractor focused on Ruby for over a decade. This has led to fantastic stints working with superb development teams across Melbourne (most recently Culture Amp, The Conversation, YourGrocer, and Moonshot Labs/Inspire9), along with others in Berlin (👋 Upstream) and Dublin (👋 Tito/Hypertiny).

And now? I’m taking a breather with a few weeks off, and then I’ll be actively considering new opportunities. Here’s some detail on what I’m looking for, both in terms of the work I’m keen to do, and the types of organisations I’m keen to be a part of. It may have ended up reading more like a CV than I’d aimed for… but I hope it’s enough to start some good conversations (my email address is pat@ at this domain - do get in touch).

First up, here’s a bunch of things I’d love to do - a role that combines a few of these would be ideal:

• I love writing Ruby code, particularly with a TDD/BDD mindset - and have done so for over a decade. I’m well-versed in Rails, but also very comfortable working outside of that.
• I’ve been building up my devops skills, and have really enjoyed setting out automated infrastructure with tools like Terraform and Packer.
• I’m keen to take on some level of leadership - both with a technical focus, but also with an impact on shaping/strengthening company culture.
• I love supporting junior developers, through pairing and mentoring, and get a kick out of seeing them grow and find their confidence.
• I greatly enjoy building tools for developers - whether that be through commercial projects such as Flying Sphinx), or by developing and supporting open-source libraries.

Beyond the technical skills covered briefly above, I feel I can also be quite good at the following:

• Actively listening with colleagues and customers, and responding with empathy.
• Finding consensus and shared understanding within organisation and project decisions.
• Handling remote working and the challenges that come with it, such as balancing time zones for meetings.
• Being welcoming and supportive of people from a broad range of cultures and backgrounds.

… okay, that’s about as much self-promotion as I can stand for now. But here are some notes on how I work and the types of organisations I’m eager to be a part of. Companies that can tick off some of these would be ideal:

• I’m open to being a employee or contractor.
• I’m particularly keen to work with organisations who are building products, rather than subcontracting or agency work.
• I live in Melbourne, Australia, but I’m open to remote roles (and even for local companies, flexibility of location is greatly preferred).
• I prefer to work with diverse and inclusive teams and organisations.
• I prefer to have four-day work weeks for a better balanced life.
• I’m not interested in working predominantly for equity.
• I’d love to work in companies that are making the world better.
• I want to work in companies that take a stand for a more compassionate and inclusive world, in both words and action.
• I prefer to work in companies that support me in being a part of the tech industry and community (through such things as attending, speaking at, and organising events).

If you know of something that could fit some (or even all!) of these criteria - whether it’s within your own company or elsewhere - do get in touch. My email address is pat@ at this domain, or reach out via Twitter.

I realise I’ve outlined a bunch of preferences, but I know no one place is going to have everything. Perhaps your approach to work and business is a little different? That’s fine, I’m keen to hear about new ideas and approaches! So please, if you’re unsure, err on the side of contacting me.

The same goes for anyone interested in the reasons behind my preferences here. I’ve aimed for being concise in this post, but I’m very happy to talk further about it all.

Lastly: any help with getting the word out that I’m job hunting is also appreciated! Thank you.