Employee Spotlight: Sam, Software Development Manager
At Barn2Door, we’re proud to provide software exclusively dedicated to helping Farmers grow and manage their direct sales. We are also delighted to attract people to Barn2Door who have a passion to commit their professional growth and development to helping Farmers!
We recently sat down with Sam, a hardworking individual whose original code laid the foundation for the software our Farmers enjoy today. In this edition of our Employee Spotlight series, we’ll learn more about Sam’s journey, how he develops our Farmer-first software, and what advice he has for people interested in joining our growing team.
If you want to listen to Sam’s entire Employee Spotlight interview, you can find it on the Direct Farm Podcast.
Sam joined Barn2Door in 2017. Studying Human-Centered Design and Engineering in college, his passion for Farmer-first software is evident in his daily work. Starting as an intern, he has risen to become a Software Development Manager. In his role, Sam oversees a team of Engineers responsible for building and improving software to help Farmers build a thriving direct-to-market business.
How has Barn2Door changed in 4 years?
Back when I started, it was me, one other intern, and the CEO, Janelle Maiocco. I’d go to Janelle’s house and code in her basement. Now, Barn2Door is much larger - employing almost 100 people. We have different departments, multiple leaders and a real office!
What are your day-to-day responsibilities?
My primary role as a Software Development Manager is making sure the engineering team can build out features and work without any issues. That requires daily meetings to make sure they can reach deadlines and understand what they're doing.
What are the biggest challenges you face in your role?
Time management. To help Farms reach their full potential, we can be working on anywhere between 1 and 10 features simultaneously. A part of my job is to understand what everyone is working on well enough to ensure that they know how to complete their projects.
What distinguishes Barn2Door from anywhere else you’ve worked?
The biggest difference is the ownership of the work that you're doing. At Barn2Door, you own a feature that you’re working on from beginning to end. At other organizations, it can take four departments to do what one person on our team does. We really have to think about what type of product the Farmer is selling. And, given that we serve 1000’s of Farmers, the needs of specific Farmers and Products can differ significantly. Our platform has to work best for all of them, not just a single-use case!
How would you describe the culture at Barn2Door?
Everyone that works here has to wear many hats, often performing tasks they haven’t done before - in a collective effort to help Farmers succeed. One of our core values is Hungry - we keep moving forward and are always trying to do better. Seeing how the company has grown - from taking three people working in a basement to working in an office - it’s great to see it happen in real-time!
What is one piece of advice you’d give someone looking to join Barn2Door?
If you’re thinking about applying, just apply. There are many opportunities at Barn2Door. If you are curious and like learning, then you’ll learn a lot at Barn2Door! We’re always seeking to add more people to our team. There is no shortage of growth opportunities at Barn2Door.
Join Barn2Door
Come work with Sam! We’re looking for people passionate about the intersection of food, agriculture, and technology.
See current openings that we’re looking to fill, and listen to The Direct Farm Podcast to learn more about the inspiring people who are changing the world at Barn2Door.