My Name Is Zach Schneider — This Is Why I Joined Aha!
July 1, 2015

My Name Is Zach Schneider — This Is Why I Joined Aha!

by Why I Joined Aha!

I have a chronic problem with boredom. In life, I always charge forward through each class, job, and side project. I rarely find anything to keep my attention for more than a few weeks.

I have worked on a wide variety of products as a web developer at successful consultancy firms — yet each time I grew tired of shuffling from one generic project to the next. I was constantly yearning for more.

As my graduation from Southern Illinois University approached, I found myself seeking a job that I could really sink my teeth into. But that was not all — I also knew I needed a company that was committed to growing itself. I was an engineer who was well aware of stretch areas where I wanted to improve.

Then it happened. I realized that I had found the best way to achieve this goal.

It was not enough to think about which job I wanted. I needed to ask which kind of company offered me the most long term growth potential. I knew I needed to learn from the best.

I discovered Aha! without looking. I found a post on Hacker News and was hooked by what I read. Many young companies claim to be market-defining, fast-paced, and on the cutting edge of what technology makes possible. Aha! was the first company I found to actually meet each of those descriptions.

I applied to see what would come of it and was thrilled to hear back shortly after. I spent time speaking with each of the co-founders and instantly clicked with them. I knew from our discussions that Aha! is led by a team of alpha engineers who would challenge me. These conversations reaffirmed my passion to join their work.

It is equally important to admire how your team collaborates — not just what they build. It was clear to me that Aha! is not simply about innovating product management — they are changing the way companies are built.

Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.” Steve Jobs’ immortal words proved to be true for me. I accepted an offer to work with Aha! and started on the job exactly one week after I sent my first introductory email.

Aha! is the first company I’ve ever worked where I am excited to start working each day. I get to work at a fast pace building out new and useful features for our customers on our Rails, CoffeeScript, and Faye stack.

The whole team at Aha! is driven towards excellence – it’s impossible to be bored surrounded by a group of brilliant engineers who always push the limits of what is possible. And as a fully remote company, Aha! lets me work where I work best — which, for me, happens to be a handful of coffee shops in southern Illinois.

I am loving my time at Aha! We are growing at a breakneck pace yet manage to maintain the same culture that first moved me.

The best news of all? We want to hire you, too.

Are you seeking a career-defining opportunity to write Rails for a dynamic engineering team that serves thousands of customers? Check out the careers page for our current openings and join me.

That is why I joined Aha! — and why you should too.