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With a passion for music, Jeff always plays high notes in his role as our Customer Technical Support expert. When he’s not at work, you can find him creating music with his guitar, bass, drums, and keyboard, or listening to music including Indie—anything with interesting chord shapes (Altin Gün, anyone?)

When asked about his favorite part about his role, he shared that hands-down, it was learning new things with super-talented folks. (We feel the same about you, Jeff!)

5 Jeff-Takes 

What’s a favorite quote that resonates with you? It has to be this Calvin & Hobbes comic strip exchange:

CALVIN:

“Isn't it strange that evolution would give us a sense of humor?

When you think about it, it's weird that we have a physiological response to absurdity. We laugh at nonsense. We like it. We think it's funny.  

Don't you think it's odd that we appreciate absurdity? Why would we develop that way? How does it benefit us?”

HOBBES:

“I suppose if we couldn't laugh at the things that don't make sense, we couldn't react to a lot of life.”

-Bill Watterson

What’s your superpower/skill that people may not know? I can drive forever! Easily 12 -14 hours as long as I have coffee + cruise control. There’s something relaxing about counting mile markers.  

Who is somebody that influenced you, to be who you are now? Joel Smith. He was my philosophy advisor at Skidmore. I thought of myself as a decent student before, but he really kicked my butt into gear. He pushed me on how to nurture and create my ideas—something that influences me still today.

If you could be famous for something, what would it be? It would probably be voice-acting. Something like a story-driven podcast leaning toward the unusual or obscure side. I’m more comfortable behind-the-scenes though I’ve done stage acting before.  

What’s something you’re extremely proud/passionate about? Any time that I face my fears. E.g., I’m terribly afraid of heights. Once we were driving in the Andes (sometimes roads are paved, sometimes...not) and my Dad suddenly pulled over and said, “Drive.” I remember thinking it was not-so-nice then, but quickly understood why he did: Giving me control of the car gave me more agency and now whenever I face a fear, I know I can navigate myself through the situation. Fast-forward to present, one of my hobbies is now rock climbing. 

We have to ask: Why ‘Nungus’ to the dictionary; what does it mean? Basically it’s when someone/something is acting weird, in a playful way, and was inspired by our cat, Masha. Whenever she’s on catnip, she makes a sound like ‘NUNGUS’! 

We’re so lucky to have Jeff making MachineMetrics a nungus place to be!

Sahar focuses on experiences in life—making her an ideal partner to our customers’ experience! As our uber-talented Product Designer, her eye to detail enriches everything she touches. Focused on training materials at the time, she said, “If it’s not a pdf, I can’t see it!”

For her, the best parts about working at MachineMetrics are both the continuous ideation of our product and collaboration with the team.

5 Sahar-Takes

What moves you? Gets the fire in your belly? I always want to be building something enterprising—results that illustrate both initiative and resourcefulness. Being around creative people, art, and design is really meaningful to me. A related segue, I like gaming in my spare time and the games I like are narrative-based games, where I can explore, appreciate the creativity, and feel peaceful; think: No Man’s Sky.

You’ve been traveling! How did you come to Boston? School brought me here. I was in Louisiana for 2 ½ years. We had a great network of friends there—every week we’d meet to have conversations in English. Then, I got an internship in Boston. For one semester, I was an adjunct professor at Lasell University (Newton MA), teaching 3-D design to graphic design students (I enjoy teaching!), and like to spend my time exploring on bike, kayak, or car.

If you could be famous for something, what would it be? Good question: Do I want to be famous?

Who is somebody that influenced you, to be who you are now? Thinking about how far away I am from home, I would say that it’s my Dad. He’s always been supportive of me and my passions in everything, whether it was my education, career choice, or travel. There’s a lot of emphasis in the extended family to focus on the field of medicine and engineering but my Dad told me to follow my aspirations. (Side bar, talking about home makes me think of my favorite food that’s hard to get here, kashke bademjan *feels nostalgic*)

If you could give “10-years-ago-you” some advice, what would it be? Everything is going to come at the right moment. Trust it. I used to try to rush to the result but now I really enjoy the journey.

Though we know Sahar isn’t concerned about being famous, she’s definitely a star in our eyes!

There’s a reason why his role is ‘Full Stack’ Software Engineer. Paul easily transitions to the front of the front-end (is that a phrase?) and the back-end of the front-end (getting meta over here.) WE know it’s because of his endless curiosity.

What makes MachineMetrics the place to be for Paul? Without hesitation, he said “Honestly, I was really impressed how helpful everyone is”. Paul joined MM as the world entered a difficult time, yet he felt—and continues to feel—supported by fellow MMers. For him, the only difference from when he started to now is that the questions are more complex!

5 Paul-Takes

What would you like to see the company doing? I think about the present and future, not just from my own role-perspective but at a larger scale: What’s next for MachineMetrics? We’ve proven ourselves—that we deliver for customers. I really appreciate the transparency that we embody, whether related to our next series raise or vision for the future. Something that resonates with me is that MM is not a gamble, instead we’re an investment for all stakeholders—customers, employees, and investors alike.

If money was not a consideration, how would you spend your days?In my free time, I write code and would definitely spend more time in my garage and develop video games. I also have a custom 1979 Suzuki GS750 motorcycle and like to spend my time tinkering on it. I’ve been riding since my early 20’s which was heavily influenced by the fact that I was living in countries like India and Cambodia—where getting around on something small was important.

What is something about you that other people may not know? When I was teaching English in Cambodia, I started creating free code via an app to support students and teachers, which soon developed into its own Android app. Even now, two years later, the Android app, EZ Grader (icon is an apple with a pencil) has an average of over 5K monthly users. People continue to review it too (!)

If you could only eat one specific meal forever, what would it be? Lobster. We made it a point to have lobster at least once a year in my family, although I wonder if it was the lobster or the butter that I liked most? Earlier, you asked me about pet peeves and related to food, I can’t handle the sound of chewing. I leave the room before I become irrational lol

Who is somebody that influenced you, to be who you are now? My parents and I are super-close. Honest, hardworking, perfect— I really got lucky with them. From an external standpoint, when I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, I read Elon Musk’s biography and felt energized and ready to do more—which aligns with a favorite time in my life when I was teaching all day until 5pm, then coding until 11pm every night—I loved it.

Paul is a force, exemplifying our Core Value: Continuous Improvement is in our DNA. “Transformers, ROLL OUT!”