After five incredible years, I’m moving on from Automattic. It’s been absolutely class.
I started working on WordPress.com, which was a brilliant introduction to the company. After a year, I moved to WooCommerce and never looked back. Over the next five years, I bounced between five different teams, each one giving me the chance to work with people who are genuinely passionate, ridiculously talented, and absolutely hilarious (whether they meant to be or not).
What i’m taking with me
I’ve worked on some interesting projects during my time here—some challenging ones too, and I’m dead proud of what we’ve achieved. But honestly, the biggest thing I’m taking away is what I’ve learned from being surrounded by people who are just… better at this than me. They’ve made me better at what I do, and I’m grateful for that.
The technical skills, the product thinking, the engineering practices. I’ve learned so much from teammates who struck the perfect balance between innovation and implementation. People who could transform complex problems into elegant solutions, who never made me feel like taking their time was a problem even when their plates were full.
The meetups
And the meetups. Bloody hell, the meetups. I have never (and I mean never) laughed so hard in my life. There have been times where I’ve cried laughing, barely slept, had class chats with amazing people, and made friendships that will last a lifetime.
Working at a distributed company means these in-person gatherings are something special. There’s something about finally meeting the people you’ve been working with remotely, and discovering that the friendship you’ve built online is just as real when you’re face to face.
The people
I’m not sure my time here would have been a fraction of what it was if it wasn’t for the people I worked with. From day one, I’ve been surrounded by teammates who care about their craft, who are endlessly curious, and who have the ability to turn a room full of strangers into a room full of mates.
I’ve worked with people whose technical abilities blow my mind, who could pick up new technologies at a rate I found admirable, who thought deeply about the user experience, and who brought proper energy to everything they did. People who checked in regularly, who were patient with my never ending questions, and who challenged me.
To everyone at Automattic: thank you.
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