To learn more about the daily lives of our Team8s working in different parts of the business, we created this blog series featuring some special guests. Today we sat down with Matt Walsh, Senior Manager for Engineering at 8x8.

Matt works out of our office in Ottawa and looks after the HERD team, which is the team that deals with physical endpoints at 8x8. In the late 90s, he received a YTV achievement award (aka YAA) as part of a chamber choir that went to Vienna to represent Canada and won Gold. He once slept overnight in a quinzee in -32C weather. Ready to learn more about Matt? Read on.

8x8: Matt, thanks for accepting our invitation. To get the ball rolling, would you mind sharing a few things about yourself with our readers?

Matt Walsh (MW): Of course! I'm a husband and father of three kids—a girl and two boys—and in the fall I volunteer as a Scout leader for the group they are in. We have two Holland lop rabbits (Will and Maple). We "bonded them" over the pandemic and it was quite the experience; no one ever tells you how violent rabbits can be! [laughs]

8x8: What about work, what do you do at 8x8?

MW: I'm a manager of the engineering team that deals with physical endpoints. We call ourselves the HERD team (Hardware Endpoints Research and Development). We are mainly responsible for certifying hardware and firmware from vendors (to ensure they work with our systems), adding support for new handset models and features, developing APIs to support new integrations and modernize legacy tech stacks, and increasing automation coverage for handset certification.

“It makes me feel good to know we have great leaders that deeply understand the market, our company, and how we can create success for employees, partners and customers.”

8x8: Did you always know that you wanted to pursue a career in your current field?

MW: I've always enjoyed technology. My first exposure to "programming" was in third grade at an enrichment program that had a course on LOGO where you would draw pictures with a turtle. My curiosity with technology started there.

Then, as my high school didn't offer any courses around PC repair, I went to the local college at night to learn about it. I spent most of my high school years being the de-facto "IT guy" for my family and some local organizations. I was strong in math and science academically, and engineering seemed to make the most sense when I got to university.

In 2005 I graduated, moved to Ontario, and got my first real job in the industry for a consulting firm (BAU) that did content management integrations. The pay wasn’t great, but the experience was good, and the networking I did there paved the way for future opportunities, eventually leading me to where I am today.

8x8: Speaking of where you are today, what brought you to 8x8?

MW: The story goes back to 2011, when I joined ThinkingPhones which later became Fuze, which was subsequently acquired by 8x8 in 2022. Going back, I joined ThinkingPhones after some of the people I knew from BAU reached out to me about a developer position.

To be honest, at the time I didn't understand what they did or why it was interesting, but I already had a lot of work experience with proprietary technology and wanted more exposure to open-source, which the developer position offered. I also wanted to be around smart people who were willing to help me learn, and ThinkingPhones delivered in spades on that front.

At the time, there were about seven of us in Ottawa, and I got to work on all kinds of interesting projects, from auto-dialers, to IVR managers, to APIs for customers. Then, about six years ago, I took over the provisioning systems for physical handsets. We rewrote the provisioning systems leveraging a new internal SDK that the architecture team had made available, modernized our "out of the box" provisioning process, and added new features to the Fuze platform. As we grew, I moved into a management role, and now I manage a talented group of ten people here at 8x8.

8x8: That is quite a journey! And what do you like most about working at 8x8?

MW:Everyone here wants to help. We all want to get the job done. There is a tremendous amount of talent and expertise, and it is wonderful to be a part of all that. I also find that we have very thoughtful and deliberate leadership here at 8x8, whether it’s Hunter (Hunter Middleton, 8x8 Chief Product Officer), or Sam (Sam Wilson, 8x8 Chief Executive Officer), or countless others. I get the sense they live and breathe this stuff. It makes me feel good to know we have great leaders that deeply understand the market, our company, and how we can create success for employees, partners, and customers.

8x8: What about hybrid work, what are your thoughts on that?

MW: Generally speaking, I think as long as you can get your work done, it doesn't really matter where you do it from. That said, I'm in the office every day. Some of this is due to the fact that I live five minutes away; the other is that I have a great team testing real phones that are in the office daily.

Dealing with hardware from vendors can be a pain at times and being in the office allows for us to have quick hallway conversations, or redirect our efforts quickly if we have an escalation, or are blocked by a bug from a vendor. Outside of my immediate team we have a great bunch of people here in the Ottawa office, and it's cool to catch up with them when I get a chance.

“I'm a firm believer that we don't accidentally fall into high performing routines and processes, so I look for ways to improve myself and encourage my team to do the same.”

8x8: What methods or tools do you most rely on to organize your work day-to-day?

MW: Outside of our stand-ups and other sprint meetings, I find keeping a “to do” list can be helpful for ensuring the many items I have to do get done. I've recently read something about Jack Dorsey's approach around making each day of the week have a theme. It seems like something that would be interesting to try out.

I'm a firm believer that we don't accidentally fall into high performing routines and processes, so I look for ways to improve myself and encourage my team to do the same. I'd be remiss if I didn’t mention the project support we get from Maria Lopez, Senior Technical Program Manager at 8x8, to keep organized. Thank you, Maria!

8x8: What’s the most challenging thing for you about working from home?

MW: I find the biggest challenge is getting a response you need quickly. In the office I can just walk down the hall, ask a colleague a question, and get the answer right away. I find collaborating with team members on general strategy and approach goes easier in person. Getting a whiteboard or chatting over a coffee can lead to conversations that might not happen in a virtual setting.

I tend to read people’s body language to see if they understand what I'm trying to explain, or if they have hesitations about the way I'm framing a problem. To a degree this is possible virtually when people have their cameras on, but not everyone does. On the flip side, I find that I can focus very well at home, so long as my kids aren't there. [laughs]

8x8: What’s your morning routine for a good day?

MW: Double americano with cream in the morning, no breakfast. Then getting the kids on the bus and making my way to work. In the summer an early nine-hole is possible at a local course near the office before the day starts, and I try to get out there once a week if the weather cooperates.

8x8: What about your free time, where is one most likely to find you?

MW: In the summer I like to BBQ, camp, and golf with friends and coworkers. In the winter, snowboarding and curling keep me busy.

8x8: How do you unwind and recharge after work?

MW: My go-to is playing guitar or video games. Sometimes I'll go for a swim in the pool with my kids (where I'm mostly a jungle gym). I also like to hang out with friends and family, or just watch a TV show or a movie.

8x8: What’s something surprising that not many people know about you?

MW: I used to do singing telegrams for money (a long time ago).

8x8: What advice would you give to someone interested in working at 8x8?

MW: I would tell them it’s a good place to work with lots of opportunity. For someone coming in as an Engineer, I would emphasize that the problem space we get to work in is quite broad and interesting. The technology we sell enables companies to improve how they work and transforms how they get their business done - it feels good to know you are part of that.

8x8 is made up of a diverse bunch of more than 2,000 highly driven Team8s determined to shape how businesses communicate and work in today's rapidly changing world.

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Read more in 8x8’s A Day in the Life series: