Welcome to UpKeep, Ross!!

Welcoming Ross Gruber to the UpKeep family as our Full Stack Engineer!!

We're thrilled to be growing our Engineering team even further! Ross Gruber joins the ranks this week as a Full Stack Engineer, focusing on Back End work. Ross, we're so happy you're here - welcome to the team!!

We’re excited to welcome you to the UpKeep family, Ross! Tell us a little about yourself.

Hey Everyone! Very excited to be joining the Upkeep team. I’m Ross Gruber, new Backend Engineer on the Prod/Eng team. Originally from LA, I moved to Baltimore for college and then spent 3 years in NYC before moving back to LA in 2015. Ever since I’ve been working in tech startups on data teams - working in a variety of industries including digital advertising, video games, backend office software and womens clothing. Normally, I love to spend my free time outside - backpacking/surfing/camping/biking/playing volleyball. I also enjoy my inside activities - I love to read (lots of magical realism with a bit of sci-fi/fantasy) and play videogames (mostly League of Legends). I’m trying to keep busy during Coronavirus by cooking new recipes, reading and keeping my house clean :).

How did you first get into Engineering?

Out of college, I worked at a law firm with the intention of going to law school. I worked there for a year and absolutely hated it!!! I realized that a legal career was definitely not what I wanted to do so I started looking around for something else. Some friends of mine were Software Engineers and in talking to them it seemed to check all the boxes for me: creative thinking while working on new and abstract questions every day. I started working on my own backgammon game and AI (to beat my roommates) and that helped me land my first job.

Why are you excited to join UpKeep?

I’m really excited to join UpKeep for the opportunity to work with a great and motivated team on a product that directly improves the lives of our customers. I really believe in the mission of using technology to make normal peoples’ lives easier and love that UpKeep is really focused from top to bottom on our customers and making things that help make their lives better.

What are your first thoughts about the culture and team so far?

Everyone has been super welcoming which is great - it has certainly not been the most normal time to start a new job but everyone has made me feel at home.

We have to know -

I took a pottery class randomly on a Friday night because I was bored and all my friends were out of town. Turns out I’d stumbled onto my new hobby! I love doing pottery because it is very tactile and physical - it’s great to get into the studio and try to create with my hands after a day spent at my computer. It’s also a very zen activity - it’s easy for me to get into a flow state and just create. It’s also really hard - so creating anything is rewarding and there’s always room for improvement.

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This vase on the left is probably my favorite. Is about 9-10 inches tall with some great glaze interactions (kinda tough to see here but there’s an electric blue where the two glazes meet).

And finally, most importantly, what would you be if you were a kitchen utensil?

A wok - so versatile!

Welcome, Ross!!!

To learn more about our current openings, visit www.onupkeep.com/careers!

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