For the last three years and a half, I've been privileged to work at the greatest software company in the world; Microsoft. During that time, I launched a standards-based web development site (scriptjunkie.com), worked with major product teams (Windows, Windows Phone & IE), partnered to <a href="http://www.modern.ie/">launch initiatives</a> that offered tremendous value to developers, represented MS at many events, and became the community bridge to the Internet Explorer team. I've learned a lot about building products, setting expectations, customer communications, and cross-org collaboration at a scale most haven't experienced. It's been challenging and rewarding.

But to me, the greatest thing about MS is working with amazing people. People who care deeply about what they build and enabling users to do great things with their products. It's easy to look at MS as a big monolithic entity and forget that there are incredibly passionate people working there <strong>WHO GENUINELY CARE</strong>. I've seen this first hand. So much greatness. 

I've been fortunate to be a part of it. They even allowed me to do it remotely. At a time when so many companies are reining in their remote employees under the guise of "better collaboration" (read: we don't trust you), Microsoft gave me the opportunity to have an excellent job while not having to uproot my family, suffer insane commutes and maintain great work/life balance. And let's not forget the world-class benefits which are the icing on the cake.

I would recommend this company to anyone in a heartbeat because they truly care about their employees.

<h2>Looking Ahead...</h2>

Even when things are going great, life sometimes throws you another option that you simply have to explore. And that's what happened to me. 

Beginning December 2nd, I will be taking on a leadership role in <a href="http://www.telerik.com/">Telerik's</a> Developer Relations team working to create a unified developer outreach strategy for the company along with relevant and consistent outbound messaging for Telerik's growing product lines. These products span enterprise and web audiences helping them target: 

<ul>
	<li>Desktop Development</li>
	<li>Web apps</li>
	<li>Mobile</li>
	<li>Collaboration</li>
	<li>Software Testing</li>
	<li>Content Management</li>
</ul>

and are complemented with services and support that help upramp customers quickly and make them successful. At 800+ employees and <a href="http://www.telerik.com/company/contact-us.aspx">11 offices worldwide</a>, Telerik is well-positioned to continue to innovate quickly and offer new solutions as the industry evolves.

It's a career opportunity that I'm incredibly excited about especially with a company that has an established track record of success and growth while maintaining a start-up, agile culture. That I already knew plenty at folks at Telerik (some former-Softies I worked with and many others from the conference circuit) and all raved about the company made my decision substantially easier. And the fact that they embrace the remote-work culture really helped seal the deal. So on to the next stage in my career.

My last day at Microsoft will be December 1st. Thank you Microsoft for a fantastic 3+ years. 

And welcome Telerik, I look forward to helping drive your continued future success.

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