I have been a freelance software engineer for almost 17 years. In that time, as is usual for a freelancer, I have changed roles every 18 months to two years. Often I took time off between gigs to work on personal projects, write, reflect or learn something new. For instance, in 2008 I left my role as a senior .NET developer for an investment bank in London to learn Python, then reset my career as a junior Python coder three months later and never looked back.

I've relished my freedom and independence, and it has been a privilege to work on a huge variety of projects for a diverse range of companies in many different sectors. I have been enriched by my colleagues, made many wonderful friends, and learned a huge amount from folks.

Thank you everyone.

Yet change is in the air... Since January I've been in discussions with Anaconda and from today (the Northern Hemisphere's summer solstice no less!), I'm delighted to reveal I'll be joining them as a principal engineer. Long may the sun shine on this endeavour. 🌞

The very big change for me and my family is that I'm an employee rather than freelancer.

A big factor in persuading me to step away from freelancing were the folks I met in interviews and the company culture I encountered leading up to my offer of employment.

Another important factor was the nature of the work I'll be doing. I can't go into details, but I'm very excited to work with an exceptionally talented group of folks, on something that I'll relish getting my teeth into. Importantly, it is an opportunity for me to bring together and use skills from many different aspects of my background.

Finally, Anaconda understand what motivates folks passionate about creative coding: I'll still be active as an open source contributor and will continue to develop projects such as CodeGrades in my own time, as has been the case so far.

Here's to new adventures.