Matt Nohr's README

Matt Nohr’s README

I’m a Backend Engineering Manager at GitLab for the Code Review Backend team.

I’ve previously worked on these teams at GitLab:

  • Ecosystem
  • Create:Editor
  • Create:Knowledge
  • Monitor:APM and Monitor:Health

My Links:

This document is a living breathing thing and likely incomplete. I update it frequently and would appreciate your feedback.

Work Style

  • I believe in the servant leadership model
  • I tend to follow a mindset like: “If you are running, I’ll let you run. If you trip, I’ll be there to help you back up.”
  • I have a Defender personality
  • I prefer a bias towards action.
  • I respond well to being asked for help (“Can you help with X?”). I don’t respond well to being told what to do (“Do X!”)
  • I have worked for Fortune 100 companies and small startups. They each have advantages and disadvantages.
  • I look for small, incremental deliveables and a willingness to work on any task.
  • I prefer to automate repetitive tasks.
  • I believe managers are not the only leaders.

Work Patterns

  • I live and work in the Central Time Zone.
    • Central Standard Time (UTC-6) in the winter
    • Central Daylight Time (UTC-5) in the summer.
  • I spend time with my family before school in the mornings and in the evenings, and I am typically not available during these times. I will sometimes break this rule, especially if I have advanced warning.
  • Fridays are reserved for focused aschyrnous work, not meetings in alignment with GitLab’s Focus Fridays
  • Even if I am working a bit on weekends, I never expect anyone else to work outside of regular work hours.
  • I take vacations where I do my best to disconnect (or travel places where there is no access to internet).

Communication Preferences

  • You can slack or email me at any time, but I likely will only respond during my working hours. My devices are on “do not disturb” mode overnight.
  • I may slack or email you during non-working hours, but I do not expect a response until your next work day. I sometimes just need to write something down so I don’t forget.
  • If you need a response in a certain time, please let me know. For example, “Can you review this before our meeting?” or “Can you let me know before the end of the day?”
  • In GitLab, I only get notified of mentions of @mnohr

Feedback

  • I welcome feedback from everyone and I see it as a way for me to learn and improve.
  • Please provide feedback to me, in private, and specifically indicate it is feedback. It will work best if you are clear and specific.

Book Recommendations

There is also a good book list in our handbook if you are looking for more suggestions.

Personal

  • I enjoy spending as much time as possible with my wife and 3 kids.
  • I have a dog.
  • In the summer I like to run, hike, camp, and spend time on one of Minnesota’s 10,000 lakes.
  • In the winter you can often find me on the ice curling.

We all do better when we all do better - Paul Wellstone