Ray Cypher

Role: Staff Software Engineer
Joined: April 2021
Home: Sherwood Park, Alberta Canada

What were you doing before joining Datajoy?

Prior to joining Datajoy I worked at SAP as a Senior Software Engineer on their Analytics Cloud product.  I worked on the back-end focusing on data transformation and grooming.

What attracted you to Datajoy?

There were two main things that attracted me to Datajoy.

The first was the chance to work in a small company again.  I started my career working in startups and smaller companies but for the last twenty years it has all been at large companies like SAP.  I wanted to work in an environment where everybody’s contribution is impactful and you all feel a real sense of ownership for the product.

The second thing was the people.  I’ve worked with several of my coworkers at previous companies.  In fact Ken was an intern on one of my teams a long time ago.

The chance to work with so many really good people was a big draw.

What does your typical day-to-day look like?

I almost always start my day with a cafe latte which I drink while checking out various tech websites online.  

At work I try to keep a balance between moving new features and infrastructure forward and also handling more immediate issues with onboarding new customers.

What makes Datajoy special compared to other companies you worked at?

There’s a wonderful sense of purpose and camaraderie as everyone works together to build a new product and company from the ground up.

Favorite thing to do outside of work?

When I’m not working my two favorite things are spending time with my family and doing woodworking in my shop.

My son and daughter will be graduating from university this year so I like to get in as much family time as possible before they head out on the next phase of their lives.

I’ve always enjoyed working with my hands and being able to use things that I’ve made so most weekends will find me spending at least some time in my garage workshop making everything from kitchen utensils to furniture.

What is your superpower?

I am a very creative person. I grew up on a small farm with my parents, brother, and two sisters. So whenever we needed something fixed, built or created, we learned to adapt with materials at hand. My parents were both teachers, my mother was a librarian so I was exposed to alot of books and at one point could read 700 plus words a minute.  When we had the twins, I had a lot of fun helping them with school projects: a 4 foot high trebuchet, a potato cannon, a hover craft (a leaf blower, plywood, and plastic tarp), a pipe drum, and mouse trap driven cars. I am proud that they both went into careers where they create and inspire.