I started at Anthropic a couple of weeks ago.
I left PlanetScale last May after nearly 3 years with no plans for “the next thing.” It was by far the longest I’ve taken between anything, and I spent the time largely outside. I started running again and kept it going for over 6 months before the rotating collection of aches and pains stopped me.
But it nudged me into cycling, first just to keep my legs moving and get outside, but turning into something I really love. The Bay Area and SF, I’ve learned, is a near-perfect place for exploring, sightseeing, climbing and coasting. I can leave my house after the kids go to school, climb Twin Peaks, go through Golden Gate Park, cross the Golden Gate Bridge, go up Hawk Hill and then be home by lunch.
Mentally, I was able to reset. I read the books I wanted to read, explored new topics and still kept it touch with a lot of people I enjoy being around.
The time off was wonderful and I feel fortunate to be able to have taken it.
So, why leave that and go to Anthropic? After resetting, I realized I’d be interested in joining something if it fell into one of two categories: if “the band” was getting back together (eg, getting a chance to work with old friends and coworkers on something new), and/or something that truly felt generational. The list of companies or roles in that second category was very very short but Anthropic was at the top.
The process moved fast with first contact with recruiting to signing the contract being a little over a month. I signed on the last full day of spring break on a sunny patio in Mexico which felt like a good note to a great trip. I may have had a fancy margarita or two to celebrate.
For the role itself, I’m doing something I truly love and I get to go back to my roots: developer productivity. I’m creating a team from scratch to work on mobile tooling, helping the engineers that build the mobile apps deliver a truly top-notch experience with this fun new technology.
I’ve been there for a little over two weeks now and it’s been so much fun. The people I get to work with are truly excellent and the problems are hard and novel. It’s also a fast-growing tech company and (thankfully) many of those challenges feel familiar and things I know I can help with.
Though I know I’ll miss riding my bike as much as I was, I’m excited to go to work every morning, which is a good sign.