It’s Been a While…

Since the last time I wrote on this site, a lot has changed. A global pandemic has come and (mostly) gone, which has given rise to remote work as a viable option for many in the tech sector, but also pushed forward an economic chain of events that made it harder for companies to get easy funding without demonstrating strong fiscal responsibility.¹ The industry looks very different today than it did back in September of 2019, when I wrote my last post.

What have I been up to in that time? I spend the beginning of the pandemic working remotely for Stitch Fix. During this time, my partner and I moved around the country, spending a month or two in various places in California, Washington, and finally near my childhood home in western New York State. Experiencing the support of being near my family and dear friends of decades, as well as the newfound viability of a remote-first career, led us to purchase a home in the Ecovillage at Ithaca. We’ve been living here for over a year now, and it’s been food for my soul to be near my people and live closer to the land. Swimming in the pond, sweating in the sauna in winter, swimming in the gorges in the summer, sharing meals with the community, going on night walks surrounded by fireflies; it really is a magical place.

Around the time I moved to Ithaca, I also left Stitch Fix to start a new job as Senior ML Engineer with Abnormal Security. I enjoyed the high-impact nature of the role, and the dynamic character of the organization, but after a year I was feeling really burned out, and realized I needed some time to myself. Over the last three months I’ve taken time meditate, ride my bicycle, and reflect on where I want to go next in my career.

That reflection has coincided with one of the hottest summers on record. Sea ice in the Southern hemisphere is at a record low, and wildfires raging in Canadian forests have frequently blanketed the Eastern US in dangerous levels of smoke. It is now glaringly apparent that there is nowhere we can go to escape the impact of climate change - it will have effects everywhere in the world, even in places like Ithaca that are better insulated against the (local) effects.

Seeing this, and feeling the direct impact it has on my life, I think I need to try and do what I can to contribute. As the summer winds down, I feel ready to dive back into the professional world. To that end, I’m looking for a Senior ML/DS role in an organization that is working to mitigate climate change.

If you think you have an opening where I could be a good fit, or would just like to connect, don’t hesitate to reach out! My email is peter@pwills.com and I’m happy to put some time on the calendar to chat.

To the next adventure!