Tea(m) Time with Josh Devins
It is Friday, that means it is time for our weekly employee interview series that we have dubbed “Tea(m) Time”! Today, help me welcome Canadian Josh Devins to our team in Berlin! First, listen to his audio “hello” below and continue down the page for more!
Hi there! Thanks for the interview – can you say “hi” to everyone in your native language
Hi!
Where are you from?
Vancouver, Canada
How did you get introduced to SoundCloud?
My first introduction to SoundCloud was actually through the intrepid David Noël. When my wife and I moved to Berlin in the winter of 2008 we met David at a Tumblr meetup and through a mutual friend. It wasn’t long after that everyone in Berlin was talking about this hot little startup!
What do you do at SoundCloud?
I’m a Software Engineer working on search, spam detection, data, drawing on whiteboards, waving my arms around and so on.
What is your favorite sound?
I’m pretty biased, but at the moment my favourite sound is my daughter laughing. There’s nothing quite like hearing someone laugh, especially your own kids.
What sound do you hate?
Busses! It’s mostly all of the hissing and the constant engine noise. I think I lived too close to busy streets sometimes and it drove me mad!
What’s your favorite word?
I’m not sure I’ve ever actually thought about it. But my favourite German word is probably Niederlassungserlaubnis. Just rolls off the tongue!
How is it working at such an international and diverse office?
Pretty fun actually! For the most part you don’t notice it. But I love accents and there’s certainly a lot of those around here. I also like food, so anytime someone brings “international” food in, win!
If you could say that you are passionate about anything, what would it be?
The list is pretty long, but I’ll pick something at random, so let’s go with skiing. It’s definitely my longest standing sport passion.
Why do you think someone should apply to SoundCloud?
It’s a chance to do something challenging with a relatively small team, at a global scale, in an environment that is welcoming and fun. What more could you ask for?!
What do you like most about Berlin?
For such a big city, Berlin has a really great pace and quality of life. It’s a great place to raise kids, soak up some European culture and generally have a good life.
What are your favorite sounds on the ‘cloud ?
I really love hearing environmental recordings, things like birds chirping, city sounds (except busses), that sort of thing. I always find that it’s like the difference between reading a book and watching the movie — I get to imagine what the other senses might experience for that scene instead of just being shown.
I’m also a fan of CBC Radio One from back home in Canada. They have some great radio shows including “Quirks and Quarks”. It’s a radio show about science and technology and is presented in a very friendly manner with interviews with subject matter experts.
As for music, I discovered Mighty Oaks on SoundCloud when I saw former SoundClouder Ian Hooper do a set at the SoundCloud office.
Do you have any fun facts you would like to share?
I was born on the day that Wayne Gretzky was drafted to the Edmonton Oilers, which is also my birthplace! Hockey fans will know what I’m talking about.
Where can we find you on the interwebz?
Twitter: @joshdevins
SoundCloud: joshdevins
Web: joshdevins.com