Meet the Team: Databento senior software engineer, Jack Culhane
Meet the team gives you an inside look at the team behind Databento. Not only do you get a great sense of the diverse and expert talent we have on the team, but you also get a taste of our culture overall and how we work together. If you're interested in joining us, check out our careers page!
In this post, we're highlighting Databento senior software engineer Jack Culhane! From a young age, Jack has been interested in computers and software,
"I’ve enjoyed taking things apart and figuring out how they work and reverse engineering software and network protocols. I love digging through disassemblies or trawling through packet captures, piecing things together."
Jack's curiosity about disassemblies and packet captures is what unexpectedly led him to the finance industry, in particular working at Corvil/Pico,
"This was where I was first exposed to financial network protocols and their unique characteristics. The peak traffic volumes that come with financial protocols, especially market data, offer unique challenges for real-time analysis with zero packet loss. This experience paved the way for me to join the Databento team, where I could continue to work on the bleeding edge, pushing the boundaries of what can be achieved."
A change of pace from his previous career experiences, Jack describes Databento as having,
"…a unique culture of openness and inclusion. Everyone on the team has a voice, and everyone’s opinion is heard. Regardless of whether the decision is big or small, or is in one’s area of expertise, if someone has something to contribute, they are encouraged to do so."
Although being a completely remote company has some challenges, he shares that it also has some unexpected benefits.
"I love having morning chats with some of my colleagues in Australia and New Zealand as they're signing off, or the focused time before my colleagues on the East Coast start to come online. Having a globally distributed team is really fun, seeing what fellow team members from different backgrounds are interested in, what they get up to in their spare time!"
Feeling inspired by the entire Databento team, Jack highlights his first encounters with the team,
"From my initial impression during my interviews with Luca, Chris, and Christina before joining to meeting my other team members. It is such a great group of people to work with, with no egos or selfishness, despite the high level of skill and depth of expertise across the team."
One of Jack's proudest career moments was in a role prior to joining Databento,
"I'm proud of our work on the zero loss 100Gbps analysis and capture platform. This was an exciting project with a great team, pushing cutting-edge hardware to its limit, using novel optimization techniques, digging into kernel internals, trying things that had not been done before."
"I’m delighted to bring this experience to Databento, and I’m proud of our vision and the product we're building. Working at Databento allows me to continue to push the boundaries on what can be achieved as we edge closer to our goals of disrupting the data industry."
Outside of work, Jack spends most of his time with his wife and two small kids, finding their growth and development one of the most rewarding experiences in his life. When asked about any hobbies or interests, Jack says, "I am a big music fan, especially electronic, so I spend a lot of time listening to music during my work day, as well as sharing and discussing music with my work colleagues! I enjoy reading, particularly science fiction. I also love doing yoga. I’m actually a qualified yoga teacher, though these days I only attend classes!"
If Jack's career path sounds interesting to you, check out our careers page to see our open positions. If you don't see the role for you, send us your resume—we're always on the lookout for outstanding talent.
