Our “Meet the Team” series spotlights the people behind Emergent Software. This month, we’re featuring Mike Trent, Senior Software Engineer. 

What’s your professional background?

Before my career as a software engineer, I first worked as an artist in the game development industry doing character animation and motion graphics. In that job, I realized that I received immense satisfaction creating tools for artists — far more than I got creating the artwork itself. I knew then that I needed to pursue an engineering career, so I returned to school in my mid-twenties to make the switch. Despite the feeling of lost time and effort, I like to think that my past has kept me well rounded as an engineer and has broadened my perspective when solving problems.

What drew you to join Emergent Software?

I was a small cog in a very large machine, working for a big international corporation, before I joined Emergent Software. I felt like I had little agency in my role and the bureaucracy was overwhelming. Emergent Software was appealing as a small, agile company where I could feel like my decisions actually made a difference for both my clients and my colleagues.

What was your first job?

My first job in high school was as a stagehand for the local symphony in my town. I had been a musician (percussionist) for most of my student life, and the symphony had a tradition of hiring band students to setup the stage, move equipment, and fetch whatever the musicians needed. During rehearsal, I was mostly standing by until they needed something, so I did homework and listened to them play. It was an amazing job that I still look back on fondly.

How do you fill your time outside of work?

I love to garden and I love to eat and cook with the food I grow. I snowboard in the winter. I take boxing classes for fitness. I love to tinker with computers and electronics and I still spend ample time enjoying video games like I have since I was five years old.

What’s the best trip you’ve ever taken?

My wife and I went to Iceland a couple years ago, and it was simply breathtaking. It oozed with natural beauty that often felt like we were on another planet. As we drove further from civilization, the landscape changed in ways that I never would have expected. It felt wild and treacherous at times, like I could have really found myself in trouble had I not given nature the respect it deserved.

 

Interested in joining the Emergent Software team? Check out our careers page.