About to ski down to the fjord in Norway’s Sunnmøre Alps

It’s now one year since Stefan joined Dyalog Ltd, and we asked him what he made of the experience so far. “I can’t believe how time flies. It feels like it was only yesterday I arrived at the Bramley office for the first time, to pick up my laptop and meet everyone.”

Prior to joining us, Stefan worked for IBM, where he discovered APL more or less by accident. “Coming from a huge, anonymous mega-corp, it’s a welcome change being able to actually get to know the whole company,” Stefan continues. “Here, of course people have their particular core areas, but everyone gets stuck in with a little bit of everything.”

Stefan takes a particular interest in the Mac platform, as he is a life-long, unapologetic Apple user. Everywhere else he’s worked (especially at IBM, inventor of the PC), developers demand Apple hardware, so he was surprised to find that at Dyalog Ltd, that’s more unusual.

Epic powder day in Italy’s Courmayeur

Outside work, Stefan likes the adventurous side of the great outdoors. He spent many years rock climbing home and abroad, until chronic elbow tendinitis forced a stop to that. Back country skiing is another hobby, and he tends to take all his vacation days in winter. “Living aboard a boat in Svalbard, skiing with a rifle to ward against polar bears was a bucket list experience”, he says. “Sampling the famous japow and live volcanos on Hokkaido, and ticking couloirs in Canada’s Purcells range is up there, too.” Stefan rides bikes to keep fit, and his garage has accumulated far too many bikes over the years.

“Dyalog is my dream gig,” he says. “I always wanted to work for a company where the people really care for the product they make.”

Top of the Grandpa Peabody boulder in The Buttermilks, Bishop, California

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This week marks one year since Jada joined Dyalog Ltd, and we asked her about her experiences thus far.

“It’s truly been a whirlwind of a year. I don’t know where the time has gone! It’s been intense, but in the best way possible. I’ve been able to get a feel for everything that being a part of Team Dyalog involves in a very short amount of time, from my first user meeting (Dyalog ’23) to my first product release (Dyalog v19.0). It’s been a steep, but fun learning curve.”

Jada joined us when it became apparent that the administrative needs of the company were growing. She was tasked with taking on some of the jobs that were being done by the Karen and Stine (then the Financial Officer). However, Jada was familiar with Team Dyalog even before she joined, as she had previously attended Dyalog ’19, Dyalog ’22, and various Dyalog internal events as a guest of her partner, Rich Park. Through Rich, Jada was introduced to Dyalog and the world of array programming. “I’ll be honest, a lot of the technical stuff does not yet make sense to me. But that just means there’s so much still to learn, which keeps my work life very interesting. Seeing others try to understand APL code reminds me of Derrida’s views on language, intention, and the need for deconstruction.”

Jada’s daily routine has begun to take shape. “Initially, I had so much to learn, it was rather daunting. From our products/services, our customers, my colleagues, the history of the company, to my actual job…I could go on! But all that initial familiarisation work was worth it, and I had plenty of support along the way.”

So, what does Jada actually do? “Well, think of all the things you need to do to run a business. That’s what I do. I help wherever I can. I deal with office maintenance, renewals for licences, billing, sales of physical products (books, APL keyboards), contract reviews, and all things compliance. I’m also an Apprentice Cat Herder – luckily, I’m learning from the best! Karen has really been my rock this year. She’s one of the most thorough and competent professionals I’ve ever met. I’m hoping to continue to learn a lot from her and Stine.”

Jada also enjoys her life outside work. “I like to read (fiction and Japanese manga), love going for long walks and the occasional run in the woods, and canoeing the Thames with Rich. I always enjoy a good night out as well – gigs, bars, and dancefloors call my name! My latest hobby has been learning to play bass guitar. I’ve got no immediate plans to sell out Wembley, but it’s fulfilling to set my sights on a piece, learn it bar by bar, and gradually improve and gain muscle memory. It can be frustrating at times, but practising is so much fun. My rhythm has improved a lot too.”

Overall, Jada has really enjoyed her first year with us. “I’m so grateful to be here. You see a lot of corporate speak about ‘family’ to distract from poor business practices, but not at Dyalog Ltd. Although this is a company, the heart and soul are the people behind it and the community around us. We’re real, we care, we listen. There’s no apathy or shilling. The passion for Dyalog is infectious. My colleagues’ hard work, meticulousness, and honesty motivate me to apply those qualities to my own work. When I work hard and produce quality work, it’s recognised and that makes me feel valued. I couldn’t ask for a better job with better people.”

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This week marks the first anniversary of Peter joining Dyalog Ltd. He is one of the newest additions to Team Dyalog and we couldn’t be more excited for his future here. We were able to pry him away from the interpreter to catch up with him and see what his time has been like so far.

Peter joined Team Dyalog after studying at Aalborg University, where he received his Bachelor’s degree in computer science. APL made an impression on him when he heard about it in 2021; he found it fresh and pleasantly new. APL (and Dyalog APL) were different from other programming languages he had dealt with.

Most days Peter is deeply involved with Dyalog’s interpreter; he improves it by implementing cool new features and fixing any annoying bugs. Peter really enjoys the affable and cooperative culture here at Dyalog Ltd, “It is a very friendly crowd, and everyone is willing to help me with whatever issue comes up.” He also enjoys his role in the development team. He finds it challenging and fulfilling to work on issues that require him to look at and understand a part of code that he hasn’t seen before…it’s like solving a puzzle for him, and when things start to ‘click’ he gets really motivated because he knows, “that the system is becoming more and more robust with every bug fix.” Peter’s role requires a lot of critical thinking, “I think the most important skill is to be able to navigate and make sense of old code on your own.”

When he’s not improving the heart of Dyalog, you can find Peter spending his time outside! (I know, shocking for a programmer!) He enjoys scenic walks in the picturesque nature local to him in Denmark, which is a huge juxtaposition from staring at screens for a living.

Peter is a great addition to the team, and we wish him all the best on his one-year anniversary at Dyalog Ltd.

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