Get to Know One of Us: Matt Kornatz, Senior Software Engineer
Go beyond the LinkedIn bio to get to know One of Us.
Q: What do you tell people you do?
Matt: I program computers—websites, servers, databases, and more—to work together and improve company workflows.
Q: What did you do before you arrived?
Matt: In 2016, I worked as a consultant and DevOps strategist and engineer. My focus was on mentoring teams, improving development workflows, and assessing tech risks within organizations. Before that, I was a tech director at Jellyvision just up the road in Chicago.
Q: What do you bring to ODC beyond your sweet skills?
Matt: I have a very open mind, positive attitude, and a spirit for adventure. All of those have afforded me to collect some fun stories and experiences over the years. Although I'm not a big storyteller, I like to think I hold some unique perspectives and enjoy sharing them while learning how others experience this crazy universe.
Q: It's 11 am on Sunday. What are you doing?
Matt: Grabbing my coffee, a snack, and my day pack for a hike in the mountains of Western North Carolina.
Q: What's a good book you've read recently?
Matt: Okay, it's not a book, but I'm into the magazine Nautilus. The writers transform scientific and social ideas around things like time travel, noise, and lying into interesting articles that can apply to almost anyone's life. I highly recommend checking it out.
Q: Settle the debate. What's the best flavor of La Croix?
Matt: That's like asking what's the best type of pizza. It all depends on your mood and your desired tastes at the time. There. Settled. Having said that, I tend to like lemon most often.
Q: What music do you gravitate towards when you have to be extra productive?
Matt: I gravitate to music I find easy to listen to and without many lyrics. For me, that tends to be ambient acoustic/electronic and some psychedelic stuff. Check out Brain Food on Spotify.
Q: First CD/Album you ever purchased?
Matt: My first CD was "Bugs Bunny at the Symphony" which I excitedly ordered from the Columbia Record Club. That got my parents pretty annoyed because then they had to buy my sister and me a whole lot of overpriced CDs on a regular basis.
Q: Would you rather...Only be able to watch movies that feature Shia Labeouf for the rest of your life or only be able to watch the movie Interstellar for the rest of your life?
Matt: Interstellar all the way. I really geek-out on theoretical physics. Also, I've only seen like five Shia Labeouf movies and can't remember most of them. I think one was about him digging holes and in another he befriends a car. Do those sound fun to you?
Q: Would you rather be able to teleport or travel through time?
Matt: Teleportation would be sooo much better! Think about if you were to travel back in time to find out that you're now in an alternate universe and there is no way to get back to your original place in spacetime. That could get really lonely, and the relationships in my current reality mean a lot to me. Teleportation would mean I don't have to sit on long uncomfortable plane rides, and I could choose on a daily basis whether I'm gonna work remotely!
Q: How do you take your coffee?
Matt: Straight black and hot.
