Spotlight: Dougal McPherson
Location?
Arrowtown, a small town in the south of New Zealand.
Your role at Kilterset?
Senior Software Engineer
What inspired you to pursue a career in tech/software development?
Designing websites was all well and good, but I found it much more satisfying to build websites that were genuinely useful to people. The Ruby on Rails framework was a massive boost in this area as I was able to build websites driven by databases and did so in a really elegant manner, which set me on a path to where I am today building software at Kilterset.
Give us a high level overview of your professional background prior to Kilterset?
24 years ago, I was a graphic designer building static sites and over time I've moved more and more into the coding side. I’m very much focused on software coding now and generally stay away from the design of things (although it is an ongoing interest).
What are some key lessons you've learned along your career journey?
I’ve learned that you can't know everything on a topic. This applies to any profession, but with tech the fast pace of change is relentless. The best advice I got recently was… “Be courageous, try new things and build a playground for your ideas”.
Describe Kilterset in 3 words
Smart, passionate People. If I had more words I’d also add in “caring”.
If you could work remotely from anywhere in the world for a month, where would you choose and why?
I’d work remotely in Italy. I lived in the city of Como as an exchange student way back in 1995. There are a lot of people that I know over there and it's been a few years since I was last back. It would be great to reconnect with them and Italy.
Are there any mentors or role models who have influenced your career path?
Early on in my career, when I would have considered myself more a designer, I brought a copy of "Designing with Web Standards" which taught me that web standards and design can absolutely be used together. Something that previously felt like they were opposing forces. I'm very fortunate that I now know and would consider the author of that book (Jefferey Zeldman) a friend through the work I do for "A List Apart”. (Where I am the Illustration Director, which basically means i'm in charge of illustrating the articles we publish on the site).
“A List Apart” is best explained as a website for people who make websites. We publish high quality articles about web development and process. “A List Apart” has and still is a really important learning resource for me, so it’s a big honour to be able to contribute back to it.
Can you share a memorable experience or favorite project at Kilterset you've worked on?
Recently I’ve been working on our Kilterset website. It has been a really fun introducing some of my illustrations to spice up our messaging around identity and other serious business stuff that can be a bit dry. It resonated so well that I ended up illustrating all of the Kilterset team.
All-time favorite meal?
Hard to narrow down, but my brother's recent death has cast a light on the importance of family and being thankful for those around you. So with that in mind, it would be a meal made by my mother with all the ingredients being sourced from my parents farm.
Work-life balance is important, how do you maintain yours?
I’m very fortunate to live in a small town in the mountains of Southern New Zealand, where nature is all around us and this encourages me to get out and be active multiple times a week. Additionally, most if not all people live here because they also want to be outdoors doing things, so it’s never difficult to find two or three other people to join you on a big or short bike ride or hike up a hill in the snow to observe the winter solstice. Getting outdoors helps me keep a healthy balance.
What do you enjoy most about working here?
Incredible support. Last year I had to take a lot of time off work as my brother was sick with cancer. My manager was super supportive and I was really thankful to have the freedom to spend time with my brother through his final weeks and months and to be there to support my parents through a really difficult time.
When you are not working, what activities top your list?
Definitely would be mountain biking. I ride around 5 hours a week and like the fact that it literally takes me places that I wouldn’t otherwise go. Additionally, the exercise keeps me feeling young, especially if-when I’m faster down the hill than those 10 years younger than me. Despite riding Mountain Bike’s since the very early 90’s, I still can’t wheelie or jump very well (but I’m working on that).
Outside of mountain biking, I also like spending time drawing, and especially so with my daughter. Her enthusiasm for art and her lack of inhibition inspires me to try new techniques. On occasion I post my drawings to an instagram account the drawings are of my kids exploring their childhood.
My son is less into art but is deeply into building “inventions” so I enjoy helping him out with that. One of his recent projects is making his own “scuba gear” and it’s been quite a challenge to reset his expectations on what’s feasible given my concerns are a lot larger than his. To help with all this building we recently joined a community wood working workshop and for him it was like being in a lolly shop having all of the right tools and space to make the things he’d planned.
