Reflections on the Atomic Accelerator, a Two-Year Retrospective

Last month, I finished my first two years at Atomic and completed the Accelerator program. I’ve learned a lot about software development and technology, but I’ve also learned about interpersonal relationships and managing my career. The program can be a lot of work (outside of work), but it has pushed me to learn and grow. […]

Creating a Flexible Dashboard with Redash & Google Sheets

At Atomic, we’ve always pushed ourselves to measure things that matter to our business. For us, that includes data like billable hours, project rate, incoming sales opportunities, and the amount of market demand we see for our services. Using a visual medium to communicate the data is very helpful, so we use dashboards to quickly […]

Finding Remote Work Inspiration from Sudoku

I recently came across this excellent video about solving a very unique Sudoku puzzle. On top of the normal Sudoku rules, there were some additional restrictions on how the digits could be placed within the grid. The puzzle solver, Simon Anthony, was initially convinced that he was being pranked and that the puzzle wasn’t actually […]

Atomic Welcomes its 2020 Grand Rapids Accelerator Cohort

Four new makers have joined Atomic’s Grand Rapids office as a part of this year’s Atomic Accelerator program. The professional development program, which started in 2012, was created for newly-graduated software developers. I asked each of our new Grand Rapids makers to tell me a little bit about themselves. Jimmy Cerone Jimmy recently graduated from […]

Atomic Welcomes its 2020 Ann Arbor Accelerator Cohort

Three new makers have joined Atomic’s Ann Arbor office as part of the Atomic Accelerator — a professional development program for newly-graduated developers. I asked each to tell me a little bit about themselves. Casey Falkowski Casey recently graduated from Oakland University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Computer Science. Before joining Atomic, he […]

Welcome New Remote Employees with a Personalized Video

Successfully onboarding and welcoming your new employees is an important challenge. And when you’re hiring remotely — as we are, temporarily, during the COVID-19 crisis — that challenge is heightened. This month, two new employees joined Atomic Object’s Ann Arbor office as part of our Accelerator program. I wanted to find a way to replicate […]

Atomic Welcomes Two Developers

Earlier this year, Atomic gained two developers — one in Grand Rapids and one in Ann Arbor. I asked each of them to share a little bit about themselves and their favorite things about Atomic so far. Anjali Munasinghe Anjali is no stranger to Atomic; she spent the summer of 2019 working as an intern […]

Evolving Onboarding to Play Nice With Our Brains

Onboarding is complicated because new hires need to take on massive amounts of information coming at them from multiple vectors. You need to get the new hire inculcated with knowledge about culture, performance, and how your business runs. The new hire wants to understand expectations, their team, and the responsibilities and limits of their position. […]

Creating an Equitable, Respectful, Values-Based Hiring Process

I’ve spent some time recently restructuring our hiring process for software developers. The goal of this project could probably be copy+pasted by any tech company actively hiring developers these days: We want to hire competent, talented, and diverse software developers to be great Makers at Atomic Object. To accomplish this, we need to ensure that […]

How We’re Hosting our Remote Company Standup Using Zoom

Every workday at 10 a.m., Atoms gather for a company standup meeting. We stand in a big circle, sharing updates on current projects, company milestones, or social events. We also use this time to present Protons & Neutrons. Afterward, we all take a big stretch and go about our day. Though short, this ritual is an […]

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