“All it comes down to is problem-solving.”
What do you get when you cross a natural-born problem solver with an art lover? You get Makeway’s Digital Director, Kevin Siebert!
In this Meet the Maker spotlight, we talk with Kevin about his background, hobbies, and role at Makeway.
Kevin always thought he’d grow up to be a detective or a pirate, and he sorta did… Read on to find out which one he became!
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What do you do at Makeway?
I’m the Digital Director. My job is really to know how things can work and should work. My team members are basically tools in the toolbox. If I have to jump in and do something I have the technical know-how to do it but, because we have so much work and so many other things to do, it’s all about delegating and using the right tool in your toolbox. Everyone has their strengths, so it’s a matter of working with them to figure that out.
How’d you get into this career?
I went to school for design and psychology. And I needed something that would make me stand out, so I moved into development—there were not a lot of designers who were doing development. I trained myself to be the best developer I could be.
When I was young, I always wanted to be either a pirate or a detective. I play detective a lot now. I have to collect evidence and basically work it into something. It all comes down to problem-solving.
What type of projects do you like?
For me, from a technical end, the problem is what’s interesting. If the problem is somewhat challenging, that’s when my ears perk up. I was working on a project yesterday and there’s a single unknown that’s not similar to anything we’ve done before. And of course, that’s the part that I’m most excited about. Going from there and working backward and figuring it out. That’s what gets you out of bed in the morning. I don’t care what the product is or who the client is, it’s just a matter of being able to come up with a solution for them that satisfies their needs.
“Honestly, I really love the people I work with. I can say that without hesitancy.”
What do you like about working at Makeway?
Honestly, I really love the people I work with. I can say that without hesitancy. And I like being in a position where I’m a decision-maker and I’m able to look out for the people under me. I feel confident that I’m able to do my job well, both for clients and for the people that I work with.
What do you think the future of the industry looks like?
The reality is, it kind of goes back to psychology. Like I said, it’s problem-solving—it’s not a matter of programming languages. From a dev standpoint, we’re constantly evaluating and evolving. There’s always a new hot thing and I have to spend some time to figure out: Does this solve any of the problems we couldn’t solve before? Does this solve any of the problems we are currently solving for but does it better? The reason I like the field is that it’s constantly moving, it’s not boring. We have to always know as developers what’s coming down the line and we’re just waiting for those things to be public and mainstream before we can use them. We’re excited about the future.
What do you do outside of work?
I’m huge into reading. There are some classic novels I like but, for the most part, it’s comics and graphic novels. My dad had a small collection when he was young—Spiderman and some horror comics. To this day, I don’t know if I’ve read them, but I would just look at them and I loved the artwork. It was just this bottomless well of creativity, the art and everything. This was before comics became popular at all. It was still the era of if you’re reading comic books then someone’s going to come up and give you a wedgie. So you would have to, like, hide this hobby. Back in my day…you had to hide being a nerd. Nerds nowadays will never know my pain.
What else?
I’m also huge into film. I’ve survived the pandemic by joining a group on Discord and talking with friends there and finding out about all sorts of movies that I never knew existed. I’m into horror movies year-round. I’m talking like, “ugh, I’m stressed out or anxious, I’m gonna put on a horror movie to relax.” It’s funny, Greg (Cunneyworth) is stupefied by it!
Since the Atari, I’ve been into video games and never let up. So, for my hobbies, let’s just say “the arts” and bold it, underline it, and be done with it!
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We’re happy to be able to shine a spotlight on the great work Kevin is doing, and to help share a bit about who he is as a human. Kevin is an invaluable member of the Makeway team, not only from a technical standpoint but also as a teammate. He keeps things light and makes work fun for all of us!
So if you’re curious about digital technology, into comics, or a horror movie buff, drop Kevin a line to chat at [email protected]!
And if you’re interested in joining our team, reach out to learn about careers at Makeway at [email protected].
