David Meatte
David finished undergraduate school in computer Science at Georgia Tech in 2002, just in time for the dot-com bust. Unlike today, where the demand for programmers is high, there was little opportunity out there. This led David to take a position at Miller Electric for a few years after college as ah assistant where he helped build Baptist Hospital in downtown Jacksonville. He looks back on the experience fondly. Although he enjoyed his work in construction, it wasn't part of his long term plan and when he saw the job ad in the local paper for AutoQuotes, he jumped at the opportunity to put his programming skills to work. Eleven years later, David is a Senior Developer at AutoQuotes with his contributions leading to the success of many AutoQuotes features and applications. His most recent work includes the newest version of AQ, as well as the iPad, iPhone, and Android apps.
"When they have a problem that is a really ugly one that doesn't involve projects, it gets passed on to me."
David is essential to the programming department and is known for tackling challenges that most programmers would shy away from, then coming up with a simple solution that works beautifully. This is how David went from being an entry-level programmer to the senior-level programmer he is today at AutoQuotes.
"I do lots of programming and I try to help people out where I can."
You can always identify David's work by the way he sneaks pictures or videos of cats into the program during testing. Of course, David has other interests and hobbies besides cats and programming. He has a purple belt in Kodenkan Jiu-Jitsu, enjoys occasionally playing video games, and is an avid cook. Around lunch time every day, leftovers from David's latest culinary creation fill the break room with fragrant smells. He loves to cook with his wife and they are self-proclaimed food geeks. David's favorite cooking tool is his smoker and recently used it to tackle the task of cooking a 40 lb pork butt for a family gathering.
Quiet. Silly. Honest.
When asked three words that best describe David, he replied: Quiet, Silly, and Honest. And when asked what he would bring on a deserted island he mentioned his family...and cake. David has been married to his wife Courtney for five years and they have two sons, three-year-old Thomas, and five-month-old Lucas. They also have two dogs, a seventy pound Shar Pei/Lab mix named Rembrandt and a seventeen pound Yorkie/Cocker Spaniel named Herschel Walker Texas Ranger. And of course, they have a gray eighteen-pound cat named Calder.
"Thomas is a sweet kid. We ask him every night, what makes you happy? He says Lucas makes me happy. But before he solidified on that, he would say all the people that love me."
Although his mother encouraged him to focus on art classes, a Visual Basic class in high school helped push him on the path to becoming a programmer. David is an essential employee and AutoQuotes is thankful for his hard work over the last eleven years.
Stay tuned for the next Meet the Staff!