Meet Brent Johnson – Embedded Software Team

At Punch Through, we encourage everyone to proudly be themselves and want you to know the people behind the work that we’re so proud of. That’s why we launched our “Meet the Team” series, where we introduce you to one of our team members each month. 

Meet Brent Johnson, embedded firmware engineer,  who is primarily involved with developing and writing firmware for connected devices. When not at work, Brent enjoys running, music, and video games.

What were you doing before working at Punch Through?

After graduating from North Dakota State University with a degree in computer engineering, I began working as an embedded systems engineer for this small startup in Fargo involved in aerial mapping payload for drones. I was at the company for about 2 ½ to 3 years when I happened upon an opportunity at Punch Through and made the move.

What is your favorite thing about Punch Through culture?

My favorite thing about the culture is how all the values culminate in supporting the people employed at Punch Through. People do their best work when living their best lives, and that’s what you get at this company. They make it really easy to maintain a work-life balance. Those values have also helped build an environment where it’s easy to be with and talk with your coworkers. Everyone is encouraged to proudly be themselves.

Tell me a story about your most memorable moment while working at Punch Through

As far as my most memorable moment at Punch Through goes, it would have to be my second day with the company. My first day was pretty typical. My second day, on the other hand, was the company trip. I was kind of thrown into the deep end of the pool – or at least that’s what it felt like. It was pretty intimidating to all of a sudden find yourself hanging out and doing some karaoke with everyone. But it ended up being a great experience. I had a chance to get to know people outside of the work setting, which isn’t something you often do when new to the team.

What cool or rewarding things do you get to do on a regular basis?

Just getting to work with firmware is rewarding in and of itself. You get to make things “move” with code. How cool is that? It’s also really rewarding to work with our clients and on the devices that they’re trying to bring to market. This stuff has the potential of bettering people’s lives.

What is the most valuable part of your work to you on a personal level?

On a personal level, the learning opportunities have been the most valuable part of my work here at Punch Through. Actually, the opportunity to learn was one of the main driving forces for joining the team. Being the only systems engineer at my past employer didn’t give me any day-to-day exposure to other engineers.  Working at Punch Through has given me the chance to learn from others in my industry. Though we work on specific projects, there’s a lot of support available. It creates this almost collective experience to learn and grow in the field. That’s definitely been valuable.

What is different about Punch Through versus other places you have worked?

One of the biggest differences between Punch Through and other companies is the emphasis on an ego-free environment. I really appreciate that aspect about this company. When working in an ego-filled environment, it can prevent learning. That’s simply not the case here. How this company operates really helps facilitate learning from one person to the next. It’s very supportive.