Meet Henry Anfang – 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 Henry, an embedded software engineer. He specializes in firmware development for medical devices with an emphasis on BLE. In his free time, he enjoys going to school to get his Masters in Computer Science, playing video and board games, and spending time with his wife Maria, dog Rowan, and cat Ralph.

What were you doing before working at Punch Through?

I got a BS in Computer Engineering from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Right out of college, I started at Cray working in Dev Ops. Testing, continuous integration, a lot of scripting, and work on tools to support developers. I discovered pretty early on that this was not the work I was really interested in doing, and that I wanted to work much closer to my field of study. I switched to Embedded QA at SmartThings for a brief time, then I joined the Punch Through team. I’ve been here ever since.

What is your favorite thing about the Punch Through culture?

There isn’t just one thing, but speaking generally in terms of culture itself, I appreciate that the leadership has demonstrated that culture is super important in terms of company direction. It’s been shown through word and action that we would rather grow slowly to protect our culture than grow quickly and forget it.

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

Last summer, the team went to a Happy Hour at a brewery just outside of Minneapolis called La Dona Cerveseria — it was super nice weather, the beer was good, and people were playing around on a mini soccer field. I just remember that “work event” feeling like a group of friends, rather than a “work Happy Hour”.

Another memorable time that comes to mind is during Summer Hours, a group of us stay in the afternoon and play board games together. I really enjoy playing board games as a personal hobby, and it’s fun to share personal interests with co-workers — like hanging out and having a good time. I didn’t have that at other companies. I’ve liked past co-workers, but wouldn’t describe them as friends, whereas at Punch Through, that line is a lot more blurred, in a good way.

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

It’s cool that I get to work on projects that have a positive impact on the world. Working with companies and products in the medical device industry feels like your work can make a real difference. Punch Through always makes sure that the projects we work on do not conflict with our values and I appreciate that.

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

Working at Punch Through, I feel like I get exposure to a wide variety of interesting problems and constantly get to learn new things. This is very valuable to me as it keeps work interesting and rewarding.

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

I think the lack of ego is the biggest difference. There’s this stereotype of the egotistical engineer that’s held true in my experience at other companies. Unfortunately, this type of person can make it difficult to be vulnerable or make mistakes, which is a very important part of the learning process. At Punch Through, there isn’t anyone like that. I don’t feel hesitant to ask questions or make a mistake. It’s very impactful in being able to grow as an engineer and a person.