Meet Kurt Wiersma – Cloud 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 Kurt Wiersma, principal cloud architect at Punch Through. Kurt is responsible for helping build our web-based applications, focusing on the design and development of those systems that make up the backend where all the data is stored. In his free time, you can find him hiking, biking, and playing the occasional game of tennis.

What were you doing before working at Punch Through?

Before coming to Punch Through, I worked as an engineering manager for a small startup that created a web-based app for at-home blood-based testing (i.e., blood sugar, cancer risk, STI, and so on). If a physician were to order a test, all the patient would need to do was prick their finger and mail the sample to a certified lab. I also spent some time as a cloud architect at another company involved in pharmacogenomics, which was a saliva-based DNA test to determine whether or not a prescription would work for a given patient.

What is your favorite thing about Punch Through culture?

My favorite aspect of the culture at Punch Through is its focus on learning and growth as engineers. The amount of resources provided is simply fantastic, and the mentorship employees receive and provide is second to none. It’s been awesome to help others and learn from others in the organization. Learning and development is a large part of the culture here.

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

So far, the most memorable moment would be the first few days on the job. Being 100% remote in my previous position, it was a nice change of pace to join a team with a physical office space. I do work remotely still, as many people do these days, but having the chance to interact and collaborate with people in person has been extremely refreshing.

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

At Punch Through, we’re working on products and software that help people. We’re involved with something that directly improves the lives of individuals. Few things, at least in my opinion, are more rewarding than that.

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

One of the more valuable parts of my work is being able to collaborate with the team on creating mobile apps. I’ve learned a lot from the engineers about the constraints that they’re working under, which has helped me, as a cloud architect, build better solutions on the backend for them to be more effective in their work. That sort of experience has been very valuable for me on both a personal and professional level.

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

This has been the first time I have gotten a chance to work with mobile app engineers as well as firmware engineers. Punch Through is also unique in that we work directly with several different clients on different software development projects, as opposed to my previous experience working at companies that are actively developing their own products with a small internal team of engineers.