John Malene

Employee Spotlight – John Malene

Tell us a little bit about yourself (include family info)?

Born in Honolulu, Hawaii when my Dad was stationed there serving in the US Coast Guard. Shortly after, we moved to Dale City, Virginia where we bunkered down and stayed through college. I played collegiate baseball for a few years, but eventually hung up the glove to focus on my degree in computer science at JMU. My wife Lindsey and I went to the same high school, but did not get a chance to connect until after college. Now, we have two girls – Lily (5) and Aubrey (2).

Background/education:

Graduated magna cum laude from James Madison University. Afterwards, I landed a job in the DC area with the US Treasury, where I first met the infamous Thinh Ho. We followed each other around from the treasury and then the FBI; but eventually we went our separate ways. After a few years apart, Thinh lured me over to Northstrat and I’ve been on the NRT program ever since (5 years, woohoo!).

As a Software Engineer or Systems Engineer at Northstrat, what is your daily routine like? Or is there one?

My daily routine usually involves a cup of coffee with Thinh, followed by a good amount of coding, code reviews, and baseline planning.

What aspect of your job do you enjoy most? 

The people I work with – I have a great boss that (I think) values my input, as well as super-smart/driven co-workers that push me every day.

What do you enjoy most about working for Northstrat?

Family culture and wicked-awesome benefits. I also really appreciate being able to play board games and drink the Northstrat brew every month.

What made you decide to become a Software Engineer? 

My high school computer science teacher was also the high school baseball coach 🙂

Did/do you have a mentor? Tell us about that person.

Not really.

Any advice for young people who want to pursue STEM? 

Find friends that share your passion/interests where you can work together and challenge/learn from each other. Stay away from negativity. 🙂