After a career of working as a programmer and software engineer, Avvo Director of Engineering Hunter Davis decided to shift focus from developing code to developing others.
“I enjoy helping engineers find creative solutions,” Hunter said. “As former Avvo CFO Monica Williams used to say, ‘If you can pair a good social outcome with a good business outcome, you can really do the right thing.’”
His main focus at Avvo is supporting engineers with their day-to-day work and helping them grow professionally. Thirty engineers currently report to him, and he takes the responsibility of helping them advance their skills seriously.
“In engineering, we work in pairs and have a creative, collaborative environment,” Hunter said. “In organizations our size there are problems, but all problems are opportunities that can be solved. If you can find two problems that are complementary, you can connect them and there is mutual benefit. Working together improves the business and improves people individually.”
Life at Avvo
Hunter has been at Avvo for two years, and has had the opportunity to watch the organization grow and evolve.
“Our culture makes us unique,” Hunter said. “The way we do our work hasn’t fundamentally changed. The scope of our work and goals have shifted, but the way we support each other and collaborate hasn’t changed. It is our great strength.”
He initially came to Avvo through a friend he’d worked with at Napster. When asked what he enjoyed most about working on Team Avvo, he had a quick answer: the people.
“I’ve focused on the people side and making sure people are happy, engaged and have career opportunities,” Hunter said. “People are better producers when they lack the stress that impedes flow. Generally, there is a huge amount of opportunity for people to collaborate within and across teams.”
He makes it a priority to connect with each individual on his team daily, and he’s regularly looking for ways to facilitate team members’ growth.
“We have five to ten major projects at any one time,” Hunter said. “I try to delegate responsibilities and help build people up.”
Life outside of Avvo
When Hunter is not at the office, he spends his time playing with his beagle, skateboarding, woodworking, refurbishing antique music players, and listening to music.
“Music is a huge part of my life,” Hunter said. “Music was always a way to connect with people, and that’s a huge part of my career now. Understanding the intent of the musician is the goal of music. If you understand where people are wanting to go, you can help them get there.”
We’re fortunate to have Hunter as a part of #TeamAvvo.
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