Geek in question: Shannon Loftis

Job title: Studio Head – Good Science Studio

Shannon Loftis can barely walk ten steps on campus without someone waving to her, saying hello or shouting her name. Since starting as a temp at Microsoft in 1992, Shannon has spent almost 20 years rising through the ranks of gaming and making more than a few friends and admirers along the way.

As the head of the company’s prestigious Good Science Studio, her team was tasked with creating the original games for Xbox Kinect. Good Science’s first release was Kinect Adventures, which shipped with every first-generation Kinect.

I met up with Shannon to find out the secret of her ongoing success in one of the most desirable and competitive areas in the tech industry.

How did you get your start in gaming?
In the mid 90s, I was doing database design and project management for Microsoft. The story I heard was that Bill Gates was really into playing online bridge and decided that we should have a version of the game on the then-emerging technology of MSN.

I came to games to work on that project, which evolved into a virtual card table, which evolved into an online gaming service, which evolved into a lot of other new things. At the same time, Microsoft was ramping up in sports games, flight simulation games, and was inventing new ways of PC gaming.

You must have seen gaming change quite a bit since then.
Gaming is big business these days. It is huge compared to other types of entertainment - even movies. The industry has a lot of creative brilliance and with Kinect we are really pushing the boundaries of technology. The technology is just so much more powerful now, and we can do so much more for people.

While some people dismiss gaming as too violent or just for kids, there is much more to it than that. It’s critical work. Entertainment is a fundamental human need, and gaming is a great way to give people a moment of pleasure and enjoyment in an otherwise stressful day. Life gets faster and faster paced and interactive entertainment is a great release.

There are a lot of other game studios out there. Why have you stayed with Microsoft?
I fell in love with the culture and still find it intoxicating that everyone around is so smart and is somebody you can learn from.

That and Microsoft’s huge range of opportunities. You never find yourself at a dead end here. There’s always something new and exciting and the company keeps evolving. For example, it is the only company that could pull off something like Kinect.

How did Good Science start?
A bunch of people started working on Kinect when it was still “Project Natal” back at the end of ‘08. All that we had at that point was a rudimentary camera duct-taped to a very expensive PC with a high-end graphics card. It was up to us to turn that into a consumer-friendly product.

I was working for Microsoft in the United Kingdom at the time and the company asked me to move back to Redmond to start Good Science in ‘09. Our goal was to figure out what kinds of experiences were best to introduce Kinect to the world.

And how did you structure the studio?
Good Science bridges the gap between incubation and research. The goal was to make a team of flexible creative generalists. We wanted to find the best way to introduce the world to full-body, no controller gaming and no-barriers UI. Hence, Kinect Adventures. And we’ve got some great new stuff in store too.

How many people work at the studio?
The size of Good Science is wildly variable as it expands and contracts depending on the projects at hand. At the smallest it can be 45 people and at the largest it is about 75.

So, it’s like its own startup within Microsoft?
Microsoft is a fairly fractal company, so teams must know how to stand on their own. Good Science has a ton of creative freedom, like a startup, but we’re able to tackle big challenges and boldly move forward with the support of Microsoft.

Unlike a lot of startups, we have the focus and depth to make really big bets.

Did you know right away that you were onto something huge with Kinect?
We had lots of challenges to overcome but knew pretty quickly that what we had was magic. Seeing the crowd reaction when we showed it off at E3 in 2009 was one of the most exciting experiences of my life.

Do you plan to stay in gaming for the rest of your career?
It’s likely too late for me to cure cancer or go the moon, so this is still my shot at deep, fulfilling work.

Kinect is already profound and will be even more so in the future. For example: there is a Kinect “hack,” Jewel Mine, that helps rehabilitate people who have had strokes as the interactive movements can repair neural damage.

This is all just the start. I look forward to being along for the journey.

The end of the year is a blur of traditions, predictions, champagne, diet resolutions, family time and, of course, annual “best of” lists for everything and anything you can imagine.

As we don’t want to be left out in the cold, we’ve compiled a list of the Top Ten Microspotting profiles featured on JobsBlog in 2011. With one twist; our list goes to eleven.

This year, we interviewed lone employees who pioneered roles as female developers and employees overcoming challenges. We also got to know groups like Microsoft’s a cappella choir and couples who found love at the company. We met those who are exploring the frontiers of technology and others who are educating the next generation of tech innovators. And, of course, we sniffed out the unexpected from the former NFL prospect who went pro at Microsoft to the employee who moonlights as the mascot for the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks (and uses the position to raise money to fight multiple sclerosis).

Without further fanfare, here is the list of our favorite Microspotting stories from 2011. The stories are not ranked in any particular order, but all are sure to inspire.

1. Ben Martens, North America’s most ambitious ski bum

2. Our Valentine’s Day tribute to love found at Microsoft

3. Janet Galore, explaining the future of technology

4. Ryan Asdourian, Microsoft’s #1 Seahawks fan and superhero fundraiser

5. Ed Donahue & Ashley Myers, two-time Imagine Cup finalists and Microsoft co-workers

6. Sue Loh, inspiring future coders through retro gaming

7. Betsy Speare, blazing trails and building community for female developers

8. Jenny Lay Flurrie, embracing disability, finding success and helping others do the same

9. Boris Erickson, Xbox LIVE’s Enforcement Unicorn Ninja (yes, you read that correctly)

10. Albert Rocker, former NFL prospect goes pro at Microsoft

11. The BaudBoys, Microsoft’s Kings of Geek-A-Cappella

By Thomas Kohnstamm

Geek in question: André Alfred
Job title: IT/OPS Program Manager, Global Foundation Services, part of the Online Services Division

This fall, Microsoft hired a 30-year-old engineer from Lafayette, Louisiana, named André Alfred. In spite of his relatively young age, André has a deeper resume than many middle-aged professionals. This is due to the fact that André started working in tech at the fresh age of 16 and built a remarkable career on his own terms.

While André was interviewing at Microsoft, he emailed his recruiter to say, “You know 14 years ago I was featured on Microsoft's TechNet as ‘Web Doer of the Month,’ and just this weekend I found the print-outs as I was clearing out some shelves... Fate?”

I think that it is fate. (Check out André’s 1997 interview here.)

Microsoft acknowledged André for his talent and drive at a young age. He spent the first part of his career exploring the technology industry and learning its various facets, but now he’s come around to the place where he can create his long-term career and push his talent and drive to their limits.

I recently checked in with André at his new Redmond office to find out about his journey from a prodigy recognized by Microsoft to a Program Manager at Microsoft. I was also fortunate to be there when he got the good news that he and his family had just closed on their first house in the Seattle-area.

How did you become so interested in technology?
My dad brought home a Tandy when I was just 5 years old. Originally, we were both really into playing games on it. But then my interest just grew and grew. I started taking the computer apart, swapping boards and RAM and driving my dad crazy by breaking and rebuilding everything.

I bet that got in the way of his gaming.
For sure. And when I was 16, my dad told me that I needed to get a job or start cutting the lawn. We lived on three-and-a-half acres; which is no joke to mow in the Louisiana sun. So, I applied for a job at the helpdesk of a local ISP.

That’s when Microsoft recognized you a “Web Doer of the Month?”
Yeah, I was only getting minimum wage, which was something like $4.75 an hour at the time, so I also starting running my own web consulting business on the side. I won first place in Desktop Publishing at the Future Business Leaders of America Conference and then Microsoft got in touch about an interview for TechNet.

And you went to college after that?
I’m actually still working on my degree. Slowly, but surely.I guess I was very fortunate in that I always knew what I wanted to do. I started at that ISP and soon I was training in Cisco systems and next I had engineering, IT manager and PM jobs at Lucent and Aggreko.

Eventually, I married my wife, relocated to Richmond, Virginia, and went to work for Capital One. That’s when a Microsoft recruiter “re-discovered” me on LinkedIn.

Did you think that you would ever work at Microsoft?
I was definitely always interested as I am a tech geek at heart and, whether they admit it or not, every tech geek dreams of working at Microsoft at some point.

Plus, I like working with other people who are kinda nerdy. At other companies, I was “the engineer” or “IT guy,” but this is a whole company full of people like me.

I can talk about gaming or code with just about anybody in the hall here.

You’ve had a very entrepreneurial career. Did you have reservations about working for a large tech company?
Honestly, I maxed-out in some of my earlier jobs. I don’t consider myself to be a job hopper so I wanted a place that would really give me the potential to grow and move in the next stages of my career – and at Microsoft there is no limit.

If anything, the idea of supporting so many customers is a little intimidating, but – at the same time – it’s a very exciting challenge.

Congratulations on the new house. Was it hard to move to the Northwest considering you have such deep roots in Louisiana?
Now that I am married and have two kids, Microsoft’s benefits and relocation were very attractive for my family. The company couldn’t have handled the move any better. And it also helps that my wife is always up for an adventure.

So, what’s next in the adventures of André Alfred?
My job is to deliver major initiatives across teams that have many different skills. So, right now, I’m looking forward to heading to Tallinn, Estonia, to integrate the Skype team into Microsoft.

By Thomas Kohnstamm

What do Tom Selleck, truckers and scores of Microsoft employees around the world have in common?  At least for the month of November, it happens to be mustaches.

And when I say that these Microsoft employees have mustaches, I don’t mean simple hairs sprouting out from under their noses. I mean money-raising, cancer-fighting magic mustaches.

OK, so what the heck am I talking about?

It’s called Movember. And Microsoft’s Movember “Captains” Darshan Bavaria, a software engineer in Office, and Matt Bielich, a software engineer in Xbox, explain that this month-long mustache-growing fundraiser “is the biggest global grassroots campaign for men’s health in recent memory.”

Movember was founded by a handful of Australian “Mo Bros” in the early 2000s (the name is a mashup of “mo,” Aussie slang for mustache, and the month of November). It started in response to the fact that 1 in 2 men will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime and though rates of prostate cancer are comparable to rates of breast cancer in women, fundraising for men’s health is infinitesimally smaller.

Darshan says, “Most men are uncomfortable talking about their health in the first place and more so about issues like prostate and testicular cancer.” He sees Movember as the antidote to men’s refusal to confront these issues in that, “You need to have a sense of humor to do Movember and, obviously, humor is a great way to get people to address difficult issues.”

Matt seconds the point, “Growing a mustache can be a bit humiliating – in a good way. If people have always known you to be clean-shaven, a mustache is the ultimate conversation starter. And if that conversation helps raise money for men’s health, then all the better.”

Movember mustaches started to creep onto the upper lips of ‘Softies in the last few years. While past organizers did a commendable job of getting the ball rolling, the Movember effort remained fragmented among a number of different Microsoft teams.

And then Darshan and Matt got involved.

These hirsute heroes became the brains behind the mustaches at Microsoft. Their streamlined effort built a company-wide Microsoft Movember that has raised over $82,000 this November. Matt adds, “And the greatest thing about doing Movember at Microsoft is that the company matches donations of $25 or more from employees, so we end up doubling much of the fundraising dollars.”

Darshan and Matt successfully spread the word through our internal OfficeTalk application, external social media sites and homemade posters around campus. They also increased participation by offering a series of facial hair awards and by sticking adhesive mustaches on the bathroom mirrors.

Darshan says, “We send a weekly newsletter with tips of the week on how to improve your mustache and how to perfect your fundraising like letting the highest bidder name your mustache or you can make the process interactive and let people bid on your mustache style.” Matt chimes in, “My mustache was named Sir Reginald von Burlington IV.”

Both Matt and Darshan have been impressed by the global breadth of Microsoft’s participation in this year’s Movember.

Matt says, “We have Mo Bros at a variety of offices like Microsoft Ireland and Canada, but there’s also been support from a surprising variety of businesses within the company. For example, the guys at the Microsoft Store in Mission Viejo, California have come through big and they don’t get to hide in an office all day. They have to wear their mustache with pride while speaking with customers.”

Women (affectionately called Mo Sistas) can also get involved in Movember through fundraising, event hosting and generally being tolerant of their partner’s and friends’ facial fuzz.

Matt and Darshan already have their sights on Movember 2012. Darshan says, “Next year we have even bigger plans with a more elaborate kickoff party and we want to get people to pre-pledge because, otherwise, we are faced with November fundraising right after the end of the October Microsoft Giving campaign.”

Matt smoothes back the corners of his glossy ‘stache and philosophizes, “Movember is also a great bonding event for employees. It’s a chance for us to come together beyond our work roles and do something good. That and, obviously, we want to raise more money than Google.”

UPDATE: 546 people from Microsoft office around the world participated to raise over $100,000 for Movember this year. You can view a special message from Movember Executive Director and CEO, Adam Garone here.

By Thomas Kohnstamm

Anybody out there know what a “baud” is?

If you know, you’re a geek and – congratulations – you’ve found your way to the right blog. If you don’t know, I’ll clue you in (I myself had to consult an old friend named Wikipedia). A baud is… a unit used to measure modem speed. Obviously.

It also happens to be the name of Microsoft’s prize-winning a cappella group, The Baudboys. But why would an a cappella group with a growing reputation and two regional titles name themselves after something so anachronistic and obscure?

The first part of the answer is that The Baudboys are a venerable Microsoft institution, dating all the way back to 1988. That’s when Microsoft released Windows 2.1, Mike Dukakis was a presidential candidate and modems were still an essential piece of hardware. (Doesn’t seem like that long ago, but twenty-three years is like 160 years in the tech industry.)

The second part of the answer is that The Baudboys were born out of Microsoft’s culture like Athena sprung from Zeus’ head or Spock was born to Sarek and Amanda Grayson. The Baudboys’ Music Director Elliot Lewis explains, “We have a very Microsoft kind of drive. We tend to be very detail-oriented, precise and focused on getting all of the music and choreography just right.”

And according to The Baudboys’ President Jonathan Schwartz, “We’re not just a cappella, we’re Geek A Cappella. It’s part of our routine, our sense of humor and what we sing about.”

The Baudboys are an eight-man group comprised of Microsofties and former employees.  They’ve won the Pacific Northwest Harmony Sweepstakes twice (and the Audience Favorite award twice), released an album, opened for multiple-Grammy award winning music legends Take 6 and Manhattan Transfer and generally seem to be on the path towards world domination.

According to Jonathan, “The Baudboys were formed by four guys who split out of a larger Microsoft choir called the Microtones. They wanted to be a barbershop quartet.”

It was pretty informal at first, but many of the singers came from an intense college a cappella background and yearned to continue to push their boundaries as singers. The Baudboys grew to eight members and set about becoming a serious outfit.

Elliot, who sang a cappella at Yale, points out, “Singing in college requires a time dedication similar to playing a varsity sport. It’s easily 20 to 25 hours per week with rehearsals and recording.”

Like many of The Baudboys, when both Elliot and Jonathan started their careers, they found themselves missing the music and camaraderie that comes with being part of an a cappella group. 
Then they discovered The Baudboys.

Elliot elaborates, “Being part of The Baudboys is another thing that makes Microsoft life much like life on a college campus. People here are passionate about their work, passionate about their hobbies and passionate about helping others. Beyond a cappella, there are a lot of other activities like theater, bands, sports teams and a variety of social groups that all foster collegiality and make a big difference in employees’ quality of life.”

These days, The Baudboys have a scheduled practice every Thursday in a conference room (strategically located to not share any walls with someone’s office) on the Redmond campus. As a 501c3 non-profit, they do a lot of volunteer shows for organizations like the King County Library System, local schools and retirement communities.

In 2009, The Baudboys released their first album Hello World which leads off with a fantastic cover of The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Aeroplane and continues through ten more great tracks including their take on The Police’s Every Little Thing She Does is Magic.

Geek A Cappella is serious business and during the ramp up to a show or when putting the finishing touches on an album, “being a Baud” requires a lot of dedication. But it is all worth it.

Jonathan says, “It’s just fun to get up there and delight people, whether it is a bunch of school kids or a concert for a thousand. All of the planning and hard work pays off when you see an excited audience.”

Elliot believes that singing with The Baudboys both dovetails with aspects of his work and fulfills other aspects of his personality that he doesn’t experience at work. He notes, “There’s known crossover between mathematics, logic and music. That said, I work in Customer Relationship Management, so a cappella rehearsal can be the right shift of gears that I need at the end of the work day to reenergize myself.”

The Baudboys are on a roll with more shows, more competitions and more albums on the horizon. When they recently held an audition to fill two open spots in the group, some fifteen experienced singers showed up to try out.

Not bad for a group named after modem speed. But, considering, that Jonathan sang for The Krokodiloes at Harvard and Elliot was part of The Whiffenpoofs at Yale, maybe the name Baudboys actually does make some sense.

Though we can give you a taste of The Baudboys in this article, there is nothing like a performance to really get you hooked. Watch as they perform George Michael's Freedom:

Want more of The Baudboys? Here are are a few definitive links to get you started down the road to Geek A Capella fandom:
The Baudboys site: http://www.baudboys.com/
The Baudboys on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Baudboys/13854478185
NEW ALBUM Hello World on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Hello-World-Baudboys/dp/B002G3RV2O/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1315429631&sr=1-1

By Thomas Kohnstamm, Chief Microspotter

Geek in question: Dean Iacovelli

Job title: Director of Collaboration Solutions for Microsoft State and Local Government

By day, Dean Iacovelli travels the country, working to transition New York City, the State of California and other state and local governments into the cloud.

By night, he is a master Italian chef and all-around DIY food and wine geek. Want to make your own mozzarella from scratch? Ask Dean. He’s done it. Homemade salami? Done that too.

Whether he is educating politicians on how the cloud can make city governments more efficient or encouraging friends to explore the great breadth of regional Italian food, Dean is the kind of person who can’t help but share his enthusiasm with others and show them what more is possible.

For the past six years, Dean has combined his passion for cooking and Microsoft to support a greater cause by donating a multi-course dinner for six people to the Microsoft Giving Campaign online auction. Dean works with the auction winner to create a unique menu featuring food and wine pairings from a specific region of Italy.

I recently sat down with Dean at Macrina Bakery in Seattle to discuss the cloud, cuisine and charity.

Where’d you develop such a deep interest in regional Italian food?
I grew up in Montreal and lived close to my Italian grandparents. My grandmother was from outside of Rome and was a master of her regional cuisine. She met my grandfather in Canada and he was from Puglia – so she also learned to make the food that he grew up with.

After my grandmother passed away, I slowly realized that the magnificent food – with all of its culture and history – was not going to cook itself.

I am also diabetic. That means I can’t eat pasta or other carbohydrates and have therefore had to explore beyond Italian restaurants’ “greatest hits.”

How did you decide that you were going to become a dinner party black belt?
I was living in Ottawa and started reading recipes online. I thought I would give a dinner party a shot and invited six friends over for what was like a seven-course meal.

It was pretty much a disaster. I had overlapping courses, huge gaps between other courses and my homemade focaccia was more than a little tough to chew.

But I learned from the experience and starting throwing dinner parties all the time. I soon discovered that research and planning is 80% of the battle.

Has your cooking influenced your work at Microsoft or vice versa?
In both things it is really important to refine your process. But they are very different too. I love the balance between using my brain all the time at work and then switching to something that I create with my hands in the kitchen.

That said; I do get very serious while cooking. My wife avoids me when I have what she calls my “cook face” on.

Tell us how the meal for the giving campaign came to be.
At first, I was donating money each year. But, as my work responsibilities continued to grow, I had less and less time to create elaborate dinner parties. So, I decided that it would be a good way to raise money and to also push myself to evolve as a cook.

A big dinner party can take two months of planning. This event gives me a reason to really challenge myself. In each dinner, I always aim for one big goal… something that I’ve never done before, whether it is curing my own meats, baking a proper rustic bread or infusing my own grappa.

So you work best under pressure?
I essentially work in sales, so I like to have that date on the calendar and then work my ass off to make my numbers or pancetta or whatever it is.

But it’s not just about pressure. I also really like to understand what makes things tick and then share that with others. For example, I do wine pairings for each meal and then create a Word doc with the name, vintage, type of grapes, tasting notes and a picture of the label so people can find the wine again if they like.

Are other people at Microsoft surprised when they learn about your double-life as a super cook?
It’s funny, because I find out all the time that my colleagues have some amazing talent. It’s like, you’ll have known them for years and suddenly they sit down and start playing concert piano or singing an operetta.

That’s just the kind of people we have around here.

Like all good things, My Intern Life video series has come to an end. Alexis, E.J., Frank and John share their parting thoughts on what an internship at our Redmond headquarters taught them in just a few short weeks. 

But with every ending, there is always a beginning. And maybe that beginning starts with  you. Check our all our internship and graduate opportunites on our University site. Who knows, maybe you'll be the next intern featured in My Intern Life!

- The Jobsbloggers

Like millions of young men across the United States, Albert Rocker dreamed of a career in the NFL. Although there’s a better chance of getting struck by lightning than playing professional football, Albert’s ambition, discipline and dedication brought him within striking distance.

As Albert reached his final year of college football eligibility, he found himself at a crossroads: take his last shot at pro football stardom or move to California for a promising career opportunity at Microsoft. "It was probably the most difficult decision of my life," Rocker admits.

This enviable but gut-wrenching choice did not just appear out of the blue. Albert had always treated his academics in the same way he approached football.

He reflects, “As a football player, you learn a lot about teamwork. You live with your teammates, eat with them, lift with them and study with them. If one guy misses curfew, he lets down the whole team. You learn a lot about collaboration and you really come to understand accountability.”

Albert believes that football is good preparation for the challenges of a career. He says, “You learn to deal with adversity. It’s all about using your attitude to never give up a fight and to keep investing time and hard work until you overcome your obstacles.”

At Georgia Tech, Albert played in a total of 38 games, including all 13 games of his junior season in 2010. Around his grueling football schedule, which Albert says could take “up to 60 hours of work per week,” he studied management and landed on the ACC Academic Honor Roll in 2009-2010. During his summer vacations, Albert balanced preparation for the next football season with internships to build his business knowledge.

Early last year, Albert attended a Georgia Tech career fair in search of a new summer internship – something different that would give him broader experience. It was at that career fair that Albert happened upon Georgia Tech alum and current Microsoft program manager Irwin Dolobowsky.

Irwin recalls, “I’ve attend lot of career fairs and sometimes speak with up to 500 students per event. Almost all of them have good grades and good experience. Albert had the background, but he also had exceptional social and leadership skills. He was able to showcase those abilities to me immediately.”

Irwin passed along Albert’s resume to Microsoft recruiter Trish Lincoln. Albert had reconfigured all of his football experience as work experience on his resume. Trish says, “Albert’s resume was really unexpected and special. He showed a breakdown of his hours on and off the field. He had been a leader with younger players and demonstrated not only his management skills, but he had come up with team-wide stats to quantify improvements over time.”

Irwin adds, “Things move fast at Microsoft and you can’t wait around for stuff to happen in this work environment. Albert was clearly the kind of guy who makes things happen.”

Albert’s search for a summer internship soon became the opportunity to take on a fulltime role at Microsoft. However, Albert had never imagined himself at a large company and always considered himself a budding entrepreneur.

But Trish worked to find the ideal role for Albert’s talents. She points out, “Microsoft has a strong entrepreneurial history and is a great place for young employees to build their networks and take risks while benefitting from the stability of the company.”

Albert agrees, “Trish pointed me toward the technical account manager role where I’d work for Microsoft, but most directly interact with clients. There’s a lot of independence and your success is driven by you and you only. It’s like having your own little business with the backing of a major company.”

In the end, Albert decided to go pro… at Microsoft.

It was a painful decision to forsake his final season of college football, but one that Albert knew was the right way to maximize his success over time.

As Albert shrewdly notes, “Success is not about money or the glory of being on the cover of a magazine. Success is about being happy and you get that true happiness by giving yourself 100% to a given endeavor, whether that’s playing football, being part of your family or working in technology. I make sure to take that approach to all I do in life.”

Albert Rocker took the skills he learned in life and on the football field and found a place at Microsoft. How about you? Interested in learning more about technical account manager positions and what they are like? Then see what we have to offer and apply for the job of your dreams!