In 2005, while working on some cool short-range wireless technology, my old office had a single spectrum analyzer shared amongst a team of engineers. It was big, cumbersome, and expensive. I was tired of having the spectrum analyzer cart in my cubicle, so one night I starting hacking some firmware and software to create the first Wi-Spy. Sure, it wasn’t nearly as sophisticated as the Agilent spectrum analyzer I had been using, but it was a lot smaller and easier to use, which was pretty cool. I figured maybe other people would think it was cool too… and the rest, as they say, is history. Today, MetaGeek is a small tight-knit team of folks (mostly geeks) that strive to create easy-to-use wireless troubleshooting tools.
- Ryan Woodings
~ THE METAGEEK TEAM ~
Ryan Woodings,
Chief Geek
As MetaGeek has grown, Ryan has worn a variety of hats. These days he spends most of his time managing the business (and sneaks some development time in too). As the Chief Geek, he sets the vision and fleshes out the road map, hires and retains talent, and make sure there is cash in the bank. He also led the redesign efforts for the new office space. To relieve stress, he enjoys running … a lot. When he’s not training for a 10K, he’s training for a half marathon. Most of the year, Ryan cruises to work on his mountain bike as part of the MetaGeek bike commuting team.
Brian Tuttle,
Geek Herder
Brian oversees our R&D process and acts as scrummaster for the software development team. Sometimes they even let him write a little code! As the Geek Herder, he keeps the team on task to execute the roadmap and makes sure everyone has what they need to get the job done. He also leads new process development – having seen code grow from the beginning. To ensure that he doesn’t ever develop a personal life, he also occasionally writes device firmware and re-compiles Chanalyzer in his freetime. Most importantly, he brews the coffee and runs the dishwasher.
DEVELOPMENT GEEKS
Adam Morgan,
Architect, Geek Mentor
Adam bends software to his will, and everyone else tries to keep up. When he isn’t creating our next generation software or improving our development processes, Adam keeps busy by trying to persuade his fellow engineers to come do CrossFit with him in his garage. What can we say? The guy’s an animal. He’s the keeper of the software team’s tribal knowledge, and works on structural refactoring and process development when not crafting our beautiful code.
Mike Byce,
Mad Hacker
Mike brings a host of mad skills to the MetaGeek team. He’s handles all our front-line manufacturing tool issues, expertly navigating the connection between hardware process and software, and helps troubleshoot any issues that arise during the manufacturing cycle. He’s also writing a new server-side code base for a “soon to be released” product. Part of the bike commuting team, Mike clocked in an impressive amount of miles over the summer. Mike also is the resident expert in Chanalyzer Lab and Chanalyzer for Mac.
David Thedens,
Big Ham Hacker
David brings years of software and driver knowledge as well as his fresh sense of humor to the group. He expertly handles windows driver implementation, negotiates the complexities of packet capture drivers, embedded C/C++ development, and is now contributing in C# as well. Also part of our bike commuting team, David logged the most miles of all with his impressive 30+ mile round-trip per day. David lifts large weights with both hands and leaps short curbs, often without tripping.
Ben Bower,
Hacker
Ben is by far the quietest of all the geeks, hacking away at piles and piles of small changes and code fixes. When he’s not whacking down stray lines in the code with his silent kung-fu, he’s voluntarily sweeping up massive piles of tiny little bug fixes. Underneath his quiet demeanor is a daredevil skateboarder rolling around town whenever he has the chance. Ben is also the resident expert for Chanalyzer 4.
Chris Woerz,
Hacker
Chris comes to the MetaGeek team with a deep understanding of databases and IT with an insatiable drive to write code. He easily wins the prize for being the most outwardly social of the bunch – currently organizing the latest strategy to replenish the office keg. He is also our resource for deep data analysis, as well as a member of the bike commuting team. Chris handles packaging up all our windows builds and takes the lead on the Chanalyzer Pro application.
Rob Kleffiner,
Future Hacker
Rob went to a Career Fair table and talked to Brian Tuttle a few years back. He was smart, independently driven, and easily shined as the right person for a new MetaGeek intern position. The legend goes that the first bits of work he tackled for MetaGeek were finished perfectly in record time – along with all the other projects that have been sent his way. He’s currently getting his degree in Computer Science at University of Idaho, and works part-time turning Ryan’s ideas into proof of concepts.
Ashok Gelal,
Apprentice Hacker
Ashok continues to set the bar high for our interns. He works part-time at MetaGeek while studying Computer Science at Boise State University. He pushes the limits of our software, attempting to find all the bugs before it gets shipped. He is working on some very interesting cross-platform software ports and is constantly learning and bringing new ideas to the team. Ashok is notorious for accepting projects and completing them way ahead of schedule and is often found coding open source projects.
Rich Parker,
Firefighter
Rich is our resident IT brains. He makes sure the internal MetaGeek systems are functioning and optimized for the future. He also handles our QA process – developing the test plan and processes to keep MetaGeek products limited to the fewest amount of bugs possible. He also is our backup-backup technical support resource when Trent and Stephen are unavailable and manages our website on the server-side. Also, if you ask Rich, he absolutely “loves” to fix Mac problems!
HARDWARE GEEKS
Brian Bandhauer,
Senior RF Geek
Brian is MetaGeek’s first RF/Hardware geek. He is our expert RF circuit designer that handles antenna design and implementation. He expertly sequences pre-amps, mixers, filters, diplexers, and designs new product boards. He builds all our test and programming fixtures, managing them through the manufacturing process. He’s also the keeper of the tribal knowledge of RF. When he’s not designing a board or soldering up a prototype, you can usually find Brian doing yoga in his office.
Steven Connelly,
Slide Rule Operator
Steven is the resident hardware developer – bringing years of experience to MetaGeek products. He handles the firmware for our USB spectrum analysis devices, and can bring up hardware for our developing projects. He manages hardware architecture down to the micro controllers. On his linked-in page, a former co-worker says he’s an engineer’s engineer – and we appreciate that quality about Steven very much.
TRAINING and SUPPORT
Trent Cutler,
Jedi Trainer
If you’ve called or emailed MetaGeek with a support question – you’ve probably already met Trent. Along with technical and forum support, he handles our customer and partner training, and is the person you’ll see and hear in our informational videos on the web, and is fully CWNA certified. He coordinated and networked the MetaGeek bike commuting team – but don’t ask him how many miles he contributed. Trent can often be found trying to say “no” to donuts and “yes” to cracking people up with his striking sense of humor.
Stephen Porter,
Technical Support Intern
Stephen helps Trent handle technical support questions and is troubleshooting issues with customers like a pro. He also works with Trent and Rich on ways to improve support. Stephen is currently studying Computer Science and Mathematics at Boise State University.
SALES & MARKETING
David Hofacker,
Sales
David is the face of MetaGeek to our distributors and resellers – handling all of our main accounts around the world. He also helps a bunch of geeks interact with normal people without freaking them out. He brings to the table expert ability to navigate and improve our sales process, and to find and assist partners and distributors. With lots of experience to offer, David is also our in-house CRM master and a member of the bike commuting team.
Mark Jensen,
Marketeer
Mark handles our day-to-day business, sales and marketing tasks. He talks with customers, handles sales, facilitates product reviews, develops industry contacts, and helps us know how our products stack up to the competition. Mark also dives right into the manufacturing process with our development and operations teams, who together bring our future products into reality. Mark has his CWTS and is working on his CWNA to be even more of a “certified” Wi-Fi geek than he already is.
Wendy Fox,
Marketing Magician
Wendy handles most of the MetaGeek marketing initiatives. She can write, design, plan, and execute projects with a swiftness that comes from years of technology experience. She also manages the front-end of the website – administering A/B tests for new page development and studying analytics tools to make sure everything is on track. She’s also known to tweet, blog, make video projects, and knows enough about wireless networking to be dangerous. Add in trade show management, product photography, and all sorts of extra curricular community projects – Wendy is the swiss-army-knife for MetaGeek’s marketing.
OPERATIONS
Skay Woodings,
Financial Stuff
Skay takes care of the business financial details so the geeks can focus on what they do best – making great visualization hardware and software. She makes sure employees salary and benefits are handled seamlessly. She also gets the honor of paying all the office bills, organizes HR matters, and handles various contract details when they pop up. Skay is also notorious for making amazing treats that she brings in to share with the office.
Wen Olson,
Operations
Wen keeps the wheels of commerce rolling around MetaGeek. She leads our operations processes, manufacturing, and inventory control – expertly taking care of getting all the versions of Wi-Spy and Chanalyzer built, packaged, and shipped. She also manages the flow and availability of all the third-party products we sell on our site. Wen is also heading up several new shipping and management initiatives which will result in better processes and faster product delivery.
Lael Uberuaga-Rodgers,
Office Assistant
Lael ensures that the office and team are well organized, handling various office duties and errands, as well as ordering the all important brown bag lunches. If someone needs the latest book, or assistance with travel, or calls our office on that newfangled device called the telephone, she is always happy to assist with her great sense of humor. Lael brings a welcoming energy to the front desk of our office.