From Score and Script to JavaScript – Introducing Stephen Mark, Software Engineer at Agilis

It’s not every day that you come across a man like Stephen Mark. A full-stack software engineer with experience in JavaScript, React, Node.js, Kubernetes and more, Stephen is also an accomplished musical theater actor and a certified yoga instructor. When he is not programming, you can find him hiking up a mountain or meditating on top of one. We are delighted to welcome Stephen to the Agilis Engineering team and can’t wait to tap into his creative genius and technical expertise. Our communications manager, Irina, caught up with Stephen at our New York office over a cup of coffee to ask him a few questions.

What’s it like to tour the world with professional theater productions?

Stephen: Musical theater has always been my passion. I earned a BFA in Drama from New York University - Tisch School of the Arts – with a minor in Computer Science – and have had the opportunity to work on a huge range of theater styles - from revivals of classic “Golden Age” musicals to new works and puppet musicals. Touring is an amazing experience. My travels took me from Norway – just inside the Arctic Circle – to Shanghai, China, and all across the United States. It’s a lot of fun to create different characters for the show, and to witness the differences in how various cultures relate to the same theater piece.

How do you combine acting and engineering?

Stephen: The two disciplines are actually more similar that you might think. Engineering is not just about writing code. It’s about exploring the problem, understanding the requirements, and finding a creative and elegant way to solve the challenge. I think it’s really important for software engineers to have great people skills – you have to be an enthusiastic presenter convey abstract, technical ideas to a non-technical audience, an empathetic coworker to connect with people on your team, and generally a curious person. These are the same qualities that good actors need to create memorable characters on stage. Engineering and acting are actually not that different, when you think about it!

You also enjoy teaching. Tell me about some of your mentoring projects

Stephen: My most recent venture has been working as a Software Engineer Immersive Resident at Hack Reactor – a modern blended-learning school for entrepreneurs and engineers. I really enjoyed mentoring students in JavaScript fundamentals, data structures, front/back-end technologies, and web app optimization. I also conducted live coding interviews with prospective students to gage their technical abilities. In my spare time, I teach various styles of yoga, and work with community organizations in New York to make yoga classes accessible to wider audiences.

What are you currently working on at Agilis?

Stephen: My first big project is designing and building a new codebase in React / Redux with TypeScript and SCSS, which will become the foundation for our website and future iterations of the Agilis Platform. I am really happy about how it’s been coming along, and can’t wait to unveil it to the world!

We're excited to add Stephen's creative perspective to our team. Welcome aboard, Stephen!

Want to learn more about what Agilis can do for your business? Call us at (973) 910 2424 or email us at: info@agilischemicals.com

Visit Agilis at: www.agilischemicals.com