The geek in question: Sean Daniel

The job title: Senior Program Manager, Home and Small Business Server

How did you get here? I was asked to join the company while I was locked out of my town home in frosty Ontario Canada. Ok, the longer version is that a few friends and I decided to work for Microsoft, even if it was as janitorial job. I applied for a few Internships while I was in my 3rd year at college.

At the time, Microsoft only hired 4th year students, so in my 4th year, I had an interview on campus with the GM of Small Business Server. During my 45 minute interview, I was asked to design a webpage for selling cars online. I did and was asked what the most important part of the website was, and I said the UI, then defended my position and got my first of two internships. I found out after the interview what Small Business Server (SBS) was and realized I was trying to build that exact product in my basement. After completing my internships, I joined the SBS team and have been here ever since.

What are you working on right now? I’m a core Feature PM for the Home and Small Business Server team. Our team builds Windows Home Server and Windows Small Business Server. I’m a core technical PM that dives into the networking functionality and designs how it works on both products.

Tell me about your office and your commute. Last year I was granted an opportunity to work out of my home. I was shocked that Microsoft would offer this kind of flexibility to let me work on the products that I love while at the same time living with my wife … always important right? I continue to work my similar hours as I did when I lived in Redmond, but now I have no commute. To keep in touch, I take a float-plane to the Redmond main campus for a week/month. It’s always fun to show up on Monday morning at 10am and show your co-workers pictures of your commute across the Juan De Fuca straight and the Olympic Mountains.

What are your passions outside of MSFT? Outside of Microsoft, I am an avid photographer, and soccer player, and I like to spend a heck of a lot of time with my little Chihuahua, Chico.

How do you integrate those passions into your MSFT work? It’s an interesting mix for sure. I think that any competitive sport integrates well with Microsoft. Having the drive to win, and the tenacity to keep at it is definitely something that I find valuable in my day to day work. And as a photographer, I force myself to look at the world differently. I try to obtain shots that aren’t seen every day, having this sort of creativity helps with design of features and thinking about problems differently in an attempt to bring more compelling features to the customers.

What’s surprised you about working here? When I joined the company back in 2000, what surprised me about working at Microsoft was how fun everyone was. There were video games after-hours (sometimes at lunch) and people taking breaks by running through the hallways with hockey sticks, or my favorite; actually dry walling someone’s office to be 1/8th the size and cutting out the window. But what surprised me even more, amidst all this fun and excitement, are some very dedicated employees who want to provide the best software. My co-workers at Microsoft are some of the most dedicated people I have ever worked with when it comes to designing, coding and testing the products, coming in early or staying late to get it done, and done right.

Links: * Sean's blog * Sean's photoblog