Joining the React Core team in London
A lot of things have happened for me over the past two years. I burned out. My father died. I moved from Seattle to Amsterdam to work on Booking.com’s design system. And I divorced my best friend of ten years.
So much change in such a short amount of time was not easy to navigate. It forced me to live outside Twitter, to cut back on speaking and reduce all my community work, including handing over my web animation newsletter to new editors.
Through it all, I have been supported by wonderful coworkers and community members I’m privileged to call friends. I was also able to identify my career passion: to help people learn and to grow communities where they feel they belong.
And now it’s time to do that:
I am delighted to announce that I will be joining the React Core team in London on May 28, 2019 as documentation engineer.
Facebook? Really?
I have been asked this a lot.
I remember when I joined Microsoft, people asked me the same thing. And when I left, those same people said, “I hear Microsoft is hiring some great people these days!”
All large companies are problematic. Every one of them has pockets that are gross and pockets that are trying to make things better. Sometimes you see those pockets. Sometimes you don’t. I have seen them all.
I chose this team. During the Fog of Divorce, I had a number of excellent opportunities land in my lap. But it was this team that made me glow. I chose them because they are good people. Smart people who know more than I do. Who I can learn from and in turn, teach those learnings to others. I believe that being here will be good for the community, for the company, and for the Web.
The UK? Really?
Given my previous experiences at the UK border and the current state of Brexit, it might seem odd that I’ll be taking up residence in London. I like to say that the Universe has a great sense of humor. Of course a country that kicked me out and has denied me a visa to speak would eventually have to open the door for me with white gloves. I’m like a cat you just can’t keep out!
I’m excited I will finally get to spend time with my UK colleagues and get to know a community I’ve been unable to interact with for years. And I’m glad I can pursue my passion for community without retreating too far from my close friends in the Benelux area and Germany.
Don’t be a stranger! There will be a lot of change and adventure and learning coming up in the next six months. I won’t be speaking a lot during this time — I really just want to set up a new home and settle in on the team. But my DMs and my inbox are always open! I’d love to hear from you about your thoughts on React and your UK protips.
The browser is no longer a document reader. Interaction should be native to the web experience. And making and monetizing an experience on all platforms should be easy for anyone. This is what I believe, this is what I work toward. And I’m proud to be working toward that with the people building React.
Thank you for this opportunity.
This piece was originally published on my personal site, RachelNabors.com, where you can find more of my writings on web development.
