Looking Forward to 2022

As we enter a new year, it’s time to sharpen our No. 2 pencils and plan the year to come. And we’re excited to hit the ground running. Although we continue to improve and refine the ways our distributed team collaborates, we’re able to continue learning, growing, and sharing with our clients and communities like never before. Here are just a few of the initiatives we’re excited about in the coming year.

Growing Our Team

In 2021 we hired dozens of experienced professionals to join our team from around the world, and we aim to grow further in 2022. We’re ecstatic to welcome four new cohorts of apprentices this year, beginning with our first cohort in February. The second cohort starts in April. Our third and fourth cohorts begin in August and October, respectively, and we’ll begin accepting applications in June. Learn more about the apprenticeship program.

We also continue to hire more experienced developers and designers (outside of the apprenticeship program) to fill out our team with leaders, mentors, and new perspectives. Opportunities are added throughout the year. Learn more about careers at 8th Light.

Finally, we seek to add a new design director to steward our talented and multidisciplined designers into the forefront of craft software’s future.

Expanding our skills

We’re always learning and expanding the ways to improve the quality of software. This year we’re excited to bring these to our clients.

Web 3.0

Web 3.0 projects have empowered us to think differently about the structure of applications, and we’re beginning to see a coherent ecosystem that more fully embraces the Internet’s early promise of decentralization.

In addition to our work with Web 3.0 clients, we’re conducting internal workshops to help all of our team members gain familiarity with the new tech stacks and paradigms.

Additionally, we’ll continue to participate in hackathons and share our work throughout the year.

Design For Safety

Design For Safety has introduced another new paradigm for software professionals. We’re diving deeper into all the ways humans interact with our products, and looking for opportunities where our approach to building craft software can help protect and empower vulnerable populations.

You can read more about what matters when designing for safety, watch how developers can contribute to the ethical tech paradigm shift, or listen to the Collaborative Craft episode Tech's Pre-seatbelt Phase, with Eva PenzeyMoog.

Sharing More Stories

In the coming year, we’re most excited about finding new ways of sharing stories about craft software. The following is a sneak peek of what we have in store.

Employee Spotlights

Regular readers have already met Naomi Dennis and Nicole Carpenter. All year, we’re keeping our doors open (figuratively) in order to provide more glimpses into the day-to-day lives of our team, expertise of our crafters, and highlight our work in craft software. Stories will capture a broad cross-section of varied experiences, interests, and personalities of our staff, and emphasize the humanity that informs our practice. Read other employee spotlights.

Collaborative Craft Podcast

The second season of our twice monthly podcast will explore broader themes with new voices. We’ll introduce new creative formats, welcome new community members, and foster dialogue about the software and technology industries. In the meantime, catch up on our listening to archived episodes, and follow the podcast on Twitter for more updates.

8th Light University

Also back this year are 8th Light University meetups. These semi-regular, free events occur on Fridays at 12:30 pm CST. Join us Friday, Jan 21 for our next event: Functional Programming! with Brian Sung.

Follow the 8th Light University Meetup page to receive upcoming event notifications, peruse the archive on YouTube or check back here for recaps.

Let's Connect

If you’d like someone on our team to speak to your team or your community group about craft software, reach out to Kate Hamilton at khamilton@8thlight.com.