About

My name is Jim Mathies, I work for the Mozilla Organization as a senior engineering manager overseeing the Firefox Rendering, Media Playback, and Web Conferencing engineering teams. I’ve worked for Mozilla since 2007, initially as a software engineer, then switching to engineering management in 2015.

Over the years I have worked (mostly remotely) for numerous tech companies either as a manager, director, or software engineer.

I’m happily married to my wife Lena, the pretty lady pictured above. Lena grew up in Ukraine and immigrated to the U.S. in 2007. She’s a former high school math teacher turned Instagram lifestyle blogger who currently boasts of having over 1.7 million followers!

We like to travel together as much as we can – Havana, Dublin, Berlin, Miami, Key West, San Francisco, Las Vegas, New York, Atlanta, Vancouver, and all of the islands of Hawaii are just a few of the locations we’ve visited since getting hitched. One of our favorite places to visit is New Orleans. A few years ago we spent one whole month working from an AirBNB there during Mardi Gras, it was amazing!

We have two wonderful kids – Our daughter Maria – real-estate agent, super host, and successful mom of two, and our son Igor, who’s currently studying engineering at USF.

I also have a big sis, my mentor / model in life (and the brains of the family) – Laura Mathies. She has a PhD in Genetic Engineering from Stanford University and spends her days reprogramming mother nature in her lab. (An interest in software programming seems to run in the family!)

A bit about me – I love to cook! Cooking is a wonderful mixture of chemistry and creativity which I enjoy exploring. I have a massive cookbook collection that would blow your mind! I also have a passion for modern interior design. In 2015 I purchased a house in the Destin Florida area, scraped it out completely and remodeled using a minimalist modern design and a mid-century flare in the decor. This project was one of the most enjoyable engineering projects I’ve ever tackled, it required a unique mixture of research skills, engineering, and creativity.

The foothills of the Colorado Rockies in Denver Colorado is where I grew up. I spent my younger years plugging through snow drifts and exploring endless open fields. I do miss the snow covered landscape around Christmas time, but I really don’t miss the cold – I prefer sun, sand, and warm weather. After high school I attended Florida State University to study Physics, but decided to pursue a career in computer science instead.

My folks originally met in Seattle, where my father was doing research at the University of Washington. Mom worked in dad’s lab as a research tech, where they hit it off and the rest is history. They moved to Denver Colorado in 1967 when my dad accepted a position at Saint Josephs Hospital to design and build out the hospital’s first blood chemistry lab.

Photography is a passion of mine! I find myself pulling my phone out all the time looking for opportune shots. I hate complex cameras though, too much effort. Smart phones have really changed the landscape by giving amateur photographers like myself a tool we can work with. You can do amazing things if you have a good phone and an eye for a good shot!

In the 90’s I spent six years living in San Francisco enjoying the energy and excitement of the dot com bubble! Dinner parties, dance clubs and Burning Man! We even managed to build a few neat things and learn a bit. So much fun!

One last quirky note – on my office shelf I have an Apple ][ hard drive cover signed by Steve Wozniak. In high school programming and interfacing the Apple ][ was my passion, and in 1985 The Woz visited Denver for a symposium at the Colorado School of Mines. Some friend and I went, and after the presentations, I had a chance to meet Steve for questions and autographs. The signature reads “To Jim, keep it on track! Woz”. I feel I’ve succeeded on that task so.. thanks for the advice Steve!