Back to Blog

People of Authy: Josh Staples

37ce9bad-8513-4d68-81e4-59aee4d1367d
The people who work at Authy are as diverse as the jobs they do. There are Authy originals who were part of the team when Twilio acquired the company back in 2015. And there are newer hires brought on to continue to push to make the best two-factor security solutions available. Regardless, when you join the team, you’re inspired by innovative colleagues who embody the entrepreneurial drive, optimism, and integrity that make Authy by Twilio a great product to work on.

Together, our employees are leveraging their passion for discovery in many ways — at work and in their free time. Take our newest team member, Josh Staples, for example. We wanted to get to know him a little better, so we asked him 10 questions:

Authy: Set the stage for us, Josh.

Josh: I’m a Solutions Architect for Authy, which means I interface with potential customers to provide their developers with technical support. I also work with the internal team on projects to facilitate sales.

I’m pretty new here, but you’re even a more recent hire. Is that correct?

Correct. I’ve only been with Authy for about a month! I am still very new to the Twilio ecosystem.

So where were you before joining Authy?

Having a background in web, 3D, GIS (geographical information systems), and identity management came in handy. I’ve worked at LeadGenius, Mappable.com, Navis, and Autodesk — all located here in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Ten words or less. What’s the favorite part of your job?

The variation of work…and problems…I get to address. There. I think that’s 10.

Speaking of variation. You’re doing something pretty interesting outside of the office. You’re “performing” at a local conference called 3D Web Fest later this week, on June 15th. It’s at The Festival Pavilion at Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture in San Francisco. What’s this event about and how did you get involved?

I’ve done a lot of work in 3D over the past several years and am relatively active presenting at WebGL Meetups and the like. I had an idea for a presentation after attending last years 3D web related to BART.

For readers, BART is the acronym for Bay Area Rapid Transit — the local, and much maligned, subway system here in San Francisco and its surroundings.

Yes. And since I currently live in Berkeley, California, across the Bay, I commute on BART daily.

Your performance – based on your experiences commuting to work, is called “Sounds of the SF Underground.” Having been in BART many times, that could mean anything. Clue us in.

f6bb1537-7570-42ab-b963-bd8683e22fa4Well, I’ve always thought BART was excessively loud. Now I have proof. “Sounds of the SF Underground” is a virtual subway ride through one of the noisier sections of BART. Without giving too much away it will include mobile VR experience of sorts that  people will be able to view on their phones. I’ll be playing a sound clip from BART and pushing the real-time dB levels to phones via Firebase. My wife refers to the project as, “Why Josh is grumpy when he gets off BART.”

Sounds lovely.

Ear plugs are suggested.

What other data analytics, geospatial, or 3D modeling projects are you working on?

I always have a few projects in the works.  My next project will be something related to Twilio so I can earn a track jacket. I will probably extend my 3D Tic-Tac-Toe game to support SMS-based opponent invitations.

For those who are also dabbling in 3D Web dev, could you please share 3 sources of inspiration?

Sure. First, there is Tony Parisi, who is local to San Francisco. Tony authored several of the WebGL books I started with. He is also very active in the community and facilitates quite a bit. There’s also Ricardo Cabello, author of Three.js. A third source of inspiration wouldhave to be the original developers of Autodesk Maya.

Last question. Any non-3D summer projects in the works?

For sure! I hope to figure out how to camp with my 5-month-old son, Maximillian.

Sounds perfect. Thanks, Josh and welcome to Authy.

Thanks, Severine.

 

About the author Authy

Authy is simple & secure two-factor authentication, available as a free mobile or desktop app, from Twilio. To get yours, click on the download button at the top of the page.

We can text you a link to get started:

Close