Jacob Barrieault

Hey, I’m Jacob.

I’m a Staff Engineer working on developer experience at Planning Center, where I’ve been since 2017. Prior to that I worked for a startup called Quikly, and helped build Jewel Commerce (acquired by Capital One). I’m a “self-taught” developer who got into programming by following my curiosity to the point of no return. My first lines of code were exercises from Learn to Program, written on scrap paper during a slow shift at a Home Depot hot dog stand.

That’s a true story.

Beyond tech, I am also a husband, father of two, oddly avid walker, mediocre++ pickleball player (4.1 DUPR), and struggling musician. Across all my interests there is a common driving theme: the pursuit of excellence. The more you practice, the better you get. The better you get, the more you enjoy it. The never-ending reach towards excellence is one of my greatest sources of happiness in life. And I believe it’s a fundamentally human experience.

This site is a place for me to share my current thoughts and work, and practice the discipline of writing. Topics will generally relate to building and maintaining software systems that exist to serve humans.