Today, we’re thrilled to introduce you to the seven newest members of the Gaia GPS team. Gaia GPS now includes 22 full-timers working on coding, design, cartography, marketing, and customer support, fully remote and distributed across the US.
It’s important that all the Gaia GPS team members are fueled by an adventurous spirit. As you’ll see below, these new folks have collectively amassed thousands of miles of exploration on foot, via bike, across open water, and in the saddle of an ATV. The team at Gaia GPS is an extension of the overall user community, and that helps keep the right focuses on new features, new maps, great user experience, and top-notch customer support.
These seven represent just the beginning of the company’s biggest round of expansion yet. If you’re interested in joining the team, click here to view our current openings and apply. We’re steadily hiring about 1 person per month.
Laura Friedland
Marketing Specialist
Favorite outdoor memory: I recently rode my bicycle from Medellín, Colombia, to the southern tip of Chile. Of the hundreds of sunsets along the way, my favorite was in Bolivia, on Salar de Uyuni—the biggest salt flat in the world. The only issue was the ~40mph winds. After three days on the salt flat, all my tent stakes were bent in half!
Proudest professional accomplishment: I teamed up with Katadyn USA and William Woodward (@wheretowillie) to create a short film about access to clean drinking water in the outdoors.
Recipe for the perfect s’more: It’s all about how you get the marshmallow off the stick. You have to clamp your stick between your knees and use two hands to sandwich the mallow between your graham crackers and chocolate. Then, you seamlessly twist the mallow off the stick into a perfect s’more. It’s a clean job every time.
Peter Liu
Software Engineer III
Favorite outdoor memory: At Þingvellir in Iceland, I walked between these two short cliffs. Turns out it was where the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates meet, and one of the only parts of that not underwater.
Proudest professional accomplishment? A few years back I built an app to help low-income housing seekers explore new neighborhoods and presented it at the Obama White House.
Recipe for the perfect s’more: I’m pretty impatient so I just eat the marshmallows raw. Like a peasant.
Melanie Wilson
Customer Support Specialist
Favorite outdoor memory: My first solo backpacking trip sleeping on the banks of Loch Avon in the Cairngorm Mountains in Scotland.
Proudest professional accomplishment: In my previous job as a librarian, I launched a collection of circulating hotspots and tablets. This collection helped reduced the negative impact of the digital divide in Lake County, Ohio, and it allowed students without internet access to complete schoolwork at home.
Recipe for the perfect s’more: I like a s’more with a little spice so instead of the standard Hershey’s chocolate I add chocolate with chilies.
Matt Palmer
UX/UI Designer
Favorite outdoor memory: A 1.5-week, self-supported bikepacking trip from Orange County, California, to Hetch Hetchy, mostly following the California Aqueduct. I had to lift my 80 pounds of bike and gear over about 80 gates, but it was worth it.
Proudest professional accomplishment: As a passion project during my time at ESRI, a friend and I collected anonymous Strava data to discover places where people were stopping on-trail. Land managers could then look at the data and identify those places as spots in need of better signage, benches for resting, or trail maintenance to fix obstacles.
Recipe for the perfect s’more: On my list to try: Some spicy cayenne dark chocolate and a cinnamon graham combo.
Adam Tootle
Software Engineer II
Favorite outdoor memory: As an anniversary gift, my wife surprised me during a trip to Mexico with an ATV tour through the Baja California Desert. None of the other scheduled riders showed up, so we ended up with a private tour. It was an amazing experience.
Proudest professional accomplishment: In the years I worked on health and wellness products, I loved receiving feedback from people who had just hit a new personal record for daily steps, or just trained for their first marathon. Building tools to help people improve their health and potentially live longer is something I’ll always be proud of.
Recipe for the perfect s’more: The only thing I’m a stickler about is how roasted the marshmallow is. Never let the marshmallow catch on fire. You have to know how to get the marshmallow right up to catch-fire level without going too far.
Jay Crooker
Customer Support Specialist
Favorite outdoor memory: Qualifying for (and competing in) the Ironman Triathlon World Championships in Kona, Hawai’i, in 1997.
Proudest professional accomplishment: Surviving my doctoral defense for my PhD in Analytical Chemistry.
Recipe for the perfect s’more: Heath Bar instead of chocolate. You’re welcome.
Jim Margolis
Customer Support Specialist
Favorite outdoor memory: I climbed Pingora, a peak in Wyoming’s Wind River Range, with my mother and the Grand Teton with my father. I’m close with my parents, and those adventures have been very special to me.
Proudest professional accomplishment: I’ve spent over 150 field weeks as an instructor at NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School) teaching climbing, mountaineering, winter, and backpacking courses.
Recipe for the perfect s’more: I put the marshmallow on a stick and prop it about six inches from the fire until it browns. While I’m waiting, I put the chocolate on a graham cracker nearby to melt it. Once the marshmallow is ready, I use the two grahams to pull it off the stick. Really the only advanced thing I do is stuff the whole thing in my mouth at once!
Learn more about Gaia GPS’s newest employees and meet the rest of our team at gaiagps.com/company.
Still Hiring—Apply Today!
Gaia GPS is still growing. If you’re smart, motivated, and passionate about the outdoors, consider applying for a career focused on getting more people outside, and helping them stay safer every time they do. Keep an eye on the latest job postings at the Gaia GPS careers page.
