About Chris Wiegman

/images/2024/11/three-months-soda-free.jpg

Hi, I’m Chris!

Who am I?

I am a Vice President of Engineering

I am the Vice President of Engineering at SuperFile, an early-stage startup in Chicago focused on privacy and security tech. I am currently building the engineering teams to craft solutions people need.

My management style borrows heavily from my experience in teaching and aviation. My goal is to empower my team, not “tell them what to do.” It is a model that has served me well while leading numerous teams throughout my career.

I am a software engineer

I’ve built WordPress plugins, websites, development environments, Chrome extensions and more as a software engineer for numerous organizations.

Outside of work, writing code is still one of my hobbies. I’ve built a career working with open-source software and these days I enjoy writing in languages like Go with which I build apps to help developers work smarter.

I am a teacher

I’m a teacher by heart. I’ve taught aviation and computer science at universities. I’ve also mentored numerous people, spoken at conferences and Meetups and I still try to use this blog to teach others what I can.

I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Aviation Management and a Master of Science degree in Computer science, both from Southern Illinois University Carbondale where I also first learned how much I enjoy teaching. Since graduate school I taught as adjunct faculty in computer science at St. Edward’s University and have spoken at dozens of events in an effort to share what I’ve learned with others. It’s a passion I hope to continue for many years.

I am a pilot, a writer and more

Before I switched to a career in tech and went to graduate school I was a pilot flying business jets and for a small airline where I served both as a captain and a training captain helping new pilots onboard to the company.

Throughout my adult life I’ve paid my bills with sales, teaching, code, mentoring, occasional writing and, for a little while, with a trumpet. You might say I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up but, with as many endeavors as I’ve been fortunate to be successful in, I like to think it’s more that I never want to stop learning and I’m so very grateful for all the opportunities I’ve had to do so.

What I believe in

My life and my work are very much guided by what I believe, not in a religious sense but in what it is I stand for and have made a hallmark of my work.

I’ve never been one to chase paychecks as my reason for work. In fact, working in open source it is safe to say my paychecks have been relatively low compared to what many people think of when they think of software engineers. I’ve never wanted to be a business owner or entrepreneur and sold my only company when it grew to a point where it would’ve been my “job.” I’ve never searched for fame, preferring to share what I’ve learned in an effort to help others showcase who they are and what they’ve done.

What I do believe in is people and what they’re capable of. I believe everyone has a voice and that voice deserves the chance to develop and be heard.

I believe that, as a professional, I have a responsibility to the community I serve, whether locally or beyond, and how I handle that responsibility is the highest indicator of success.

I believe my responsibility to my community is a responsibility to all people and their rights as humans. As such I believe privacy and sustainability aren’t just buzzwords but are my duties to practice and implement in all I build and share.

Finally, I believe in the humanity and dignity of all people and that belief must be shared by all those who I work with.

My most popular projects

A few of the more popular projects I’ve been involved with over the years include: