Employee Spotlight

Introducing Joseph Coombe!

Role (at MetaMorph)

I am an Engineer at MetaMorph. I’m currently working on a multidisciplinary design analysis and optimization project using the OpenMETA tools – both to test the toolset and demonstrates its capabilities. My other responsibilities include researching ways to improve OpenMETA’s capabilities, testing the software, and understanding the customer’s needs.

Alma Mater

I graduated from Vanderbilt University in 2017 with a B.E. in Electrical Engineering. I was born in Nashville and have spent most of my life here.

What do you like best at MetaMorph so far?

The culture of constant learning and personal responsibility.

Since joining, I’ve been learning non-stop (math, optimization, physics, programming, design, etc.). It’s amazing how many times I find myself returning to first principles to solve engineering or programming problems. Working at MetaMorph is cool because each problem comes with multiple dimensions (customers, business, math, physics, algorithms, programming). I enjoy learning about each separate domain and then combining those different slices of understanding into one solution.

What’s your favorite thing about living in Nashville?

The laid-back, family-friendly atmosphere. People are polite and ask you about your day. There’s a healthy dose of Southern hospitality.

Favorite meal

Pho with lots of hoisin sauce

What’s the first thing you would buy if you won the lottery?

A camel

People would be surprised if they knew:

When I was a kid, my family had this 24 volume encyclopedia set. I read volumes ‘A’ to ‘S’ – at which point I got bored and found something more interesting to read.

What do you do in your spare time?

I run, read, and work on various side projects.

Running is a great way to unwind. I like to run with friends (both for the great conversations and because it forces us to run faster)!

I’m a pretty voracious reader – currently I’m reading a book on the history of airplanes. I don’t have a favorite author but I’ve especially enjoyed the works of Jules Verne, Mark Twain, J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Dickens, Ray Bradbury, Edgar Allan Poe, G.K. Chesterton, Lewis Carroll, C.S. Lewis, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Rudyard Kipling among others.

Last year, I built an Arduino-controlled LED array for my dorm window, created a door lock mechanism that unlocked my door when I knocked a “secret pattern”, and fixed an 97 Nissan Altima that had a broken intake manifold gasket. For my next project, I think I’d like to make something that flies!