In November 2024, we interviewed our volunteer Tony Perez. Tony is a Senior Infrastructure Engineer at CoreWeave, a GPU cloud-based in NYC. He works from the Fidi office as part of the hardware engineering team, automating our fleet of servers. This is his third cloud company; he has been with CoreWeave for over a year.
Before CoreWeave, Tony worked at Packet, a bare-metal cloud startup that automates server and network hardware. After Equinix acquired Packet, Tony helped integrate its cloud platform into Equinix Metal.
Tony specializes in software automation for data centers, focusing on networks, servers, and power systems. He enjoys building the “plumbing” that powers the cloud, which is why he calls himself an “Internet Plumber.”
Enjoy our interview with Tony.
How did you learn about Pursuit and in what ways do you volunteer with us?
I learned about Pursuit when I was working for Zac Smith, one of the board members, back when it was C4Q. I started off just talking to the fellows at different networking events to give them insight and advice on navigating the tech world from my point of view. I then started to be on a panel judging the cohorts project and then that led to being a technical mentor.
What inspired you to start volunteering with us?
The Pursuit mission resonates deeply with me. I was fortunate enough to break into the tech industry, but I believe it should be easier for others to start exploring it and see if it aligns with their interests. I share similar backgrounds to many of the Pursuit fellows—I didn’t know anyone in the tech world or attend a college with a robust curriculum and strong connections to prepare for it, even though I did study computer science. The tech industry was an enigma to me, but it turned out to be an incredible place to be in. Now, I want to share my experiences and resources to give others a chance, just like others have done for me. I also genuinely enjoy nerding out on all things tech, and it’s been amazing to see others become passionate about it as well! 🤓
What’s been a highlight of your volunteering experience with us so far?
It’s been an incredible experience to bring the fellow’s ideas to life. Helping them understand how to “think like a computer” and then witnessing that “aha” moment is truly rewarding.
What’s been your journey to becoming a Software Engineer?
I never aspired to be a programmer, despite knowing about coding as a topic. I perceived it as a domain reserved for highly intelligent individuals, and I didn’t identify with that. Initially, I set my sights on becoming a network technician working in IT, after taking a basic computer networking class in high school. It was probably my first exposure to how computers communicated, and I found it captivating, though I was unaware of its significance at the time. However, that didn’t lead to anything as the public high school I was in was underfunded and so only took that class for a semester. I chose SUNYIT (now SUNY Polytechnic Institute) and majored in IT systems. Initially, I didn’t pay much attention to my studies until my junior year, when I met two influential mentors. This pivotal moment led me to double major in IT systems and computer science. I joined a network security club and participated in work-study at the computer science department, gaining hands-on experience in network maintenance and self-hosting services. These experiences ultimately led me to cross paths with Zac Smith, the founder of a startup called Packet, and secured my first internship after college. From there, my career trajectory unfolded to what it is today.
Are there any key experiences or key mentors that impacted your career or shaped your approach to leadership?
I’ve been fortunate to have some great mentors who have significantly shaped my career. Dr. Ronny Bull & Nick Meranti from college and Zac Smith & Matt Anderson during my first full-time job all played pivotal roles. These mentors helped me deeply understand how computers work, how to maintain & program them, and something I didn’t initially realize was just as important, how humans interact with them.
Thanks to their guidance, I learned how to teach myself, solve technical problems independently, and collaborate effectively in teams to build and maintain increasingly complex systems, what we now call “The Cloud.” Their encouragement to push the boundaries of my understanding of computers and how they are connected gave me the confidence to learn coding as I better understood how the bits flowing through these systems worked.
Are you working on any personal projects you’d like to share about?
I like to have many side projects like building out my home automation using Home Assitant, colocate some servers I maintain to run my own private “Cloud”, and learning Rust to learn how to build programs for embedded systems.
What tech trends are you following now? What are you excited about?
I am currently working on building the infrastructure on which AI/ML runs on. I have been learning how these AI companies build new LLMs(Large Language Models) and build IaaS and SaaS products using those LLMs. It’s still the beginning of this technology, and so far, seeing it evolve has been very interesting. I am hopeful that these new AI technologies will help improve many aspects of IT and engineering. We are also far from Skynet, so there is no need to worry about that… for now.
What advice do you often give Fellows or would you give to junior developers?
My usual advice to junior developers is to start learning about your environment as soon as you get the hang of coding. This means paying attention to how the programs you write are deployed, fixed, maintained, and where they run.
Is there a particular philosophy or guiding principle you live by that’s shaped your career and personal decisions?
One thing some of my mentors emphasized is that mastering the fundamentals and having a deep understanding of them is crucial for solving problems independently. This principle has been instrumental in various aspects of my life, particularly in the tech industry. It has enabled me to acquire the ability to learn new concepts without relying solely on educational institutions or similar resources. For instance, comprehending the physical connections between computers through protocol standards, utilizing computer programs, and collaborating with humans plays a significant role in building, deploying, maintaining, troubleshooting, and scaling various services we utilize daily. The tech industry is constantly evolving, and having a solid foundation in the fundamentals enables one to grow and adapt with it.
Tony Perez
