Transformation Series: Jigar Shah

By Jigar Shah, Principal Engineer

I grew up in India where I got my degree in electrical engineering. While I had my degree in electrical engineering, I felt a pull towards computers and software. I wasn’t sure how to get my foot in the door, so I reached out to the professors and mentors around me for guidance. Which paid off great. I started my career in the tech industry in 2008.

I had always had the ambition of moving to the US. While I wasn’t sure which state was right for me, I knew I wanted to be in a place where I could experience all of the seasons and see snow in real life. In 2013, I made the move to Durham, North Carolina, where I married my now wife before we moved to our current home state of Massachusetts in 2014.

I worked in the Adtech industry for the first time atTiVo. I started as a data engineer and over the course of my three years there, I made my way up to senior data engineer. I really enjoyed my time there. Television data domain is very niche, but it’s very interesting and complex.

Around 2019, I started hearing a lot about a company called VideoAmp and I wanted to see what it was all about for myself. Long story short, I accepted a position at VideoAmp that July and honestly think it was one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life. One of our values is to “Grow Exponentially” and I have felt it from a personal, professional and organizational level. When I joined VideoAmp, I was a part of a team of about nine folks and now we are at around 16 people. I joined as a senior data engineer and now I’m a principal engineer and have taken on a role with more leadership, strategy, and decision making.

VideoAmp is unlike any other place I’ve ever worked. The teams and environment allow for flexibility and freedom but also the power to be successful. Everyone is always motivated to do more but it’s not due to pressure from the top, it’s a genuine collective motivation to do great things and be successful. I also love the focus on wellness, which is something I haven’t come across anywhere else. The work life balance and wellness push is so important. And this became especially important to me when I became a father. It’s made me realize that it’s not just about my work but my health and being there for my daughter. There are so many opportunities to work towards wellness in a holistic manner. And lastly, but definitely not least, everyone is so unbelievably helpful and always willing to make time for each other. We’re all a team at VideoAmp and I can’t wait to see where we’re headed together.