Two of Perficient’s core values are clients and innovation, and the two seamlessly integrate with one another. Without clients, we wouldn’t have as many opportunities to innovate, but without innovation, we wouldn’t maintain the clientele we have. Joey Klein, senior solutions architect, works within our Atlassian practice and is able to quickly solve problems for clients by providing innovative solutions with Atlassian products.
Atlassian develops, sells, and manages software solutions that support teams for project planning and execution, software management, post-release customer support, and collaboration or document sharing. This is the work Joey and his team focuses on, providing innovative solutions for our clients that help solve problems and deliver value.
We want to tell the stories of our people who truly embrace the same values as Perficient, and below, Joey discusses his passion toward Atlassian, how he maintains a strong work-life balance, and what motivates him in his role.
What is your role? Describe a typical day in the life.
A typical day as a senior solutions architect involves crafting, building, and delivering solutions for people and organizations. I lean on a blend of tools, processes, and a small, but amazing team. I consult on and administer solutions using the Atlassian product suite including Jira, Confluence, Jira Service Management, and a host of marketplace apps. Aside from being a certified Atlassian Professional, I’m also an agile coach. I like to take elements from Scrum, Kanban, and evidence-based management and “fold” them into solutions that address business objectives.
Do you have any relevant certifications?
I do! The certifications I have are Professional Scrum Master I, Professional Scrum Master II, Professional Scrum with Kanban I, Certified Scrum Master, Atlassian Certified Professional, Professional KanBan I, Kanban Management Professional, and ITIL v3 Foundations.
How does Perficient’s Atlassian practice benefit clients?
From pre-sales to sales, configuration to Atlassian administration and best practices, Perficient has a growing Atlassian practice that can help clients throughout every step of their journey. We provide a broad range of consulting offers for our clients. An ability to leverage a prescription of those consulting offers in conjunction with existing, or even new, Atlassian installations at our clients is a powerful combination.
The Perficient Atlassian practice is comprised of Atlassian Certified Professionals and currently maintains Gold Partner status through Atlassian’s Solution Partner Program. In addition to deep knowledge of the Atlassian product suite, our team of consultants offer their own unique perspectives through their diverse experiences. Backgrounds in development, project management, agile coaching, quality assurance, and DevOps come together to offer solution-focused outcomes for clients.
What advice would you give to colleagues who are starting their career with Perficient?
A piece of advice I’d give to colleagues starting their career at Perficient would be to speak up. Doing this will help get what you want and help your clients do the same. Through my experience at Perficient, I’ve learned that I’m never done learning, technically or strategically. Here, there are so many talented, intelligent, and caring people, so I have learned a ton from others speaking up, and is a huge reason it is encouraged.
What motivates you in your daily work?
Creativity. A mentor of mine once told me to simply “put the tools on the table and let folks pick up what works.” I’m motivated by the opportunity to help clients figure out what will work best for them. Sometimes this is done in a conversation, sometimes it’s a simple proof of concept, and other times it’s a series of options with guidance. I love simplifying chaos, and I have the honor of being able to do that every day here.
How have you grown your career with Perficient?
Despite being here for less than a year, I’ve embraced a senior role on the team. I’ve sought out challenges as we continue growing our Atlassian practice, and I stay active in the internal and external agile communities and the Atlassian ecosystem. I lead the Cleveland Atlassian Community and sit on the Agile Steering Committee here at Perficient.
How have you personally helped advance Perficient’s business during your career here?
We are continuing to grow the Atlassian team, and it’s been a blast. Our team is small but extremely talented. While self-hosted support had historically been the team’s focus, we are quickly expanding into new clients, industries, and solutions. Migrations from on-prem instances to cloud are huge, along with ITSM solutions, scaled agile solutions, and team coaching.
If you had to define yourself using one Perficient value, which would it be and why?
Innovation. I have never agreed with the phrase, “this is how we’ve always done it,” which is one of the reasons Perficient stood out to me. I am always drumming up new ideas or approaches, a lot don’t make an impact, but every once in a while, something sticks. At Perficient, we’re encouraged to share these new ideas, so the innovation is extremely prominent.
What are you passionate about outside of work?
I’m an avid cyclist, road and gravel. During the long Cleveland winters, I’m on Zwift and Peloton, but once it breaks 60 degrees, I’m outside. My wife and I have two boys, and I coach football, baseball, and wrestling for them. We really like to travel and stay active!
What’s something surprising people might not know about you or your background?
I was very close to becoming a therapist. Prior to getting my MBA and working in technology, I completed a Masters program in counseling. I did my clinical work with adults in an outpatient setting and also co-led inpatient chemical dependency programs. It was very rewarding work.
It’s no secret our success is because of our people. No matter the technology or time zone, our colleagues are committed to delivering innovative, end-to-end digital solutions for the world’s biggest brands, and we bring a collaborative spirit to every interaction. We’re always seeking the best and brightest to work with us. Join our team and experience a culture that challenges, champions, and celebrates our people.
Learn more about what it’s like to work at Perficient at our Careers page. See open jobs or join our talent community for career tips, job openings, company updates, and more!
Go inside Life at Perficient and connect with us on LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
