Meister: We’ve Got Five New Team Members!

This post was updated on May 13, 2020.

The year is drawing to a close but that hasn’t meant a hold on recruitment at Meister! No, actually it means quite the opposite. We’ve just hired five new team members in development, design, office management and product management. Welcome aboard: Stefanie, Kevin, Mara, Marton and Rabea!

Stefanie Hofbauer — Office Manager

My background

Hosting is something that I’ve always enjoyed and something that came naturally to me, so attending tourism school when given the chance was kind of a no-brainer. After graduating in 2005, I worked mostly in the hospitality industry. In Vienna for the first six years, then seasonal work in Tyrol for six months after that. This is before I finally took the plunge and relocated to London. After working in an upscale hotel in central London for another four years, my British partner and I decided that it was time for our own little Brexit. After returning to Vienna, I worked managing an apartment hotel that formed part of a language school. I then decided that the time was right to do something a little different, and joined Meister!

My role at Meister

My role was described to me as some sort of mix between “Office Mum” and jack-of-all-trades. I joined Meister at the beginning of September 2019, and so far, this has proven to be a pretty accurate description. While I do deal with the company’s monthly tax advisor prep as well as travel and conference arrangements, I also get to restock the snack bar, drinks, supplies, and organize team events.

About me

I love hiking, no matter the distance. I have hiked several long distance trails in a lot of different places, but am still always on the lookout for a new hiking adventure. I’m partial to a bit of yoga every now and again. When I am not exploring the great outdoors, I can be found enjoying the great indoors, usually on the sofa, sipping a cuppa, and working on my latest crochet project. I also have built up a nice vinyl record collection over the past few years and I am particularly proud of my soundtrack and Christmas sections! Disclaimer: while I may be a bit of a nerd who loves playing some Carcasonne, Settlers of Catan and even some Skyrim, be warned that I have absolutely no clue about programming. 

Mara Münzing — Marketing Designer

My background

I grew up in Frankfurt, Germany before moving to to Vienna in June 2019. I studied Communications and Design just outside of Frankfurt in a little town called Wiesbaden. After completing my degree, I worked as a freelance graphic designer and founded a company called Herzlech, which made custom souvenirs for the Lech ski resort. I designed the products, took care of all orders and established the brand over the winter. I was able to pursue my second passion at the same time — skiing. I started working as a ski instructor from the age of 16 and did it up until very recently. I’ve recently joined Meister and am really excited for all the new challenges awaiting me!

My role at Meister

As a Meister marketing designer, my main focus will be on the design of all marketing materials, ads, collaterals and the creation of in-house videos. I will also be responsible for the creation of presentation and document templates, UI and the design of web app features. 

About me

When I’m not working you’ll find me outside running or walking my two dogs Meggie and Josie or trying to improve my softball skills. I’m a new member of the Bumblebees, so I spend many of my weekends on the softball field. I spend the rest of my time hanging out with friends, watching TV shows and in the winter — skiing. I love traveling and visiting new places. Arts, design and fashion are also essential parts of my life.  I love reading a good book and working on some of my illustrations. But I’m trying to get to know my new home in Vienna and its surroundings at the moment. 

Kevin Kuhn — Product Manager

My background

I completed a Bachelor’s degree in Entrepreneurship. Sometime, just before completing my studies, I caught startup fever. This led me to dedicate the last eight years of my professional career to working in smaller companies and being a part of building them from the ground up. My last stint was at an e-commerce platform that focused on sustainable food and beverage brands. While I loved my position as an all-rounder (jumping in and out of product management, IT and marketing), I was on the lookout for a company with a vision that I could really get behind. That’s when I stumbled upon Meister… 

My role at Meister

As part of MeisterTask’s product management team, I spend a lot of time thinking about various ways to provide even more value to our users. To do that, I monitor our constant stream of external feature requests as well as all the ideas that come from our internal development teams. I provide input into our development roadmap in terms of prioritization. I work closely with design and development, and together we try to do what it takes to bring the best new features to life. 

About me

When not at work, a really good day for me would look something like this: Wake up early and calm down by meditating. Then, enjoy a nice cup of Japanese green tea while digging through a stack of non-fiction books or listening to a good podcast. After that is when it’d be the ideal time to either take my bike for a ride around the Danube Island or to hit the gym for some weight-lifting. A more contemplative (but equally wonderful) alternative would be to go explore the world through my camera lens. To conclude a perfect day, my girlfriend and I would invite friends over and treat them to a nice home-cooked dinner and a fun night of board games.

Márton Bartal  — Backend Developer

My background

I’m from Slovakia, but am part of a minority Hungarian diaspora located there. After secondary school, I attended the Vienna Technical University where I studied Software Engineering. The road to completing my degree has taken a little longer than expected (almost finished), but has been rewarding nonetheless. The main reason behind my delay is that I’ve been working as a software developer on a part-time basis since 2014. Up until recently, my main area of specialization was on full stack development, but since starting at Meister, my focus has shifted to backend development.

My role at Meister

As a backend developer, my job is to make sure that everything our user needs when using our products works flawlessly. But maintenance only forms one part of my job, the other part is working on releasing new features, especially those that require a bit of heavy lifting on the server side. 

About me

I’m a night owl, who tends to spend a lot of my free time learning about new things. Even though I was always more fascinated by mathematics, physics and the sciences when I was younger, I find as I get older, I’ve grown to love and appreciate the social sciences as well. I love talking about languages, cultures and how complicated we humans are. Apart from trying to learn and understand (almost) everything, I enjoy watching movies and TV-shows, listening to music or just being a lazy couch potato. I used to be big into gaming but that’s not really the case anymore, unless a really interesting game comes out, that is.

Rabea Thies — People Manager 

My background 

I am originally from the lovely Münsterland in Germany but moved to Vienna in 2017 to study a Master’s degree in International Management/CEMS at the Vienna University of Economics and Business. My background in business and psychology allows me to work on my main area of interest — people. I’m interested in people in organizations, the attraction and retention of talent, ways to foster team collaboration and of course minimizing stress in the workplace. I’m very happy to be a part of the Meister team and to see the team grow (not just size-wise)!

My role at Meister

As Meister’s People Manager, I’m responsible for everything people related. That includes: finding exciting people to join our team, and then retaining those people; looking after our great company culture and coming up with new ideas to increase collaboration and the transfer of knowledge within Meister. One of my Master’s projects involved using Meister as a case study and looking for ways to make it a company that’s even more attractive to Viennese developers. I’m very excited that part of my job will also involve seeing those ideas come to life. 

About me 

The town where I’m from in Germany sits right next to the Dutch border, which means that I basically grew up on a bicycle, or as we say — fiets. In my free time, you can usually find me exploring Vienna on my fiets, looking out for new cafés and taking photos of cool places. When I’m not doing that, I’m either in my kitchen trying out new recipes with friends, at yoga (I am training to become a yoga instructor) or in my hammock somewhere in the Prater reading or thinking about my next travel destination. I’m always up for a good conversation about travel destinations and especially love hearing travel stories!