Employee Spotlight: Chad Mazilly, Software Engineer and Team Lead

With our new compensation product entering the market this month, it only makes sense that this Employee Spotlight features our team lead for product engineering–Chad Mazilly. Chad joined RedCAT Systems in June 2024 as a software engineer and has now worked with both the customized and configurable side of the house. Let’s learn more about Chad.

How did you get into this field?

By curiosity and chance! I loved math in college but was completely disinterested in my required programming classes, which I nearly failed. After graduation, I went into marketing and took a spin at entrepreneurship building custom cabinetry.

When I had downtime from my cabinetry business, I started to design simple brochure websites as a side hustle. This was in the mid 2000s when the web was the Wild West. There was plenty of opportunity and every business wanted to have a website that stood out. In terms of development, though, there were far less guidelines, tooling, and educational resources.

I eventually connected with the local chamber of commerce and started to solve tougher problems that required web applications backed by databases. A huge opportunity was presented that was outside of my experience, but I said yes to it anyway. That kicked off my professional engineering career and I’ve never looked back.

What is the project or solution you’re most proud of during your time here so far?

I’ve been focused on the development of our latest iteration of the Compensation Management product since my first day at RedCAT. The product engineering team benefitted from exploring the strengths of our existing tools and building upon those concepts while taking a blank slate approach.

What we’ve accomplished in this relatively short amount of time without compromising on quality has been an incredible feat. I’m most proud of the milestones that our entire product team has reached in our short time together.

What is something you’ve learned about compensation management since getting more involved with the new product build?

I’ll admit that I was initially naive to the complexities of all that goes into compensation planning. What was especially surprising to me is the vastness of strategies that companies adopt and how greatly they can differ even within the same space. 

Much like software development, there are general guidelines but no single, straightforward approach. It’s been eye-opening to experience the thoughtfulness and creativity that goes into the planning process. This whole experience has given me more appreciation for our friends in HR.

What are you most excited for users to experience with the new product?

Simply put, the “aha” moment that users will have once they start digging into the configurability that this product provides. The formula builder really stands out to me as the cornerstone feature that unlocks the experience and a sense of freedom. Our refreshing UI will be a great place for people to spend their time. I’m excited to hear the success stories and time savings as we onboard more customers.

Throughout your career, what helps you stay motivated?

I gained a lot of knowledge early in my career through podcasts that interviewed well-established engineers and great minds of the craft. I listened to these as I drove during the day and could not wait to get home to rewrite my code. It was a huge motivation for me to stay curious. 

What keeps me motivated today is being part of a team that has synergy. It’s very rewarding to learn from your closest peers and achieve your goals together.

How do you enjoy spending your free time?

I’m all about nature and the great outdoors. I grew up in California and spent a lot of time hiking in the Sierra Nevadas including Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon parks. There is no place I’d rather spend my time. 

Now that my family is based in the Midwest, we take fun road trips to new spots of the country. We’re trying to hit as many national and state parks as possible. New to us this year will be an off-roading park where you cover long distances in your vehicle and camp along the way. 

I also love to cook and grill. My family enjoys picking new recipes and shopping together at our local International Food Market to gather the ingredients. Highly recommend Jungle Jim’s in Cincinnati–you should look it up!

You have to tell us–what was it like meeting Shaquille O’Neal in person and the story behind getting his autograph? Do you have any other fun famous encounters?

Funny that you remember this! I was born into a family of Louisiana State University (LSU) fanatics. I was around 10 years old and this was at a time when Shaq was making waves by breaking backboards during games. 

By chance I had the opportunity to meet him at a routine practice on campus. It was just the team, staff, and my family. He came over to me and I asked “Why do you break the backboards?” (great question, right?). He said “Because I can. The next one is for you big man.” 

Another encounter I had was around that same time. My dad was part of a charity organization that held an event at William Shatner’s horse ranch. Somehow we got placed at his table for lunch and I got to sit right next to him. Making small talk with a 10-year-old he asked, “So who is your favorite character on the show?” and I said “Han Solo.” He seemed upset. Cleary, I was a Star Wars kid who had never even heard of Star Trek.

 

 

 

Who knew if you asked for a Shaq story, you would also get a William Shatner horse ranch story! Thank you, Chad, for taking the time to share more about yourself, the work your team is doing, and the reminder that you never know where a “yes” can lead you down the road.