Leaving Mozilla
Tweet Follow @robertnymanThis is a really hard blog post to write, but I need to share this with you: I’m leaving Mozilla.
It started in 2009
At the end of 2008 I had started learning to code extensions for Firefox, and in March 2009 I went to Berlin to give my first international presentation at an add-ons workshop.
It was amazing! The rush of being on stage, teaching people, learning from them; helping, discussing and having a great time! I really loved it and at that time I felt like I had found home, what I was supposed to work with.
The following years I was part of the Mozilla community, speaking at more workshops and attending MozCamps. In 2011, a position came up as a Technical Evangelist and I joined Mozilla full time.
What has happened since
Since I started I’ve gotten to meet numerous fantastic and inspiring people, both employees and people in the great Mozilla community. I’ve traveled extensively and became the Most well-travelled speaker on Lanyrd – now the count is up to 32 countries.
I’ve also written more in detail about Why I travel and about working with developer relations and Why I Do What I Do. There’s also lots more in the Travel category.
I’ve worked on a lot of things at Mozilla over the years, and a couple of the things I’m really proud of is having run the Mozilla Hacks blog over the last two years, and having published 350 quality posts in 2 years! I also took the initiative to launch feedback channels around the Firefox Developer Tools and Open Web Apps and we’ve gotten great feedback from developers there.
Moving on
Alas, it’s time to move on. I’ve always preached to developers to always strive for more, whether that’s a new position in the current company or changing jobs, to ensure they keep on evolving and don’t stagnate. And I feel I really have to follow my own example in this regard.
I’ve gotten to learn and experience a lot of things at Mozilla and for that I’m eternally grateful.
Mozilla is going through a number of challenges at the moment, and to be honest, it’s my belief that the upper management need to acknowledge and address these.
I believe Mozilla is representing a great cause and I wish they can fix and tend to what they’re facing and that they come out stronger. I believe the Open Web and people need Mozilla and I wish it, and all the great people I know there, all the best.
What happens next?
I will be starting a new job, and I’ll tell you about it tomorrow, Thursday. For now, I’ll just let this sink in and then I’ll talk more about it.
If you have any questions or thoughts, please let me know here in the comments or e-mail me at robert [at] robertnyman [dot] com.
I’m always here for you. Thanks for reading.
Good luck in your next venture!
I hope you continue to share with us your thoughts in the future
Very best wishes in whatever is next. Let’s catch up in Stockholm soon. Pretty pleased to see my pic in here. I had no idea that was your first international talk in Berlin – you were very accomplished.
> Mozilla is going through a number of challenges at the moment (…) upper management need to acknowledge and address these.
If possible, I’d love you to expand a little here ; I think that could help the community to understand a bit more about the context and prevent possible FUD
Anyway, wish you the best for what’s next!
Great job with the Mozilla Hacks blog and
good luck in you next adventure!
I think I can safely say, on behalf of the web community, thank you, Robert.
You’ve been an inspiration long before you joined Mozilla, but the work you did there amplified your importance to the community and industry. That work, will remain long after this day, when you leave Mozilla.
Thank you and godspeed, wherever path you chose to go down next.
Cheers and best wishes from Portugal.
I’m sad to see you go. I loved getting to see you at Mozilla & MDN events, and you’ve done great work on Hacks for years!
Hopefully we’ll meet up in person again … depending on your new job, maybe? I’m eager to hear what it is …
I’m going to miss seeing you around Summits, MozCamps, FOSDEM, etc. When we first met in 2011 in Berlin, it was my first real introduction to Mozilla. You were one of the first people outside of the localization team to make me feel at home here. Thank you for that, and for all of the chats about Sweden. When I’m in Stockholm again, I’ll be sure to be in touch.
Good luck, Robert. You’ve been inspiring. I’m sure you’ll continue to do that in your next role.
All the best in your new ventures, Robert! Thanks for welcoming me in Stockholm that time and I look forward to bumping into you again.
Robert,
Since I’ve known you you have been one of my favorite people at Mozilla–your work has always been excellent and you will be missed. Bon chance.
Robert, good luck and the best, you deserve.