The best part of my mornings happens before I sit at my desk. It’s when I have a coffee with my wife, watching the sunrise roll across the countryside in Lavalleja, Uruguay, and think about the conversations I’ll want to have with my team that day. Sometimes it’s celebrating progress. Sometimes it’s unblocking something thorny. Sometimes, it’s even laughing about how weird and beautiful our work can be. Whatever it is, that moment reminds me why I do this: because there’s nothing quite like helping people grow and getting to know who they are along the way, especially when they’re doing work that truly helps others. That’s my drive.

If you’re reading this, you might be considering applying for a Happiness Engineer role. My name is Miguel Campal, Lead of the Retrograde, a team focused on delighting merchants who run their stores on WooCommerce. I wanted to share how I ended up here, how I lead, and what it’s like to work with me; not the glossy version, but the real one.

How I Got Here

I’ve reinvented myself more than once. Before Automattic, I lived several lives: musician, teacher, salesperson, real-estate agent, always learning, always adapting. Music taught me patience and presence. Teaching taught me how to guide without taking over. Sales taught me how to ask questions instead of assuming answers. All of that would later come into focus as leadership training I didn’t know I was getting.

I joined Automattic a little under five years ago as a Happiness Engineer. I was curious, hungry to learn, intimidated, and completely unaware of how much I would grow. Over time, I discovered that supporting people felt natural to me. I moved into a lead role three years and five months ago, with excitement but also with questions: Can I do this? Will I lead well? The answers came slowly, through relationships, one teammate at a time.

What surprised me most when I joined? How deeply Automattic trusts individuals. You don’t wait for permission here: you step forward, learn, iterate, and build something meaningful. That’s the path I walked, and the path I care about helping others walk, too.

My Leadership Philosophy

My approach to supporting team members is simple: I want people to feel safe, seen, and capable. I don’t believe in micromanaging: my job isn’t to backseat-drive, it’s to widen the road. I help teammates find the place where their curiosity, strengths, and impact meet. Sometimes that means asking hard questions. Sometimes it means slowing down. Often it means stepping aside and letting someone shine on their own terms.

When it comes to communication, I believe honesty is kindness. I try to be clear, direct, and human. English isn’t my first language, so I learned early on to speak from the heart rather than try to sound perfect. If something matters (good or difficult) I’d rather talk about it before it becomes a wave instead of after it’s already a storm. Feedback goes both ways, and I mean that literally: I learn as much from my team as they learn from me.

The way I see our work is simple: the merchant is the reason we’re here, and the team is how we get there. A great Happiness Engineer balances empathy with problem-solving, curiosity with initiative. Mistakes happen; that’s how we learn. What matters is not avoiding errors but growing through them.

Our team culture is built on trust, a bit of laughter, and shared purpose. We celebrate wins, big or small. We ask questions. We share knowledge freely. We don’t pretend we always have it together, but we always move together. My goal is for teammates to feel not only capable, but proud of how they show up.

What I Value in Teammates

There are a few qualities that stand out to me:

• Curiosity. This work rewards people who explore, who ask why instead of accepting what.
• Empathy. Merchants don’t come to us at their best. They come when something is broken. Compassion is power.
• Clear communication. This is our oxygen. It builds confidence, alignment, and trust.
• Ownership and initiative. I love watching someone pick up an idea, shape it, and run with it; not because they were asked, but because they believed it mattered.

If you see yourself in these traits, you’ll likely find yourself right at home here.

Real Talk

This job isn’t easy. You’ll need resilience, patience, and the kind of curiosity that digs deeper instead of getting frustrated. You’ll face ambiguity. You’ll make mistakes. You’ll stretch beyond your comfort zone. But you won’t do it alone. If you join my team, I’ll be in your corner, listening, challenging you, celebrating with you, and helping you find the path that fits you.

Closing

My hope is that you walk away from this feeling like you’re not applying to work for someone, but with someone. If you care about merchants, if you want to grow, if you enjoy solving problems with kindness and clarity, you might be one of us. I’d love to meet you, learn your story, and help you write your next chapter here.

If you’re thinking about applying: do it. You might surprise yourself; I certainly did.