Say Hi to Jonathan!

If you’re here right now, you’re probably a dedicated reader of Datawrapper’s blog. If you also use our tool, you might have gotten some guidance from the Academy or developer docs. And if you’re just a fan of Jonathan Muth, perhaps you’ve visited our website to see for yourself what kind of company he’s working for. Because this spring, Jonathan has taken all four of these sites under his wing as he joins us in the new position of website development lead.

We asked Jonathan a few questions to get to know him better.

Can you please introduce yourself?

Hi, my name is Jonathan! I am a front-end developer with a background in product strategy and ownership. Before I started working in software development, I studied communications, sociology and a bit of economics. I also organized coding summer camps for university students and used to tour Europe making chiptune music with a GameBoy.

What will you do at Datawrapper?

I’ll be leading the technical development of the Datawrapper website, Academy, developer docs, and blog. Eventually we’re looking to switch to a new content management system. And we’ll use this as an opportunity to rethink Datawrapper’s existing website conceptually.

What were you doing before?

Before joining Datawrapper I was working at Diesdas, a Berlin-based digital agency. I started out as a freelance front-end developer. After finishing my master’s degree in communications at the Universität der Künste Berlin, I got the chance to join their strategy team. During that time I consulted clients on product strategy, guided them as a product owner, and eventually became Diesdas’ head of strategy.

Is there a project you’ve worked on in the past that you’re especially proud of?

I am really proud of having been a part of the My Country Talks and Speechbert projects at Diesdas. My Country Talks is a matching platform that brings people with opposing political views together for real-life discussion — I helped build the online questionnaire that participants fill out. Speechbert is an infrastructure service, that among other things, automatically turns articles published on Zeit Online into high-quality audio. As a product owner, I helped steer and coordinate its development.

Interestingly enough, both projects have something in common with Datawrapper. The audio files generated by Speechbert and the questionnaires for My Country Talks both get embedded into news articles — just like many of the visualizations that users create with Datawrapper.

Why did you want to join Datawrapper?

While on parental leave in 2023, I realized that it was time for a change. At work, I often spent upwards of three hours a day in video calls, was writing less and less code and felt like I wasn’t learning anything new anymore.

I already knew Datawrapper through my partner Lisa. When I heard that they were looking for someone to work on their public-facing web properties, I was all ears. It sounded like a position in which I’d able to put all my skills to use, providing a good balance between writing code and working on the websites conceptually.

Another thing that made me feel good about joining Datawrapper is the fact that it is a profitable, independent company with a fantastic product that doesn’t just serve its users but also helps millions of readers to see the world with different eyes.

So here I am 🙂

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Welcome Jonathan! It’s great to have you with us. To learn more about Jonathan, you can visit his website or follow him on Mastodon.