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The company bringing Nix to the software delivery problems that matter most

Our mission is to make software run the same everywhere, every time, so that teams can move faster more securely and confidently and with less operational risk.

What we believe

Our values

These principles guide how we build products, support our users, and grow as a team.

Championing open source

Open source is our default. It symbolizes collaboration, innovation, and growth. We embrace open-source values, fostering a community of shared knowledge and collective advancement.

Unwavering user support

Our commitment is absolute. We do the right thing every time. Dependability and trust are at the heart of our user support.

Honesty and transparency

Truth is our language. We engage with candor, respect, and a data-driven approach. Integrity is non-negotiable, guiding our every decision.

Elevate user experience

We build software that transcends traditional boundaries through innovation and usability. Powerful tools should also be a pleasure to use.

Founders

Founded by Nix's creator

Determinate Systems was founded by Eelco Dolstra, the creator of Nix, and Graham Christensen, a long-time Nix community leader and systems engineer.

Eelco Dolstra

Co-founder, creator of Nix

Eelco started the Nix project as a PhD student at Utrecht University. He is a co-founder of Determinate Systems, alongside Graham Christensen, and a member of the Nix team.

Graham Christensen

Co-founder, Chief Technical Officer

Graham is a Nix and Rust developer with a passion and focus on reliability in the lower levels of the stack. He is a co-founder of Determinate Systems, alongside Eelco Dolstra, as well as its Chief Technology Officer.

The team

Built by Nix experts

Our team members are among the most experienced Nix contributors in the world.

Alex Ford

Software Engineer

Alex is a Linux user, Rust hacker, and cloud engineer. He left the world of consulting to bring Nix into the future. His code is better than his prose.

Cole Helbling

Software Engineer

Cole is an avid Nix user and developer, championing Nix and its ecosystem. He loves Rust and enjoys playing with shiny new toys.

Cole Mickens

Senior Software Engineer, Minnows Tech Lead

Cole is a long-time Nix nerd and a recovering Kubernetes enthusiast. Creator of nixpkgs-wayland and Nixpkgs contributor, he has an eye on the future of desktop Linux powered by Wayland and NixOS. Cole is eager to use Nix to make modern software development simpler and more reliable.

Dominique Hummel

Senior Software Engineer

Dominique is a (mainly) Rust and Nix engineer who also has a strong passion for additive manufacturing and EDM. He is also an active contributor to Nixpkgs and maintainer of packages such as the Linphone suite and the Blackmagic kernel drivers.

Eelco Dolstra

Co-founder, creator of Nix

Eelco started the Nix project as a PhD student at Utrecht University. He is a co-founder of Determinate Systems, alongside Graham Christensen, and a member of the Nix team.

Graham Christensen

Co-founder, Chief Technical Officer

Graham is a Nix and Rust developer with a passion and focus on reliability in the lower levels of the stack. He is a co-founder of Determinate Systems, alongside Eelco Dolstra, as well as its Chief Technology Officer.

Jeff Martens

Chief Executive Officer

Jeff has been building developer tools for the last 15 years in both product management and startup founder roles. He is the Chief Executive Officer of Determinate Systems.

Luc Perkins

Head of Technical Communications

Luc is a technical writer, software engineer, and Nix advocate who's always on the lookout for qualitatively better ways of building software. He originally hails from the Pacific Northwest but has recently taken to living abroad.

Mo Lawler

Technical Program Manager

Mo is a technology enthusiast who loves tinkering. He's spent the last decade working with cloud platforms, virtualization, and developer tools at places like DigitalOcean, Equinix, and Scale Computing.

Tristan Ross

Security Engineer

Tristan is an avid contributor to Nixpkgs and the release manager for NixOS 24.11. He maintains components and packages such as the standard environment, LLVM, Flutter, and Zig. Tristan enjoys tinkering with low-level components of operating systems.

What we think

Our thoughts on Nix and flakes

Our takes on where Nix and flakes are headed, and why they matter.

  • We want to make Nix better
    We want to make Nix better

    We want to make Nix better

    4 min read

    Introducing Determinate Systems, a company devoted to bringing the immense benefits of Nix to the software world. Our values, our mission, and what the future holds.

    Graham Christensen
  • The Nix moment
    The Nix moment

    The Nix moment

    8 min read

    The stars are aligning in unmistakable ways for Nix and we are leading the charge.

    Graham Christensen
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