At 6 a.m. on a recent Friday, Miguel Rodriguez’s alarm woke him up — but not because he had to go to work. A manager on NVIDIA’s circuit solutions team, Rodriguez was getting an early start on his day rock climbing with a friend in Colorado’s Golden Gate Canyon State Park, about an hour’s drive away from Denver.
Rodriguez’s adventure was made possible by the company’s free days, two extra days off per quarter when the whole company disconnects from work to recharge. Free days are fully paid by NVIDIA, not counted as vacation or as personal time off, and are in addition to country-specific holidays and time-away programs.
“On free days, we have full flexibility to do anything we want. Nothing is crowded because everyone else is at work and kids are still in school,” he said. “It’s time that enables us to do things we wouldn’t have been able to do otherwise.”
Free Days, Free Climb
After a 45-minute hike through a pine forest, Rodriguez and his friend embarked on a traditional multi-pitch climb up a 200-meter wall, inserting protective equipment into cracks to create temporary anchors for their safety ropes. But despite the physical challenge, Rodriguez says the most significant obstacle is the mental challenge — managing fear.
“One of the things I love most about climbing is that you can’t think about anything else,” he said. “It’s a great way to completely disconnect, because you need to be 100% focused on the climb.”
Rodriguez draws similarities between the attention to detail needed for rock climbing and for his role engineering power delivery solutions for NVIDIA’s products.
“In both fields, large, complex tasks are broken down into smaller, manageable pieces — as the team constantly adapts to ensure success,” he said. “That’s how you make it to the summit.”
The view from the top makes it all worth it.
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