Engineer Spike: Meet the Engineers Behind Extra Space Storage Systems

Behind every product improvement and platform update is a team of engineers solving problems, learning new technologies, and sharing industry knowledge and expertise. At Extra Space Storage, engineers play a key role in building and evolving the systems that support customers, stores, and internal teams.

Through a new series called Engineer Spike, the engineering team highlights developers across the organization—sharing their career paths, technical experiences, and lessons learned along the way. This article brings together several recent features from the series.

These four engineers represent a range of backgrounds and specialties, demonstrating how teamwork and innovation help shape the systems supporting Extra Space Storage.

Brian Burton, Senior Software Engineer

Brian Burton has spent more than a decade helping shape Extra Space Storage's internal engineering systems. After graduating from Utah State University with a degree in Business Information Systems, he began working in 2005 as a contractor for Centershift, the first company in the self-storage industry to provide a centralized, web-based rental-management and point-of-sale software solution.

During that time, Brian worked on Centershift's STORE platform, a system developed to support multi-facility self-storage operators. The application was built with VB.NET and an Oracle database and was designed to manage core store operations across multiple locations.

He joined Extra Space Storage in 2013, initially supporting the STORE platform while Omni served as the company's primary store system. Over time, Brian became part of several major platform efforts, including the original Breeze team, which spent about five years developing and launching an internal cloud-based platform designed to streamline store operations, improve customer service, and unify data systems.

Brian later helped develop an application that supports processes within the National Solutions Center. He has also contributed to initiatives such as the migration of the Breeze application to React and now works on the Kiosk team, helping build a dedicated API and deployment pipeline as that system evolves.

Brian's advice for engineers focuses on adaptability and collaboration.

“Code is code. Don't be afraid to work on something you aren't familiar with.”

He believes the most successful engineers stay flexible, keep learning, and surround themselves with teammates who enjoy solving problems together.

Carlos Osejo, Product Engineering Contractor

Carlos Osejo is an iOS developer on the Mobile Apps team who has worked with Extra Space Storage as a contractor for the past three years. In addition to building mobile features, he also serves as the team's scrum master, helping guide stand-ups, retrospectives, and planning sessions.

Carlos played a key role in building an internal mobile app from the ground up that supports leaders as they access and manage properties across the store network. The team invested significant time in planning and architecture early in the project to ensure a strong technical foundation. One outcome of that work was refactoring digital access logic into a shared library that now supports multiple applications across the platform.

Carlos first connected with Extra Space in an unexpected way. While walking his dog at a park, he struck up a conversation with an Android engineer on the mobile team. That conversation led to an application for an open iOS role—and eventually to his current work with the team.

He credits the engineering culture for helping him grow professionally.

“Effort plus consistency will always outwork talent.”

Carlos believes sustained effort and humility matter more than natural ability. He emphasizes learning from others, staying adaptable, and contributing wherever the team needs help.

Sterling May, Senior Software Engineer

Sterling May has spent the past six years working on the Customer Web team, where he specializes in React development. Today he primarily works with the SEO team, helping lead development efforts that support extraspace.com.

One of Sterling's most significant contributions was leading a performance improvement initiative for the company's website. He also served as the architect for the Storage Express acquisition, overseeing the system from planning through launch and helping ensure a smooth rollout.

Sterling's path into engineering was not a straight line. He originally planned to work in music production as a recording engineer before deciding to pursue a more stable career path. While working in IT roles, including troubleshooting work with Geek Squad, he began teaching himself JavaScript through online resources.

Once he saw how code could bring web pages to life, he decided to return to school and formally pursue software engineering.

Today, he shares a simple but important message with developers he mentors.

“Never stop learning.”

Sterling encourages engineers to stay curious as technologies evolve. With rapid changes in software development—including the growing influence of artificial intelligence—continuous learning is essential to staying effective.

Jerry Deal, Senior Software Engineer

Jerry Deal brings more than three decades of software development experience to Extra Space Storage. A member of the Web Platform team, he focuses on backend development using .NET and supports multiple web scrum teams by building and maintaining shared services.

That cross-team support helps streamline development and allows teams to move faster with reliable backend systems in place.

Jerry originally studied electronic engineering at ITT Technical Institute in Salt Lake City. Early in his career he pivoted toward software development while working at Packard Bell, starting as a customer service agent before moving into an apprentice role on the software team.

From there he built a long career in development, spending many years in the mortgage industry before joining Extra Space Storage. He initially came on as a contractor through STG before transitioning to a full-time role, bringing deep experience to an engineering environment that was still evolving.

Jerry's advice centers on steady improvement and learning from experience.

“Always work hard and strive to improve. Learn from your mistakes, and don't be afraid to be yourself.”

He views mistakes as a natural part of growth and believes consistent effort—paired with curiosity about new technologies like artificial intelligence—helps engineers continue developing their skills over time.

Engineer Spike is an internal series published by Nate Green, Senior Director of Software Engineering, highlighting the engineers and expertise behind innovation at Extra Space Storage. Visit our careers page to learn more about our culture and explore open roles.