Moving Back to Michigan Meant Coming Home — and Finding Community

John Fair didn’t move back to Michigan for a job opportunity. He moved back to feel like himself again. 

He was away for a decade, attending college out of state and then moving to Chicago. Living in Chicago, John found that he lacked a community of his own, both personally and professionally. So, John decided to move back to Michigan. 

“I began to put together plans to pack up and move back to the only place I could remember where I had been my authentic self,” John says.

While he grew up on the eastside of Detroit, he ended up in East Lansing after landing a software engineer contractor position thanks to a friend who was a technical recruiter. 

“I was lucky enough to have another great friend back in East Lansing who hadn’t given up on me, and he let me sublet a room from him while I figured out how to get a technology job in the Lansing area,” he says. 

After a few years in East Lansing, John got the opportunity to truly move home when he landed a role as a senior software engineer for Quicken Loans in Detroit in 2012. 

“I had competing offers from other firms in places like Bingham Farms, but the idea that I could be a part of rejuvenating my hometown by being a part of Dan Gilbert’s vision for the city was simply too perfect to pass up. His goals for Detroit, combined with my passion and pride for the city I grew up in, created a perfect storm that continues to this day,” John says.

John’s passion for Detroit runs deep. When he lived out of state, he bragged about being from Detroit and would bring friends home over the summers. 

“If anything, I think Detroit itself is what drew me back to Michigan more than any other singular aspect,” he says. 

Once back in Detroit, John found his community. The city has meetups and communities of technologists you can join in your free time to spitball ideas, John says. 

“It was like going to a big tech conference, but it was in your own backyard.”

It was finding those people who were equally as interested and passionate about technology that spurred John to switch from software engineering to software architecture. 

“Having people around with new perspectives pushed me to have new ideas and apply them to my job,” he says. 

His transition to leadership was no different. John has been with Rocket Companies for 13 years — Quicken Loans and its sister companies went public as Rocket Companies in 2020, then Quicken Loans became Rocket Mortgage in 2021. Now, he is Senior Vice President of Engineering for Rocket Companies, focusing on delivering world-class client experiences across Rocket’s digital properties. Before that, he was Chief Technology Officer for Rocket Homes, the residential real estate subsidiary of Rocket Companies. 

John credits his tenure at Rocket Companies to the company’s commitment to the community and the city he loves. In 2021, the Rocket Community Fund and Gilbert Family Foundation announced a 10-year, $500 million philanthropic investment to build economic opportunity in Detroit neighborhoods.  In 2023, the Rock Family of Companies reached the milestone of their team members spending more than 1 million hours volunteering in the community – with more than 700,000 hours spent volunteering in the city of Detroit. 

“I’ve never stayed at a company this long; I am still here because of what Rocket is doing for the city. That has such gravitas,” he says. “I know I wouldn’t have given as much as I do if I worked for a company that wasn’t as passionate and socially involved.”

Detroit’s Tech Community Now and in the Future

The tech community that was just starting when John moved to Detroit is now flourishing. For those who want to be a part of the tech community, he recommends joining a Founders Friday event at Bamboo Royal Oak, checking out Black Tech Saturdays, visiting Newlab at Michigan Central Station, or joining any of the endless technology meetups focused on what you’re passionate about.

John describes Detroit’s tech community as vibrant and diverse. 

“For a while, it was a very software-focused tech community, but we are becoming a hardware hub,” he says. “We have these communities of makers and there is so much room for innovation.”

He believes that AI will democratize tech and become integrated with hardware and software, creating new opportunities for innovation. Large Language Model (LLM) technology, a type of AI, will break down silos that separate custom technology solutions from traditionally non-technical people. 

“The world is changing quickly. The pace of change for innovation is only accelerating. LLMs are changing things. Detroit needs to stay at the forefront,” John says.

John is optimistic about Detroit's future because it's a city of grit, a place that doesn’t settle but strives to grow and thrive. That’s another thing that brought him back, and one more reason why he stays. 

“Being a part of Detroit was an opportunity for me to invest and not give up,” he says.

For those who are considering returning — or moving — to Detroit, John recommends a long weekend and taking some time to explore. Especially if they haven’t been recently.

“Stay in the city. Spend time here. See what the city has to offer on nights and weekends,” he says. “Every day there is something happening.”

John celebrates the continued investments being made to create a world-class tech hub in Detroit, which will allow the city and state to attract top talent and build a community that invests in itself. Being part of Detroit’s revival fuels his passion for work and the community.

“I deeply love being ingrained in our city’s revival and giving back to future generations of technologists and a workforce that benefits from the work we’re doing.”

Learn more about living and working in Michigan.