Life at cloudtamer.io: Dave

Last updated on February 1st, 2023 at 2:39pm

What's it like on the software side of the house here at cloudtamer.io? Let's find out. Meet our next featured tamer: Dave, a senior software engineer here at cloudtamer.io.

1. Describe your favorite "win" to date here at cloudtamer.io.

I was tasked to develop a proof of concept to improve how users would connect existing accounts to cloudtamer.io. I was able to improve the workflow by creating an “intelligent” form that would populate existing accounts for users to choose from after selecting a cloud provider (AWS or Azure) and a billing source. This improvement would speed up account setup and reduce the chance of typos when manually entering an AWS Account Number, Azure Subscription ID, or Azure Resource Group. (And we all know how long those Azure ones are.) After the proof of concept, I was able to fully develop the feature for production and it was released in 2.16.

2. It sounds like you really hit the ground running. What are you most excited about in your role?

The technology that we work with is definitely the most exciting part. I had never used Golang or Angular 8 before so getting familiar with them has been really fun. My previous job used Java, PHP, and AngularJS so the language shift was a good change for me. I only had experience with AWS before cloudtamer.io, but now I get a chance to learn Azure and, soon, Google Cloud Platform.

3. Speaking of changes, do you thrive on a routine or does each day look different?

I typically enjoy having a routine, but it really depends on where we are in the sprint. I usually start my day with a cup of coffee…I cannot live without my morning cup. If I have tickets in review, I will focus on making sure I resolve any review feedback and have it merged as soon as possible. If I have no tickets in merge review, I will be focused on working on a new ticket and will spend the majority of the time on it until it is in review. If I’m on a merge review for other developers, I like to spend some time looking over the code before I meet up with them. Essentially, if I’m not in a meeting or on a merge review, I’ll be thinking about how to tackle a ticket or writing code ... XD.

4. Everyone’s “day-to-day” has shifted a little during this time. Any teleworking tips you’d like to share?

Set goals for yourself everyday to make sure you can be productive. Make sure to have some natural lighting in the space you choose to work in. My office at home doesn’t have any windows so I decided to move my setup out to the dining room for some natural lighting…and so I can see my cats (Penny and Maple) as well. They don’t like the home office very much.

5. I’m sure your four-legged coworkers aren’t complaining about having you home. What does your work space look like?

During COVID-19, my work space is on my dining room table. I have a single 27-inch monitor, MacBook Pro, Cooler Master CM Storm keyboard with Cherry MX Browns, Logitech MX Master 3 mouse, my phone, and my two cats. Pre-COVID-19, I like having my office desk clean and not cluttered as much as possible. I have a bunch of pictures of my fiancee and the cats. For my setup, I have a 34-inch LG Ultrawide monitor, MacBook Pro, WASD keyboard with Cherry MX Browns, Logitech MX Master 3 Mouse, my phone, and a couple coffee mugs.

6. Work-life balance is something cloudtamer.io prides itself on. What occupies your time outside of the office?

To list a few of them: rocking climbing (@Earth Treks), video games, skateboarding and guitar. Rock climbing has taken up the majority of the time when I’m outside of work. I started around April 2019 and have been obsessed with it. I love seeing the progress that I have made during the year. I started out struggling with V2s and now I have done a few V6s. I’m also doing a lunch and learn about rock climbing sometime this year.

For video games, I enjoy playing RPGs/MMORPGs (Final Fantasy, Borderlands, Destiny 2, etc), old/new school Nintendo games (Smash Bros, Mario, Star Fox, etc) and some of the newer battle royale games, but mainly Call of Duty: Warzone. One of my favorite games that I've played recently was Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and I recommend any Star Wars fans play it. A new game that I'm extremely excited for is Final Fantasy VII Remake which just came out.

Skateboarding and playing guitar are unfortunately on the back of the list but I do get around to them once in a while. I play guitar more often since it is an arm's reach from my office desk. I enjoy playing tunes from the 60s to the early 2000s, and we have cloudjammer events once a month where we all get together and jam out. Skateboarding and rock climbing will be new in the summer Olympics next year, so I can't wait to see how those events turn out.

7. How has your career grown since starting at cloudtamer.io?

I feel like my brain has grown tenfold since starting at cloudtamer.io. There is so much to learn about cloudtamer.io and I have barely scratched the surface. Learning Golang, Angular 8, AWS, Azure (and soon GCP) is only half the battle. The other battle is how to implement code efficiently and learning how everything works together in cloudtamer.io. I’m currently working on a large feature and it's exciting to see how things are shaping up for it.

8. We held our Q1 Innovation Day shortly after your start date. What impact did you have on the project?

I worked on the magic mirror. It was my first time using a raspberry pi so that was a lot of fun learning how to set it up and getting the magic mirror to run on the TV mirror we had. I helped with the integration of the Bonusly application. There were a few of us working on this integration for the mirror, and we were successful in getting the three most recent awards and associated images or gifs displayed.

Want to join Dave? We're hiring!