What company do you work for now?
Twilio Inc. as a Technical Lead. We develop ARIs for communications.
We are used by Uber, Lyft, Airbnb, Twitter, Twitch, Ebay, and many others.
What are your responsibilities?
I combine the responsibilities of a tech lead and a team lead: choosing technologies, organizing the team's work, developing the architecture of new services, supporting and developing existing ones, and collaborating with other teams.
What projects have you been involved in?
I worked on a call recording project for Skype.
Developed platforms for https://www.twilio.com/conversations , https://www.twilio.com/sync and https://www.twilio.com/chat
What is the most challenging and memorable project you are proud of?
There have been many different projects, but the one I'm most proud of is the longest one.
When I was still an automated tester at Comodo Internet Security, I created a set of utilities and a special network sniffer with an interface for testers. It was exactly ten years ago (in 2010). I live in another country, work for another company, but I know that these utilities are still supported and used.
What role did ITSTEP Academy play in your life?
Without a doubt, a very important one. I have always liked programming, but it was the Academy that gave me the opportunity to see the big picture and provided me with a set of necessary skills in all major areas. I remember exactly how, after solving a particularly unpleasant problem, I realized that sooner or later I would be able to deal with anything. I had a great main teacher, Dmytro Barabash, with whom I am still friends.
What advice can you give to students currently studying at ITSTEP Academy?
You have chosen IT. You can earn great money, easily find a job, provide for your family, work from home when you're too lazy to go out, and live in any country if you're interested in travel. In addition, it is a very creative job, allow yourself to be a little bored and you will immediately have new ideas.
If you are attracted to a specific technology (I was attracted to .NET for a long time), then try to find a suitable job, even if you have to sacrifice a little bit of other interests. Sooner or later, you will become a valuable employee, so why not work with something that makes you happy?