Meet David, our Lead Software Developer

What is your expertise as a Lead Developer?

As a Lead Developer, I am at the crossroads of development, architecture, and project management. I work with clients and designers to understand the project needs and find the right technical architecture. I then describe it in tasks for the developers. Finally, I still occasionally, and fortunately, get my hands in the code and help out on iOS mobile and back-end projects.

Any tips on handling communication between different teams?

I like being a Jack of all trades and try out other specialties in my free time, and I think it's helpful in communicating with different teams. For example, my knowledge, even if limited, in design helps me to better understand and make myself understood by designers. In the same way, my experience in front-end web development is also useful when it comes to estimating tasks and discussing with specialists.

Any software project is inherently complex and you need to be able to anticipate pitfalls before they even happen so that you can avoid them. 

What is your biggest challenge in your job?

For me, one of the biggest challenges I encounter is planning and estimating the time to develop the tasks of a project. Any software project is inherently complex and you need to be able to anticipate pitfalls before they even happen so that you can avoid them. For example, after detailing the tasks of a project, we involve all the developers in a Planning Poker session to estimate the scope of the project and identify the complex tasks that will require more time. We will then try to tackle these tasks as soon as possible.

How do you get motivated or inspired on a daily basis?

Here at Atipik, we have the chance to work on interesting and complex projects in a wide variety of areas. One day we might be optimizing a query in a perfume database with tens of millions of rows, while the next day we might be working on an algorithm for aggregating real estate transactions. This diversity is what keeps me motivated and never bored after 8 years at Atipik!

After 8 years at Atipik, what are your best memories?

More than the memorable company outings (including the toothbrush episode ? ), or the many projects where we pushed ourselves, it was the whole adventure that stuck with me. In 8 years, more than half of my career, I've seen Atipik grow from 6 employees to almost 20, and I've participated in two office relocations. I have met colleagues who have become my friends and from whom I have learned a lot. Overall, I've had quite an adventure here!

What is Atipikal about you?

My humor and my passion for home-brewing: