A day in the life of a Front end developer at AlisQI

When did you leave school and what has been your career path so far?

I have been working in the tech industry since 2015, mostly in project management roles. I have a Bachelor’s Degree in International Business and a Master’s Degree in European Politics. After building my career around working with tech start-ups from a support position, in 2020 I decided to learn to code.

What appealed to you about the job with AlisQI?

From the interview to receiving the job offer, the company emphasized its desire to develop a diverse team, which got me really excited about the position. The tech industry still struggles to bring talent from diverse backgrounds and origins, so I was delighted to hear that AlisQI, as a small company working in a conservative industry, cared about this topic.  

How long have you been with the company?

After completing an intensive web development boot camp, I joined AlisQI in February 2021 as Front-end Developer. 

What attracted you to the role?'

I was excited about being able to work directly with the CTO and a Back-end Developer, who both have many years of experience working with software. I knew that I would grow and learn a lot from both of them – and I have!  

Please describe your role.

I am a Front-end Developer, which means that I code and create the visual elements and interactions within the application of AlisQI. My role ranges from ensuring that the application’s layout looks exactly as designed, to solving bugs and errors in the code, to directly prototyping new features or pages.  

What skills do you think are vital to your job?

I believe that empathy is one of the most important skills for a Front-end Developer. As we are working with the front-end of the application, which is what users see and interact with, even the position of a button needs to be carefully planned in order to make the app easily accessible, intuitive, and pleasant to use. 

What type of person suits your job best?

People with an eye for design, who have an empathetic personality and a desire to make technology fun and accessible.

Describe a normal working day for you.

I usually start my day by monitoring our tests and error logging platform, to ensure that there isn’t a critical bug that needs to be fixed. After that, I often have calls with my colleagues to discuss what we are currently working on, and whether anyone needs help with anything. Then it’s focus time: I like blocking time in my calendar to ensure that I have hours of interruption-free coding sessions, which is crucial when working as a developer. In the late afternoon, I might review someone else’s work, solve bugs that came up during the day, or polish up the project I was working on. 

How do days/ weeks vary?

Projects are quite varied in front-end development. I started at AlisQI with a large JavaScript refactoring project, which required logic and focus, then switched on to the redesign of the application, which implied working with a designer, refactoring our current CSS system for styling the application, and transforming prototypes into a pixel-perfect copy within the app. This is what I find exciting about my role, projects are different so there’s always something new to learn about.  

Do you still undergo training or train others?

I onboarded a Front-end intern a couple of months ago, who now became my colleague in the Front-end team.  

Do you work remotely or in an office?

I work 100% remotely. 

If you have a problem, do you feel well supported? Do you get help to resolve the issue ?

As soon as I need help, there is always someone available to answer my questions or help me investigate the issue. Despite working 100% remotely, everyone tries to help one another within the team, which is great, because it’s never lonely.  

AlisQI likes team players, do you feel part of a team?

Absolutely. This is one of the aspects of our culture that I enjoy the most: everyone has a say, no matter their title or experience level. We are a small team of four developers, each with their unique experience working with software, and we all get to pitch in when it comes to the technology we use or the project we start.

How does the company differ from others that you have worked for?

There is more freedom and flexibility – as long as we get the work done, we can organize and plan our days as we want. I personally like starting the day early, to have more time for myself in the evenings, which is something that is not always possible in non-remote, less flexible, companies. 

What is the company’s work culture like?

There is a strong emphasis on work-life balance within the team. Work is important, and we are all giving our best, but it’s also crucial to have time for friends and family at the end of the day.

What aspects of your job do you find particularly rewarding?

Working on the product that our customers will use and interact with is particularly rewarding. It’s awesome to get feedback when we launch a new feature or a new design, to ensure that we are building the right software for their needs. 

What do you find the most challenging part of your work?

What is mentioned above! It’s rewarding, but also incredibly challenging to work on production code, which is the code that lands in the hands of customers. Launching features requires a lot of testing to ensure that we are not releasing bugs or errors into the live application.  

What has surprised you about this job?

I was surprised about how much I learned, and how much I continue to learn every day, even after nine months. 

Is there the chance of promotion and career progression?

As the team is growing rapidly, there are definitely a lot of opportunities to grow in our role and shape the team that we want, which is exciting.

Is there a social side to your work?

Despite working fully remote, I have a lot of interactions with my colleagues at work. On Mondays, we gather the whole team to celebrate everyone’s accomplishments of the previous week. Every morning at 11.00, we have a coffee corner call, to replicate the “small chat at the coffee machine” that we would normally have in an office. Anyone who has time can join, but it’s not mandatory. This is what I really appreciate with AlisQI, and working remotely in general – there is still a social side to it, but it’s something that we can decide whenever we feel like it, as opposed to working in an open-office space, which forces us to be social during the whole day. 

What do you look forward to most each day when you begin work?

To have a fun day at work, solving complex problems and implementing intuitive design in the application! 🤘