We talk to Saman Karimi, the problem-solving sci-fi enthusiast who can tell us who decides to work as a developer at Skyresponse. How did his interest in computers and coding begin? What made him interested in Skyresponse?
- Hello Saman, what is your background in the field?
I’ve been staring into a square for as long as I remember whether it be a TV screen or a computer monitor it was inevitable that I would pick up some interest in computers along the way.
As hinted at, my interest in computers began from an early age, my first computer was an intel 486. Back then there was the DOS operating system and a single game took 10 floppy disks to install. I can’t count the number of times I corrupted the windows 95 installation by tinkering around too much in the filesystem. I found the computer to be fascinating and a sort of puzzle machine that taught me problem-solving.
As Computers got better my problem-solving interests gradually grew too. I started tinkering around with different things like photoshop, web programming and 3D graphics. Fast forward a couple of years and I chose to pursue a career in Computer engineering, I studied for a Master of science degree in Computer Science at Luleå Technical University and as of today, I have been working at Skyresponse for close to 9 months, and recently I was proposed with full-time employment.
- What made you interested in Skyresponse?
I’m very happy to be working in a software company that cares alot about quality, and that value building upon earlier work to create an even better products. Working here I usually get to be part of the early processes of a project to the final deployment and delivery. This gives a sense of part ownership and responsibility of delivering a solution that really fits the customers needs which in turn creates this warm fuzzy fulfilling feeling. I was also impressed with the amount of systems integrated into Skyresponse systems. We support a wide range from different web services, IoT and hardware devices. During development of these integrations, hardware level knowledge of embedded systems and electronics can be very useful. The many projects and integrations all come with their own set of requirements and challenges which makes Skyresponse a very rewarding place to work in.
- How do you envision your role here at Skyresponse?
I’ve been developing for most of my time here at Skyresponse but sometimes a project demands a softer range of skill-set. In these situations I’ve been ready to assist in roles such as designer and technical lead as well. For now I see myself continuing to grow as a system developer, to be able to deliver increasingly higher quality service and taking on bigger challenges. I am passionate about manageable scalable code and bringing quality products and solutions to the customer.
- How would your old colleagues describe you?
My old colleagues and classmates would probably describe me as a cheerful and helpful problem solver with a healthy amount of knowledge in science fiction. I like spreading knowledge and usually don’t hesitate to give a helping hand or share knowledge that could help a fellow teammate.
- What makes you excited about coming here?
I have been warmly welcomed into what I would call a family of developers. The team is very supportive and ready to share their experience. That creates a warm feeling you don’t get from every office. Making sure to take breaks, sharing funny anecdotes, those are things that I think makes everyone here happy to come back every Monday.
It can be challenging to be part of the designing, developing and maintaining large scale distributed systems, but when finished you know that you have made the right choices. No matter how many hours spent on the project or how many times spent re-designing parts of the system, at the very end everything comes together like puzzle pieces forming a perfect picture. What other pursuits can give you that kind of perfection?
- What do you fill your free time with?
I enjoy dinner with friends or social gatherings at someones house, recently i have been playing a lot of board games, board games has really hit a golden age. In the winter season I go snowboarding on a hill nearby Luleå but prefer the mountains of Dalarna. Dalarna is where i lived growing up. On the more slow days I like to try new food recipes, exercising at the gym or watch old science fiction movies. I also infrequently practice drawing and painting.