This time around, I got to sit down with Wouter van der Meulen, one of the ninjas that make sure our platform runs smoothly. It is a demanding job and Wouter has been with us for almost 2 years.
When did your interest in the mobile marketing industry begin?
To be honest, it wasn't until I got introduced to Notificare, that, peaked my interest. I used to be a backend developer for web development agencies, so mobile wasn't really on my radar at the time.
But I definitely got excited when they introduced me to the platform. I really enjoy creating tools to power other people's lives. It doesn't matter if that's by creating tools for developers, or helping companies better connect to their customers.
The scale of the platform is what truly excites me as a DevOps Engineer. It is a platform that is growing and is being used by a lot of users, which means I have plenty of challenges in front of me.
Where do you see DevOps in 5 years?
I truly believe DevOps is becoming a ubiquitous part of the modern development workflow. It may be powered by dedicated roles as mine, but I already see DevOps skills becoming part of young developers' skillset. In time, understanding and applying DevOps workflows will be as common as having to know GIT.
Favourite part about working at Notificare?
Professionally, it's the scope of managing a SaaS platform. It's not just turning on servers and kicking back in a nice chair. I'm constantly thinking about ways to optimize the infrastructure. It's like a puzzle.
On personal level, it's the flexibility. I get to work from home and I can work on my own schedule. As someone who just became a father, that's amazing!
What are you most proud of in your career thus far?
I would say that I'm proud to have worked on many different projects over the last 8 years. Besides allowing me to learn different aspects of my own industry, it allowed me to learn about what makes other progressions tick.
All the experiences I've had led me getting this opportunity at Notificare.
When not working, where can we find you?
Usually I'll be spending time with my little family here at home. But you can also find me taking pretentious pictures with my camera, playing some video games, or strumming away on my guitars.
How has your career been shaped by working remotely?
As I stated earlier, being able to work from home is a huge benefit now that I've started my family. It means I can be there for my kid, and I won't have to miss any major milestones because I'm sitting in an office somewhere else.
You can get to know more about Wouter by checking his Linkedin page here.
By the way, Wouter is also looking for colleagues, we have several job openings, so please check out our careers page.