Happy Monday!
Please allow me to introduce you to the newest addition of our Software Engineering team, Gilles Philippe Dubuc. I had a blast meeting Gilles Philippe, especially after learning that we have a lot in common. For example, both like camping, canoeing, and (you guessed it) canoe-camping! We might plan a trip with a canoe full of craft beer and friends to discover the amazingness of the wilderness in the north of Montreal (don’t worry – we never drink and canoe at the same time!).
Here’s a look at my recent chat with Gilles Philippe, so you can get to know him a little better:
Can you tell me a bit about your background?
From an early age, I’ve always messed around with electronics — I was the guy who took things apart just so I could examine them from the inside, and then put them back together. After finishing college, I earned a degree in Software Engineering at Concordia University in Montreal. During that time, I learned a great deal about the field in general, along with core engineering practices such as planning, design and product development. Also during my first couple of years at Concordia, I learned how to program. And while I was very excited to be running applications, I didn’t know how to deploy them. That’s what motivated me to learn more, and where I discovered my passion for DevOps.
What would you say is your biggest achievement so far?
It’s always a challenge to constantly try and implement new technologies and practices on a daily basis! But specifically, I would say that my biggest achievement so far is surviving engineering school while working full time.
What was it about Devolutions that made you want to work here?
I truly believe in the products and the company, and especially the talent that we have here. The environment is motivating, challenging and professional. Plus, we have lots of perks like free breakfast, ping pong tables and a beach volleyball court!
What would you say are your top three strengths at work?
First, I would say that I’m a good team member, and I’m proud to work with extremely knowledgeable developers here at Devolutions who are motivated to succeed. Second, I would say that I’m constantly learning new things. For example, I’m really interested in containers and am constantly reading about them. When my colleagues have questions regarding certain prototypes, we discuss how we can containerize the whole thing and my knowledge comes in handy. Third, I’m always looking to implement cutting edge technology that supports agility and helps deliver products faster.
What tasks do you carry out in your job, and what are some of the tools that you use?
Currently, I have several responsibilities as part of the Wayk Now development team, including setting up a CI/CD pipeline, automating everything that I can, and working to deploy new cloud services. As for tools, as you might expect I use Remote Desktop Manager to access all my computers from a single place. When I need to manage our servers, I use Saltstack, Jenkins and Packer.
What are your impressions about working here?
The company is great! The leadership team cares about employees and success in equal measure, which creates a great working environment where everyone wants to do better each day.
What goals would you like to achieve at Devolutions?
I would like to automate as many things as possible, so that we can deliver products as quickly as possible to our customers.
On a personal note, what are some of your hobbies and interests?
I spend most of my free time learning and reading about new technologies, or drinking craft beer with friends! If I am not doing that, then I’m most likely camping, canoeing, or trying out different pizza joints.
Please share a few words with our community of IT pros:
I’m grateful to be part of such an amazing and booming company, and you are the main reason we exist! I would like to thank you all for your continued support, and for giving us your feedback so that we can create better products.