TechLead-Story: Thomas Kaufmann, Tech Lead at Parkside

TechLeadStory

Thomas Kaufmann

Team

How large is the Dev/IT team? How is the team organized by roles?

Our Dev team currently comprises around 35 developers, divided into 5 teams. Each team works independently on projects for one or more clients, with occasional collaboration between developers from different teams based on their expertise. Additionally, close collaboration exists with colleagues from the design and QA teams. Each team consists of Frontend, Backend, Fullstack, Mobile, and/or DevOps developers working together. There's also a team lead in each team who, besides development work, takes on organizational tasks, serves as a technical contact for clients, and may have a Product Owner.

How is your team organized, and why did you choose a particular structure? What are the advantages and disadvantages?

All our teams operate on various principles of agile software development. Some work as SCRUM teams in mostly bi-weekly sprints, while others may not strictly adhere to SCRUM but use agile development practices that make the most sense for the project. This flexibility allows teams to adapt optimally to projects without rigidly following a concept. However, this poses a challenge when developers switch teams, requiring them to adjust to slightly different workflows and processes.

What makes your team special compared to others?

Our constant evolution sets us apart. We work with clients who have their own development teams, and we complement or expand these teams. This means adapting to predefined workflows, organizations, and processes, sometimes using tools that differ from those typically employed in our teams. While this may entail a more intensive onboarding process, we learn from each new experience with other teams and apply this knowledge to all future projects.

Recruiting

How is your department integrated into the recruiting process?

All developer applicants must complete a coding challenge. The submitted project is reviewed by developers from our teams regarding functionality and implementation. After a positive review, an initial interview takes place. This interview involves HR, our VP of Engineering, and/or Principal Developer, and possibly the relevant Team Lead if the position was specific to a particular team. This conversation serves to gain initial impressions, discuss mutual expectations, and facilitate an initial technical exchange.

Is there a specific procedure for new colleagues? How are they integrated?

Onboarding starts before the first workday, discussing IT equipment and other hardware. The entire onboarding process is structured as a separate project to ensure that sufficient tasks and contacts are available from the start. This helps new colleagues feel welcome and navigate the new environment more easily. In the first workweek, there are also meetings with various employees from management and HR to provide insights into the company, processes, projects, and teams. Alongside technical onboarding within the team by the Team Lead and other developers, Parkside emphasizes mentoring. Mentors come from different teams, serving as peers for new colleagues and supporting them in building connections with employees from other teams.

Besides technical qualifications, what else do you value when looking for IT specialists for your team?

While technical qualifications are essential, personality also plays a significant role and should align with Parkside's culture, including values like 'Be Open,' 'With a Smile,' 'Better Together,' and 'Driven by Passion.' New colleagues should bring motivation, a passion for learning new things, proactively contribute to projects, and have a quality-focused work style.

Technologies

What technical challenges do you face?

The biggest challenge is staying up-to-date in the ever-changing landscape of software development technologies. This involves keeping abreast of nearly yearly emerging JavaScript frameworks, new trends and features for Android/iOS apps, ever-evolving options in the DevOps space, and current trends in architecture concepts, such as Microservices.

What technologies do you work with?

The tech stack varies from project to project. Many teams primarily work with JavaScript/TypeScript, using NestJS in the backend (MySQL, MongoDB, or PostgreSQL as databases) and React, Angular, or Vue.js in the frontend. Mobile app development involves Swift and Kotlin for native, and Flutter for cross-platform. Infrastructure and CI/CD processes often include Docker, Kubernetes, Buildkite, Github, AWS, and SonarQube. Additionally, projects may use Java, PHP (Wordpress, Typo3, Laravel), and Python (Django).

How has the company's technology changed since its founding?

In web development, significant changes have occurred. Initially, JavaScript was mainly used with jQuery, but in recent years, frontend development has predominantly involved JavaScript libraries and frameworks like React, Angular, or Vue.js. While PHP is still used, there's a noticeable trend toward JavaScript gaining importance in the backend, with many new projects developed using NestJS. Deployment has also evolved from manual processes to automated build pipelines like Buildkite, coupled with Kubernetes and Docker.