Employee spotlight: Matej Landeka

How did you first learn about Barrage, and what has kept you here? 

My sister worked for a company that collaborated with Barrage. Her boss found out she had a brother who started looking for a job in software development, so he passed the information that Barrage always has an open job application opportunity to her. I researched Barrage a bit and decided to send my application. I received the code test, which I solved fairly well, then went on an interview. I don’t feel that I did that great on the interview due to having untapped potential in my communication skills, especially at that time, but I suppose it went well enough.

About a month later, I got invited to work here. Honestly, I still had a lot of fears and doubts about myself when I started, but I took the opportunity to learn new things and improve myself. I have a lot of support from everybody here, and I try to do the same for other colleagues. That is what has kept me in Barrage, along with interesting and sometimes tough new challenges that come with the job.

What’s your next step or a few goals you’d like to accomplish in the company?

Even though there is no rush, I would like to make my way to a senior developer in due time. In the meantime, I want to learn more about technologies and improve my interpersonal skills. Since I am an introvert and a “lone wolf” type of person, I might be at a slight disadvantage, but it’s nothing hard work and dedication can’t overcome. Most importantly, I would like to be the person others can rely on - both to get the job done and to give a helping hand to someone when they need it.

Just a tip for Barrage candidates or new employees: What are the crucial things a backend developer should do to stay ahead of their game? 

I believe that we developers should steel ourselves and leave our comfort zone from time to time, as it allows us to grow and improve quicker, both as developers and as persons. 

Be ready to take on tasks that seem above your skill level and knowledge - by doing that, you can bridge that gap and learn a lot. Also, other people will respect and value your work more which could, in turn, result in getting more challenging tasks, but it is a kind of positive learning cycle, in my opinion. 

Also, developers should be ready to help others. While being generous with your time might not always seem like the best idea, most of the time, it pays off. Helping others is satisfying itself, and you will surely get support from others in return when you need it.

What has been your favorite project since you started working with us?

It’s hard to choose a favorite project. All of them had their own set of interesting challenges. I would say I enjoyed them all equally. As for challenges while working on a project, one of my favorites was creating an SDK for a network switch. Since it started with me knowing basically nothing about the hardware in question and having never done something of such scope before, it required learning some completely new things and a bit of experimenting. After an initial struggle and thinking that it would take me forever to figure it out, with a bit of help from others and my own persistence in finding a solution, things just fell into place, and I finished it sooner than I expected. It was a great learning experience since I had to read through the documentation itself, then figure out the project requirements, write tests for all of the functions, and make sure all the errors were handled properly, as well as make it as simple as possible for other developers to use. 

I’m still quite proud of that one.

What are the challenges or misconceptions about your job?

In my case, I found it hardest to adapt to working with a team. 

I think it is fairly common among developers, especially the younger ones that are only starting to work in the industry. During school, you can do most things by yourself the way you want to and are only responsible for yourself - perhaps you even consider other people to be a hindrance. When you are all working for the same goal, there are bound to be different opinions and misunderstandings. We must adapt to a completely different way of thinking and working, which requires lots of effort and patience, but we get a lot more mature through these trials. 

As for misconceptions, some people are of the opinion that computers are just “toys” and that all we are doing is staring at the screens all the time doing nothing, surprised that we can make any money by doing that. In response, I would like to compare us to artisans - just like a carpenter builds a table or chair or a watchmaker designs a watch, we build software, and we keep improving it, putting our time and effort into creating a product we can be proud of.

Tell us about your hobbies - is there an outdoor activity you particularly enjoy?

I started playing video games rather early in my life and enjoy them to this day. Other than that, I like to read or watch videos about philosophy and psychology, occasionally watch a movie or a TV show, and follow a couple of channels on YouTube that play tabletop RPGs, though I haven’t gotten into playing them myself. 

Also, I sing in a church choir, which is a bit unusual since my music taste is quite the opposite, I prefer to listen to metal and hard rock. As for outdoor activities, my appreciation for spending time outdoors came later in life since I didn’t spend much time playing outside as a child. 

Putting my earphones on, going out, and just moving my body feels great; it helps me with both physical and mental health. I go out for walks or bicycle rides, but I enjoy going for a run the most, and I’m glad I got back to that recently. I actually started running a few years ago because I wanted to get in shape to join the army. As you can see, I didn’t enlist, but the plan itself left me with a healthy and fun (at least to me) habit.

How do you define success in life? 

I would say success is feeling content with what you have and what you are while always improving and striving for more. Also, making the world a better place. Enjoy and celebrate the little victories in life. Every small act of kindness or bravery you make improves both yourself and the world we live in.

I hear you have a passion for gaming. So, let’s hear it. Are you an RPG fan, a real-time strategy dude, or maybe a multiplayer enthusiast? Share your gaming experience with us!

That’s right, as mentioned earlier, I started playing video games when I was little and will probably continue to play them my entire life. I love RPGs, both turn-based and action kind. I would say those are my favorite games. I would say story matters to me as much as gameplay, so that is what I look forward to the most in games. 

Also, I love experiencing everything a game has to offer, so in most games, I do all of the side quests, look for all of the collectibles, and try to complete all the challenges, so I have been known to spend a lot of time on a single game. I have always enjoyed single-player games and occasionally co-op games, so I haven’t played with other people much. Other than RPGs, I also love action-adventures, grand strategies, shooters, and stealth games, but I enjoy games from pretty much any genre.

We want to congratulate you for winning our latest Barrage Code of Duty challenge. What was the hardest part of the assignment? And what was the prize? :D

Thank you. I think the hardest part of the assignment was figuring out all the edge cases that had to be covered and making the code the most efficient. As for the prize, I got a cool trophy to keep on my desk until the next Code of Duty, as well as a nice wooden keychain that I attached to my bag.

What TV show/movie are you ashamed to admit you love?

I would say the TV show Supernatural. It went from a serious show with light horror elements to essentially being a parody of itself, getting increasingly sillier from season to season, but I enjoyed it all, actually appreciating how they made a lot of situations less serious and funny. I watched it up to season 11, and I think I might return to it one day to watch the rest.

On what did you spend your first salary?

I don’t think I actually bought anything special with my first salary. I’ve been saving money to buy myself an apartment since I started working, so most of it has been put aside.

What is an ability/skill you wish you had?

I'd like to be an excellent speaker, in general, but with an emphasis on speaking in front of groups. I think I'm a good listener, but I still struggle with knowing when to speak out and how to articulate my ideas well to convey them to others. 

I believe that having excellent communication skills may help to both prevent and solve many problems. Not the fanciest skill to wish, but extremely useful, nonetheless.

Meet the rest of the team!

We love having people like Matej in our collective. Driven individuals are the ones that build the motivational culture we nurture at Barrage.

If you would like to be a part of that culture and get to know the rest of our team, check out our open positions.