At Mediafly, there are a variety of personalities, skill sets, interests, motivations, and experiences that all add to the company’s culture and success. Each day, our Flyers learn new skills, use new technologies, take on new projects, and grow. One of these Flyers is Engineering Manager Laimonas Simutis, who has been with Mediafly for 10 years. We interviewed him to discuss his role and learn what it’s like to work at Mediafly.
Mediafly: What’s your typical day like at Mediafly?
Laimonas: A lot of my time is spent coding, which I really enjoy because programming is my hobby. There are few professions where your hobbies align with your professional work, and I’m truly lucky to be in a position that reflects that. Aside from that, there are always new features rolling out and bug fixes that I contribute to on a regular basis as part of the backend team. A typical day also consists of helping with customer support by offering input on a product feature or helping customers work through complex issues. Some days I have product meetings, but there’s not too many of them.
M: What are some of the best aspects of your role?
L: There’s a reason I’ve been at Mediafly for 10 years. Working here, you get a combination of freedom and responsibility. You know what the company’s goals are and where it wants to go, but it’s up to you and your team to choose how to get there. I think that’s important for a lot of engineers who love what they do. Of course, with that freedom comes responsibility. If you screw up or things aren’t working, it’s visible. There are no layers you can hide behind, and that gives you a very direct signal that your product doesn’t work or your implementation isn’t as good as it could be.
M: How has being in this role helped your career?
L: It’s exposed me to many different areas of software engineering, not only implementation or architecture but also team management and dealing with customers, which is nice because you get to see right away if people are successful with your product. I joke around that my first five years at Mediafly were an education of how not to do things, which is very valuable as you don’t get that opportunity everywhere. To have an environment that allows you to make mistakes and course-correct is rare and teaches you so much. It’s like you can make the environment better, but the environment can also make you better. For me, it’s a big plus.
M: What’s your advice for someone looking to work in a role like yours?
L: I would advise someone to work on staying as level-headed as possible. Technology can get complicated and frustrating when it doesn’t work, but staying on track lets you deal efficiently with highs and lows that are sure to come with the job. If things are going bad, your teammates and supervisors know they can count on you to not lose it and handle the situation. And when things are going well, you’re not going to get too “out there.”
M: What’s been your one favorite memory from working at Mediafly?
L: There’s so many, but all of the ones standing out in my mind are the screw-ups – in a good way! Even though they’re breaking moments, they’re also teaching moments. Those are so valuable and so hard to get. You can read a book or a website to try to teach yourself, but the real-life teaching moments…there’s just nothing like them. Once you go through a few of those moments where it’s high-pressure, approaching a fast deadline, or you have to find your own method or solution, it makes you so much better as an engineer. If I was working with a newer engineer, I would make sure they go for those teaching moments and basically allow them to screw up because you learn so much more.
M: What’s the company culture like at Mediafly?
L: The culture at Mediafly is about self-motivation and managing yourself. It’s also a culture where you’re trusted to do the right thing, and you trust your teammates to do the right thing. And if the plan changes, which happens, we work together to find a solution. It’s a very collaborative environment.
Mediafly’s culture is also about having fun and spending time together. For example, my team picks a day every couple of months to get out of the office during work hours. Last time, we had an all-day barbecue and hung out together outside of the office. We Flyers really enjoy each other’s company, and it’s truly awesome to be part of this culture!
Interested in joining our Engineering team? Check out our open positions.
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