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Introducing Our Team – Carlos Pinto
Meet Carlos Pinto, our talented Full Stack Developer! Let’s explore his work and discover his interests in this interview. Posted onby Exaud
Meet Carlos Pinto, our experienced Full Stack Developer, who’s been with
Exaud for almost 2 years! Get ready to uncover his journey and all the fun
stuff he’s into beyond coding in this interview.
Could you tell me about your academic and professional journey that led
you to your role at Exaud?
Somewhere around the tenth grade, I joined an Engineering club, where I discovered the awe of seeing something you put together come to life. However, I didn’t really know what kind of engineer I wanted to be, which led me to pursue a master’s degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering. The course is broad and covers a lot of basics. Throughout my Bachelor’s and Master’s, I found that electronics were really interesting to learn about, but not as enjoyable to design. Software was what I truly liked. Exaud appeared as a promising opportunity to explore different areas of software development and find out what I enjoy doing the most.
Speaking of your journey at Exaud, of all the projects you’ve worked on,
which one did you enjoy the most, and what made it particularly fulfilling
for you?
Hands down, I’d have to say it was one of my first projects when I joined—an in-house project meant to serve as an assisting tool for all other Exaud developers. There were several aspects I enjoyed about it:
a) I had to reach a final product, yet I had the freedom to decide how to achieve that goal.
b) I gained substantial knowledge through this project:
i) I learned Rust, a programming language I had wanted to explore for some time.
ii) I learned how to develop an app using web frameworks (Electron and Svelte, in this case) while integrating Rust through WebAssembly.
I worked on this project alone, with a senior developer guiding me through the process. In the end, the project was usable but not entirely finished, lacking some polish. Nevertheless, I had a great time working on it.
Are there any skills or abilities you’re currently working on or looking
to develop further in your career?
I’m trying to learn how to have a more assertive and confident presence, especially when it comes to meetings where there’s an opportunity for me to provide insights. I tend to assume I don’t have much to contribute and often second-guess myself. However, in the end, such a mindset only leads to problems down the line, not just for me.
What hobbies light up your life outside of the daily work routine?
Besides the predictable software engineer response (i.e., video games) and
other typical hobbies (watching YouTube, TV shows, hanging out with
friends), I’ve been trying to get into composing and editing music. I play
the guitar and have been learning how to create unique sounds with
synthesizers. My ultimate goal is to create a complete song entirely by
myself, but I’m taking it one step at a time. Additionally, I’ve recently
developed an interest in 3D modeling. Time seems to fly by when I’m
engrossed in Blender with Spotify playing in the background. Finally, I
enjoy working on programming projects using technology that I don’t
typically use at work. I rarely finish them, but that’s not my main
concern.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
Do not procrastinate, especially when it involves other people. Like most
good advice, it’s fairly obvious. I’m not going to delve into how this
helped me (it’s a bit personal), but most people assume that procrastination
only applies to daily tasks, job responsibilities, deliverables, and so on.
It’s not immediately apparent that procrastination can also occur in
relationships, such as avoiding a breakup or refraining from sharing a
difficult truth with your best friend. Because these things lack a firm
deadline, and it’s easy to come up with excuses (like “it’s not the right
moment” or “I’m not even sure what to say”), they might never happen at all.
If you have something that needs to be done, it’s much easier if you do it
promptly, just like ripping off a band-aid.
Can you share a fun or interesting fact about yourself that your
colleagues might not know?
I have a lot of pretty embarrassing things I do when I’m alone, but some of
them might create a funny picture in anyone’s mind reading this:
a) Sometimes, I’ll pretend like I’m some sort of famous personality, and
I’ll comment on stuff I’m doing as if I were streaming to some platform with
people watching live. Most of the time, it’s pointless and just a habit I
picked up, but let me tell you, it’s oddly effective if you want to stay
focused on something.
b) I dance and sing while cooking or cleaning if I’m alone at home (no, you
won’t ever get to see this happen, sorry). This last one is pretty common,
but I think most people wouldn’t see me as the type.
Also, I hate corn… If you know, you know
Thanks, Carlos, for letting us in on your story! Want to meet the rest of
the awesome Exaud team? Check our blog for more
interviews!