Introducing Our Team – Carlos Pinto

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!