We’d be nothing without the amazing professionals who make up the Distillery team.
In our “Meet Distillery” blog series, we introduce you to some of the experts who help us (and our clients!) bring ideas to life.
Today we invite you to meet Edgar, a backend developer working in our Mexico City office.
Edgar, Backend Developer at Distillery
With eight years of software development experience across a range of companies, Edgar brings extensive e-commerce and third-party integration experience that makes him a perfect match for working with Distillery’s FinTech clients.
He’s a certified Scrum Master who has experience with Kanban, continuous improvement, BPMN, PHP, MySQL, JavaScript, Yii, PHPUnit, Zend Framework, MongoDB, LAMP, APIs, and payment gateways.
Edgar is a lifelong learner who’s thrilled to be working with Distillery’s high-caliber client base.
As for us, we’re elated that Edgar decided to join our team!
Tell us a bit about your background and position at Distillery.
I graduated with a master’s degree in Software Engineering, and I’ve been working a PHP developer for the past eight years. At Distillery, I’m working as a backend developer on the Tala project. Before that, I was working in the e-commerce industry for several Latin American companies, including global brands.
Backend developer – What exactly does that entail?
Being a backend developer involves having a deep understanding of the business logic. Putting the pieces together to make a business work — things like payment gateways, carriers, CRMs, ERPs, and so on — involves tremendous effort on the backend side.
You have an extensive background in software engineering, what are your biggest strengths that you bring to Distillery?
Working in the e-commerce world gave me experience in many areas, including things like security and data vulnerabilities. I bring experience with a multitude of 3rd-party system integrations, from payment gateways to marketplaces. I’m committed to always delivering the best solution for any given problem.
What attracted you to Distillery?
I was looking to jumpstart my professional career. I was attracted by the quality level of Distillery’s projects, and their relationships with other companies. It made me feel like I had found what I was looking for. Another important selling point was the variety of projects. Working here, I can collaborate with an e-commerce business and a FinTech company. I can work on artificial intelligence projects. And so much more. Distillery offers me the opportunity to learn from a wide variety of industries.
What has been your favorite part (so far!) about joining the Distillery team?
The clarity and maturity of the development process. Thanks to that, the onboarding stage is very easy, and new team members can be productive quickly. Last but not least, we have an awesome view from our Mexico City office.
What are you learning right now?
Elixir. I find it very interesting. But I have a bunch of online courses piled up. I’m a compulsive buyer of online courses.
What’s your secret “code pet peeve” that drives you crazy?
Long function bodies. To me, it shows bad design and makes code both unreadable and hard to understand.
What’s the best (physical) environment for you to code in?
A site where I can have two monitors. I have found that working with two monitors makes me more efficient.
What do you do to get “unstuck” on a really difficult problem/design/bug?
Taking a walk is my preferred way of getting unstuck. Sometimes, we need to view things from another perspective. Also, in my dreams I’ve had “aha!” moments.
How many cups of coffee do you drink throughout a normal development day?
Only one. Drinking more than one makes me feel very anxious. ?
Mac, Windows, or Linux?
Mac by far. I consider it really easy to use. My older Mac is around 12 years old, but it still works.
What is your most-used/favorite emoji?
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What’s your favorite movie/TV show?
The Hannibal Lecter movie series.
What is your ideal vacation?
In a small town, but without a computer or a phone.
What languages can you speak?
Spanish and English.
Three words that describe you?
Positive, observant, and easygoing.