FlowFX

A short work history. Looking for more.

Update 04/04/2018: There’s been a development.

My wife Kathrin will not like this post. She will find it self-deprecating and underselling my abilities. But this is my blog, so I don’t care.

TL;DR: I am looking for a job as a Django/Python web developer or a test (automation) engineer, working remotely or in the Rhein-Neckar area in Germany. Starting now.

2017

2017 was a pretty good year for me workwise. I spent it working as a Django developer for the local LegalTech startup Lexa.mx. The basic idea of Lexa is that of a Mexican LegalZoom.

While being the sole developer, I also led our product development efforts. These included understanding the structures of Mexican legal agreements, translating the requirements into web forms and making those useful and into a good experience for the users. It was a very interesting inter-disciplinary project that included 3 Mexican lawyers and a designer.

At the same time, this was my first serious Django project. I had to learn a lot. And I did, thanks to mainly the Django documentation, Stack Overflow and the best of them all: ccbv.co.uk.

My favorite part of the Lexa app is how we use Jinja2 templates and LaTeX to dynamically generate the contract PDFs. I’ve wanted to do this for a long time, ever since a friend and I got the idea for Unkenmathe.

The frontend is … subject to future improvements. I don’t feel comfortable writing CSS because it is so much trial and error for me. For a little bit of dynamic behavior, I sprinkled some VueJS and jQuery on top of everything, mainly the forms, which works nicely. But before I do more JavaScript development I first have to learn how to test that stuff. Developing the backend following the TDD methodology and then testing all the frontend functions manually in the browser feels very wrong.

I also set up and maintained our continuous delivery pipeline using GitHub, CircleCI and PythonAnywhere.

During my time at Lexa I essentially worked remotely. Mexico City is so big that every in-person meeting requires a long commute for everyone involved. But what can I say? I loved it! Working from my quiet home on a schedule that I set myself suits me well, and I’ve never been more productive.

The main reason why I do not continue working for Lexa is that Kathrin and I will definitely move back to Germany this year, and Lexa is looking to open an office in the city. Remote work that goes beyond the “home office” is pretty much unheard of in Mexico and does not fit with the work culture, which is a shame.

For those not interested in my further work history and how I got to where I am today, here’s what else I’m bringing to the table.

2009

A little bit of history.

I left University in early 2009 with a degree in physics, the good-old German “Diplom” (equivalent to a Master of Science). From time to time I am reminded of what I learned in University, and that is a particular way of thinking, ingrained into us students by endless exercises in higher Mathematics. One example is this story of how I finally understood list comprehensions.

But 2009 was not a good year for anybody looking for a job, let alone someone without any real world skills. My only coding skills back then consisted of a little bit of Matlab, numerically solving ordinary differential equations. Sounds amazing, but it’s really not. At least I got to experience working as a bike messenger for a few months.

This was also the year when I remembered my 90’s experimentations with HTML and started playing around with WordPress.

2011

2011 I got my first “real” job.

Looking for work. Am a physicist. Can do everything.

Yes, this tweet actually worked and landed me a job at a SAP consulting firm, solely based on my degree. It lasted about 18 months before both the company and I were happy to part ways.

Considering that my tasks involved business processes and code, two things I can be very passionate about, it’s still a little bit of a mystery why I never got the hang of it, why the work never clicked for me. My best explanation is that I not only lacked mentorship but also there was virtually no relevant documentation that I could study on my own. So much of the company’s knowledge was never explicitly written down that it made it too hard even for me to acquire enough of it to succeed in that particular industry.

2013

My favorite job during these years was working for the Ganter brewery where I learned a skill that I am very proud of: tapping the perfect beer. Seriously.

All the while I was developing WordPress sites for clients and administering web hosting accounts. The one service that I am still providing to a number of clients today is securing and backing up their WordPress installations.

2014

2014 I not only met Kathrin, but we also moved to Mexico City. Our first year in Mexico I worked at the German school where Kathrin is teaching. There I finally learned that teaching is not for me. And I didn’t even teach. Also, I can’t handle saying good morning to 30 people each and every day.

But this way I got to know my friend Angélica with whom I have since collaborated on various web projects using WordPress and Kirby CMS. She also later worked with me on the Lexa project.

2016

I had wanted to learn to program for a long time, but it had never clicked. Reading “programming” books never worked for me.

2016 it finally did click, and it took a book written for non-developers: Hello Web App by Tracy Osborn. It’s an introduction to Django for designers and provided me with enough knowledge to later advance to the two other Django books that I cannot recommend enough: Obey the Testing Goat Test-Driven Development with Python by Harry Percival and Two Scoops of Django by Audrey Roy Greenfeld and Daniel Roy Greenfeld.

I’ve since started working on a couple personal side projects, most notably Unkenmathe and Reggae CDMX which are both still works in progress.

In December of 2016 Angélica and I then sat down with the 3 lawyers that had the idea for Lexa.mx, and that would be my primary occupation for the next 12 months.

What else I’m bringing to the table

I am looking for a job as a Django/Python web developer.

After working on many projects as the sole developer, it’s way past time for me to join a team of developers and learn that part of software and web development.

As I very much enjoy automated software testing, I am also interested in working as a test engineer. I am well aware that this includes much more than writing automated tests. But it’s something that I believe I would enjoy doing, and I definitely know that I can learn it and be good at it.

Timetable

My current plan is to remain in Mexico while Kathrin finishes the school year and for us to move back to the Rhein-Neckar area in Germany in early July. But I am happy to relocate earlier as necessary.

If all this makes you want to think about maybe hiring me, or if you know a friend who might, then let’s talk! I also have a detailed CV prepared if that’s your sort of thing.

Until then I’ll be happily working on Udacity’s Full Stack Web Development Nanodegree program to fill some knowledge gaps.

Update 13/01/2018: minor edits.