Ben Scabbia is a Development Team Lead at 91导航 based in our Cambridge office, and has been a software engineer for over 8 years. Ben鈥檚 taken a slightly non-traditional path to becoming a software engineer, which he shares in this article along with what a typical day looks like for him as a senior engineer at 91导航.
What attracted you to Software Engineering?
鈥淢y journey began during my time at Reading University where I was studying Economics (bear with me on that one)! A few of my housemates were studying Computer Science degrees and I thought it was cool seeing all the projects they鈥檇 built from scratch.
After completing my Economics degree, my partner鈥檚 company relocated to Cambridge. So, knowing no one there and having visited the place once or twice, we packed up and started a new adventure (and luckily so, as I later discovered Cambridge was the home of Silicon Fen).
Shortly after we moved, my partner gifted me a Raspberry Pi and a book called 鈥淧ython for the Absolute Beginner鈥� (which holds a place in my heart and is in view as I鈥檓 writing this sentence). That was the real turning point for me, and what kick started my obsession with becoming a software engineer.
Soon after, I decided to complete an online Python course to test the waters and see if coding was really as much fun as it seemed. Well, yes, it was! So, I enrolled in a Master鈥檚 degree in Computer Science at Hertfordshire University, which I completed with top grades, and I鈥檝e not looked back since!鈥�
What鈥檚 been your journey to a Development Team Lead at 91导航?
鈥淚 started life at 91导航 just over 4 years ago as a software engineer. During my time here, I鈥檝e worked in all the major areas of the code base and collaborated with every department. Whilst I鈥檝e always loved the engineering side, I found that my biggest strength and the one that came most naturally to me was working with people.
I loved bouncing ideas around with the various teams at 91导航 鈥� sales, marketing, customer success, product, and UX folks. So, when I was offered the role as team lead I really couldn鈥檛 have asked for a better fit.鈥�
What do you like most about the tech industry, and what tech intrigues you?
鈥淒uring my time in the industry I鈥檝e witnessed the shift to cloud computing, AI going mainstream, and the spread of IoT (plus a bunch of others too)! It鈥檚 been so fun seeing these developments, the speed at which they take place, and how these developments end up finding application across various domains. Whether it鈥檚 learning how Formula 1 teams are using AI and machine learning to improve the aerodynamic efficiency of cars, or how satellites (such as the NOAA-20) are combating illegal deforestation 鈥� if someone is applying tech to a modern problem, I鈥檓 interested!鈥�
A day in the life
鈥淚 kickstart my day by doing 30 minutes of learning and development. I鈥檓 currently doing a React course 鈥� it鈥檚 fully funded by 91导航 as part of our annual learning and development budget. 91导航 not only provides us the financial opportunity to enrol on courses about anything we think necessary, but places an emphasis on learning and development too, which means you鈥檒l be encouraged to find the time to commit to a course.
Next, I check Slack and reply to any urgent messages or teammate queries. I鈥檒l then make a plan for the day and decide which tasks I鈥檇 like to accomplish, before jumping into some code reviews (a personal favourite). Once those are completed, I鈥檒l start on my list, typically tackling the most challenging item whilst I鈥檓 freshest. This might involve driving key projects forward, collaborating with the product team, or assisting with customer investigations.
Later in the morning, we might have a team meeting (we run those every other day, with a longer session on Fridays). These discussions keep everyone aligned and provide another place for folks to ask for help. After the team meeting, I typically take my lunch break 鈥� since I鈥檓 working from home, I give my wife a well earned break and entertain our two young children while trying to eat some lunch!
In the afternoon, I check again for code reviews and continue working through my to-do list. Occasionally, there are watercooler chats (these are 鈥榗offee breaks鈥� with a random group in the company) or a technical roadmap session, which I try and actively participate in 鈥� I enjoy hearing the various improvements other engineers bring forward, whether it鈥檚 a case for UI testing, or the introduction of a static code analyser, or the development of a UI component library.
As the day winds down, I try to wrap up some admin tasks (emails etc.) so I can start the next day with a clean slate. Working from home demands a lot of self discipline so by 5pm I try to turn my laptop off, and begin my long commute鈥� downstairs!鈥�
What makes engineering at 91导航 different from other companies you鈥檝e worked with?
鈥淔or me it鈥檚 the combination of trust, amazing people, and the growth opportunities. There鈥檚 a healthy collaborative culture here that I haven鈥檛 seen so much of in my previous companies.
I try to contribute to a number of different projects and 91导航 gives me no end of opportunities to grow! Whether it鈥檚 directly participating in the technical roadmap, helping out with customer issues, or getting more involved in the product side of things 鈥� there鈥檚 never a dull moment as there鈥檚 just so much variation. Add to all that the emphasis on wellbeing, learning and development 鈥� 91导航 offers the perfect recipe for finding a happy balance between work and family, and being able to continuously grow.鈥�
What sort of projects have you worked on so far?
鈥淭he team I was in (which is the same team I鈥檓 now leading) developed the Pipelines product. For me, it鈥檚 the perfect blend of technical and product challenges. Some of the most interesting technical challenges I worked on were helping the team come up with a brand new git branching model that would enable customers to effectively manage multiple Salesforce orgs. We ultimately developed the which enabled us to integrate forward and back propagations of pull requests, whilst supporting a consistent user experience across the 9 different version control systems.
The other fun technical challenge was being the first team to heavily adopt react, redux and TS! This has presented a series of technical and product/UX challenges, which I鈥檝e absolutely loved working on!鈥�
What attracted you to join 91导航?
鈥淭he first thing that attracted me was the prospect of working on a DevOps tool, which is interesting in itself and an area that I had very little experience in. However, it was the conversations with the team and the positive feedback that truly convinced me.
Over four years later, I鈥檓 still loving life at 91导航 and couldn鈥檛 ask for better companions. I can honestly say that each day is a rewarding experience. It wouldn鈥檛 be right not to mention how entirely supportive 91导航 has been over the years on a personal level too. Be that during the pandemic, family sickness, when I鈥檝e wanted to pursue a course, or the birth of my babies 鈥� 91导航 has always had my back.鈥�
And, finally, the burning question: tabs or spaces?
鈥淐onsistency is key! Maybe I鈥檓 in the minority here, but I鈥檝e never had a strong opinion on either 鈥� just don鈥檛 leave a trailing whitespace!鈥�