Name: Thomas Phan
Job Title: Lead Software Engineer
What does your job entail? It can be different depending on the day. But usually, it starts with a development stand-up meeting where each member provides an update about their work. We specifically use Jira as a ticketing system, and we use sprints to prioritize features development.
As a lead software engineer, I have my own tickets to finish and oversee work of the team to ensure it meets the technical requirements and the timeline. I organize and schedule my work based on the priority of different needs.
I also run a second stand-up meeting with product owners and other stakeholders to gather customer requirements and new feature requests; it allows me to organize backlog and future sprints.
I spend a good amount of time of the day to work on software design and implementing automation tools for build, testing and deployment and making sure things work correctly in production.
I also reserve some time at the end of the day to do some learning about new technologies, research and/or build prototypes around Data and AI for Quality Counts’ new products.
What inspired you to pursue the career you have today? My 14 years of experience in various software projects have been professionally fulfilling, it has been very satisfying to contribute to the successful development of various software projects of different companies in France and especially at Quality Counts.
I love new technologies and challenges. I enjoy each new project with whole new set of challenges, opportunities to learn about new technologies, different systems and being able to explore various part of Quality Counts’ core business.
What do you like most about your job? What I like the best about my job is the primary responsibility for software development and design and the work I do with all employees on all different levels of Quality Counts and across all functional areas. I get to learn new things about this business and the market every day.
I enjoy the opportunities to research and develop different prototypes around Data and AI creating new business opportunities for Quality Counts.
What is the best career lesson you’ve learned so far? One of the best I can tell is ‘Facing challenges proactively’. Indeed, every task/mission/project has its own challenges in all shapes and sizes; embracing and taking them proactively benefited me a lot, in terms of creativity and experiences.
What do you like to do when you aren’t working? As a new papa, I enjoy my free time with my little baby and my family. My spouse and I usually schedule our free time together so we can bring the baby to visit some new places around our area or we enjoy just simply spending our time playing with her.
Where’s your favorite place in the world? Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. I adored this colorful Capital; every building has its own ceramic color; I enjoyed my time admiring the beautiful buildings when walking through the city. The food is awesome; “pasteis de nata”, a custard filled tart, is really addictive, you can also find delicious fresh seafood everywhere in the city. People are friendly and helpful; you get a sense that people are happy to have you there. Sintra, Balem and Cascais are very beautiful places to visit when you travel to Lisbon.
