Welcome to Part 4 of our AEQ Employee Spotlight Series!
Today you’ll get to know another Team Lead who was one of Aequilibrium’s first remote employees!
Check out the previous article of this series here.
Gavin Keusch | Front End Team Lead & Sr Software Engineer
Gavin joined the company about 3 years ago and ended up leaving to become an independent contractor. But he later rejoined the family — because no one can resist us. Gavin also has some interesting and valuable advice for all of you starting your careers in the industry!
“Our success is a reflection of the team’s strong relationship.”
Gavin thinking about how great it is to work at Aequilibrium!
Tell us a bit about what you do at Aequilibrium.
I’m the Front End Team Lead/Senior Software Engineer. I recently moved up to the team lead role. Right now, I’m dealing mostly with the people side of my role. I’m a direct contact for all members of our tech team that work as Front End Developers. I’m in the infancy stage of my new role, so I mostly communicate with my team on a bi-weekly basis and resolve any issues that may come up.
How were your first six months?
I joined Aequilibrium 3 years ago as a Front End Developer, but I also had the opportunity to work as a Back End Developer since I came with full-stack experience. I had colleagues who already worked at Aequilibrium and all I heard were great things about the company. My first six months were awesome as I was surrounded by smart people. It was great to be integrated into a team that I had so much to learn from. The project I worked on during my first six months was challenging and a great learning experience. At that time, I worked mainly remotely in Kamloops and was one of Aequilibrium’s first remote employees. I left the company after a year and a half to become an independent contractor, but after a year I was already talking to Aequilibrium about coming back. After I rejoined the team last year I moved up quite quickly. Our success is a reflection of the team’s strong relationship.
What inspires you the most about your role?
Being a team lead is quite enjoyable, and I’m excited to see where my role as a team lead will grow. What inspires me most about my role is the people-person side of it. I enjoy seeing the team dynamic and seeing the younger team members learning and growing in their roles. I’m looking forward to facilitating the team to grow that confidence in their capabilities, even in talking to clients, especially the juniors devs. One of the best things about my role is that I get to utilize my communication skills and use my extrovert side to interact with my team.
Gavin doing what he likes the most (after software engineering, of course): climbing mountains!
What is it like to work from home?
I love working from home and I’ve always loved it. I’ve been working from home since I first joined Aequilibrium. An important part of my life is climbing and being outdoors, so if I can eliminate commute, finish work at 3 pm and be in my truck at 3:01 pm to get out there, that’s ideal. It’s not a new thing for me to work from home, I enjoy that quite a lot.
Tell us about your career path in the professional services sector.
My first job in the professional services sector and in a client-facing role was at Aequilibrium. Before Aequilibrium, I worked for a startup where I was in the field talking to non-technical people. My very first job was at a company that developed websites and did data management for car dealerships. One of my strengths in that role was to translate complex technical issues into simple and understandable information. I didn’t work in tech my entire career, though. I took a 5-year break to explore different career paths. After starting my diploma in CSOM in my early 20s I was unsure about sitting in an office all day. I explored working in the oil and gas industry, in the construction industry, worked as a carpenter for two years, and then I decided to finish my degree in computer science and return to tech. As I got older, I became more and more ok with being in front of the computer all day. My diploma made it easy to step right into the 3rd year of a degree program and I really like coding. I really enjoyed the sense of accomplishment you get from building a house when I was a carpenter. When coding and writing software, you can get that same sense of accomplishment.
What is different about working in the professional services sector?
The good part about this sector is that you’re being brought as the expert. I like being able to bring expertise to the table. The client trusts our team and we build that relationship with them. I would say that a different thing about working in this industry is the effort you put into building a strong long-term relationship with the client.
What is different about working in the bank and finance sector?
The bank and finance sector are trying to adopt leaner design architecture, and we as the experts have to do our best to show and prove to our clients the benefits and positive outcomes of bringing in innovative technologies. It’s all about the client relationship and building trust.
What is great about your team?
The team is so diverse that there’s always someone that is an expert in something. There’s always a go-to person for specific topics. It’s great to be part of a team where I can learn new things, it’s always good to keep learning, especially in this industry.
What advice would you give to someone who is starting their career in the bank and finance/professional services sector?
Just have confidence in your abilities. You were hired for a reason. Be confident to speak up and give your opinion and contribute your ideas. Confidence is the biggest thing. Even as a junior you bring something to your team. The newer devs haven’t learned bad habits yet, so they can bring new good habits and more senior devs can learn from them. Juniors learn a lot from senior members, but the other way around is also true.
Interested in joining the Aequilibrium team?
Check out our Careers Page and don’t forget to stay social with us!
Read this article on Medium.
