What do you do at Wieni?
I am part of the Craftzing company, but I take up a full-time role as a frontend developer at Wieni. I mainly work on the GoPlay project, but I also pick up other projects like ‘De Slimste Ploeg’ and ‘Kastaars!’.
I don’t have a lot of meetings on a day to day basis, which allows me to work very focused on my development work. Mostly the tickets are very clear, so I can pick up issues very easily and get started. This allows me to work in larger focus blocks.
Every now and then I take a break for some tea or a piece of fruit, or I pick up some smaller administration tasks to break up the day.
Frontend development is basically everything that you visually see when browsing the web. The data comes from the backend, and we make sure that it is available to the frontend components and that it is presented in an accessible and visually attractive way to the end user. We usually use React and a framework like Vite or NextJS to build the frontend.
Frontend development sometimes means struggling with browser specific restraints, but these are fun challenges.
What I most enjoy is discovering new technologies and setting up performant projects with them. This requires some research and poses new challenges, but it is always really nice to see the result and the optimizations that it can bring. I think that is my favourite part of the job.
What did you do before you joined Wieni?
I joined Craftzing around May 2022 and mainly worked on Telenet projects, before I joined the GoPlay team at Wieni.
Before that I worked at Tri-ICT, a consultancy company, where I worked on a project for Digipolis and more specifically for the Antwerp Police. I worked there as a full-stack developer, doing both frontend and backend work.
Before Tri-ICT I already had over ten years of experience as a full-stack developer at Prosteps/Tilroy, gathering quite some knowledge and learnings over the years.
What are the biggest similarities and differences between Wieni and Craftzing according to you?
I see a lot of similarities in the way they want to tackle things: with a lot of attention to feedback and communication to the partner and a lot of focus on quality.
The biggest difference for me lies in the size of the projects. At Craftzing you usually join a team at the partner to work on a project or a service as a consultant. You help them build, improve, design,... a product in a larger project.
At Wieni projects are more scoped and usually smaller. This allows you to set up smaller teams of 2 to 3 people who can build and deliver everything from A to Z.
What do you do outside of work?
I am a very curious person and like to try new things.
I play some guitar but only simple chords. From the age of 14 I've been making music in the house/trance style. These hobbies have slowed down a bit when the kids arrived, but I try to pick it up again every now and then.
I am also very interested in space travel - already for over 10 years. I have watched a lot of rocket landings at all possible hours of the day and night. I also set up X (Twitter) merely to follow the updates.
I have a pretty large telescope myself which I like to use to peek at the planets and stars. Especially in summer with clear skies it is really nice to look at Jupiter, Saturn or even the moon. I sometimes take photographs through the ocular with my phone, which turn out pretty nice sometimes.
Reading is also something I would like to do more. I managed to finish 2 books last year, but I didn't succeed in finding the time for it as much as I would like.
As most people do I have some favourite series to rewatch every year - the IT Crowd is a personal favourite and a must-see for all developers in my opinion.
Next to that (board)games are also one of my pastimes. Preferably co-operation with some friends or family who share the same interest.
A lot of different interests and hobbies as you can see.
I also spent quite some time with my two kids of 3 and 6. They are pretty smart, but also like to make a big mess. We try to do a lot of fun activities with them, which is always a lot of fun.
What is a unique skill of yours?
My wife and friends would say my very dry (you should probably read: bad) humour. Wordplays are my strength and I try to collect as many eyerolls as I can with them.
I also try to educate some people around me on investments. I think it is interesting to take it into your own hands instead of just letting the bank do its thing, and I encourage others to do the same.