An interview with Tekton’s Solutions Architect Nilyan Vicent

I describe myself as a JavaScript lover; it’s been my favorite for more than six years. It has an unbelievable community and I love its simplicity and flexibility. You can build small and large products without losing quality and go beyond using just Typescript, a superset of JS, which is incredibly powerful.

What has been the most empowering project you’ve worked on at Tekton so far? 

Last year, I had the opportunity to work on a project for a big company in the Agriculture sector in NORAM, for a Tekton’s partner.

I had to deal with many responsibilities as a Lead Developer, push the team, ensure the code quality, performance, technical growth, and empower myself to learn a new language and framework to cover a position that no one else was ready to take. It might sound simple; however, I had to be ready to deal with a lot of pressure, be committed, and sometimes give more than 100% to succeed.

What projects or products are you working on currently that are exciting you the most and why?

I am currently working as a Solutions Architect; I got a promotion in January. This role is part of the Account Governance strategy Tekton has been implementing to improve its process and add strategic value to its clients.

 It’s been an extraordinary chance to start learning many things and expanding my existing skills; I’m so excited as it is a massive step in my career.

Describe any obstacles you’ve encountered and your contribution to its success.

Sometimes teams are under stressful circumstances, like needing someone who develops in a stack no one knows or covers a position out of scope. You end up sacrificing yourself and assuming the responsibility of learning the new stack quickly to ensure the project goes on; it can be overwhelming. However, those challenges in some way help you to grow faster.

From your experience, what would you say is the biggest barrier to innovation for businesses today?

Change their mindset; innovation can be complex when people are not ready to assume and face the challenges of breaking old habits; however, there are many new opportunities beyond those fears.

How do you assure software quality?

Software quality is crucial nowadays; almost everyone only focuses on the code. However, companies and developers should consider the upgrades and changes to their tools as TI is a continuously growing and innovative area.

Teams must be flexible enough to continuously refactor and apply new patterns to maintain their products at a top-level, recognize the potential of new technologies, and seek continuous improvement.

What are some goals or strategies you plan to implement in 2022?

My main goal is to increase my stack, learn new technologies associated with DevOps and machine learning, and move according to the times.

Tell us about some mistakes you learned from?

Everyone makes mistakes; when I just started, I used to be a lot less flexible about the possibility of learning new things. Honestly, this caused me some issues as clients and managers are usually expecting developers are capable of adapting and filling the gaps when it’s needed.

If you could offer one piece of advice to women aspiring to work in the design and technology sector, what would it be?

Never give up; it might sound dummy, but that’s all. There are tremendous opportunities outside, although not all the doors might open; if someone says no to you, keep trying anyway, learn as much as you can, as knowledge is power.