What does an IT experience look like in a Digital Health company?

by Robert Mitroi, November 25, 2020

My name is Robert and I have been working for Persei vivarium for 14 months. I am a software engineer and my main responsibility is developing new features and maintaining the applications that are written in React and React Native (and other JavaScript libraries) for the frontend with a TypeGraphQL for the backend.

Also, I am researching different solutions for our technological challenges ranging from common JavaScript solutions to custom-built PHP features. I am also providing support from the technology side (e.g., running tests and checking database entries) to our QA and management teams.

To sum up, my workflow consists of working both in the frontend and backend by following our own CI/CD (continuous integration and development) processes.

The last summer before I started working at Persei vivarium was stressful for me. For the first part of the final semester it was required to do an internship and I was getting worried that I wouldn’t find one in time. However, with a couple of weeks left until the deadline, a friend told me that he could recommend me to a company. I was stoked. The company was Persei vivarium.

I was dazed, confused and nervous. I am nervous in general during interviews and having in mind that the time was running short, the pressure was manifesting as if something were stuck in my neck. Then the interview started. The first impression of Miguel Cabañas (CTO) was a bit intimidating and the interview itself didn’t go as I would have wished, yet I was hopeful. I don’t know why, since I felt like I didn’t fully show my potential, but I was hopeful, which made it feel even better when I was told that I was going to be part of the company as an intern. I could never express in words how happy I was.

Persei vivarium sparked my interest from the beginning. Their mission of providing a bridge for Real-World Data (RWD) to become a standard in the healthcare industry was one that I felt close to. The technology stack made me feel intimidated, but enthusiastic. I had some experience in the field already from my past jobs, yet now I had the chance to work with something that was outside of my comfort zone, to learn new technologies and to tackle different challenges than I was used to tackling.

The first months in the company I got to experience one of the most amazing things that there is to experience in life: arriving in an environment that makes you feel like you’re home from the beginning. It was not only about the technological stack anymore; it was also about being part of a team that works together to deliver the best possible products while evolving both professionally and personally.

In just a couple of months I felt like I’d changed. I would characterize myself as being a shy and introverted person, however it was never the case while I was at work. From the short conversations in the morning in the kitchen while some of us were waiting for the coffee machine to be free, to the lunch break that felt more like a Sunday lunch with the team than a lunch break at work and to the serious requests for an opinion on a matter regarding one of the projects or a feature that had to be implemented, I was ready to socialize, motivated and ready to help like I was never before in my life.

It was obvious that my colleagues were professionals, but also some of the most funny, dedicated and nice people that I ever had the pleasure to work with. The only thing that I wanted to do was to be one of them, to be a funny, dedicated and amiable person who’s always ready to help. I am still working on it, but I can say that I feel like I changed. My friends from Denmark and Romania have both noticed that I have changed in some measure and it just makes me feel proud to be part of this company.

Now, after a year in the company, the responsibilities have piled up. I have gotten used to the main technology stack and we’re mostly working from home. I would have expected that, by this time, it would have become a routine, and yet I am still as curious as I was on the first day to try to implement a new feature or work on a new integration. When the responsibilities are increasing I still get the feeling that we can do it, that we’ll do our best and I know that my colleagues are working as hard as they can, so I just want to give my 101% every time, if possible.

The one thing that is bad in my year at this company is the pandemic, more specifically the fact that we have to stay away from the office. Even if I might miss my colleagues and the office, we are always connected and, at the end of the day, it doesn’t feel so bad sometimes.

I am forever proud to be part of this team.

#ITInternship #ITExperience #DigitalHealth