As you may recall, a couple of weeks ago we announced that each week we’d be spotlighting a wonderful new team member. Well, we took a break last week to celebrate SysAdmin Day (which was more like SysAdmin Week around here). But we’re back on schedule now, so it’s my pleasure to introduce you to our new software developer, Marie-Pier Robitaille!

The first thing is that Marie-Pier is a woman, which wouldn’t be notable in fields like medicine or marketing. But the IT world is still very male-dominated for a lot of reasons, including the fact that at a young age, many highly intelligent women are implicitly (and sometimes explicitly) steered away from careers in technology, and into more “traditional” fields.

I’m so proud of Marie-Pier and women like her who are not just extremely good at their jobs, but are also serving as role models for future generations of IT experts and leaders. I’m also proud to be working for a company like Devolutions that is VERY committed to equality, diversity and inclusion. From our CEO to our interns, we’re all one big happy family (unless we’re having our annual foosball tournament in pursuit of the DEVOLUTIONS CUP, in which case it’s every team for themselves!).

So, with that being said, allow me to share my recent conversation with Marie-Pier so you can get to know her a little better:

Can you tell me a bit about your background?

I’ve always been very interested in developing video games, websites and other technology-driven products. I studied video game design, and gained valuable experience in animation, texture and modeling. Over time, however, I realized that I was more interested in coding, and working more on the back-end. So I shifted my focus to software development.

What would you say is your biggest professional achievement so far?

It’s strange, but I’d say that the achievement that I’m proudest of is a website that I created for a pet shop that I was working in. This was many years ago, and the website was quite simple. I remember that it was basically just HTML, CSS and a little bit of JavaScript. Today, I could make something ten times better, but back then I was just so excited and proud. Sometimes in life, it’s the smaller things that can give us the most inspiration!

What was it about Devolutions that made you want to work here?

I had heard several times that Devolutions was a great place to work, but I had no idea how much this was true until I started work here. The first thing I noticed was the slush machine and unlimited supply of M&M’s! Then I noticed the people and culture. Everyone here is so friendly and supportive. It’s really important to have this kind of interaction when you spend so much of your day staring at different screens. The atmosphere here is unique, and I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s a big family and I’m proud to be here. I love it.

What would you say are your top three strengths at work?

First, I’d say that I persevere. I don’t like leaving things unfinished. Second, I’d say that I’m creative, and often come up with solutions that are unique. Third, I have strong analytical thinking skills, and can often solve problems quickly and effectively.

What tasks do you carry out in your job, and what are some of the tools that you use?

Currently, I’m working on our CRM. It’s an internal platform, and in need of an overhaul. We wanted to make it faster and more functional, and are rebuilding it in a different language. For tools, I’m working mainly with Visual Studio and WebStorm, and for language we’re mainly working with Angular and C#. We’re also working with SQL.

What are your impressions about working here?

Like I said before, I really like the atmosphere here. We work hard, but not in a stressful way, which makes it easier to be productive. Everyone contributes to this culture and is proud of it!

What professional goals would you like to achieve at Devolutions?

I’d like to further deepen my programming skills and experience. For example, I sometimes practice by identifying different bugs to see how quickly and effectively I can resolve them. I also plan on staying up to date with emerging web programming languages. But right now, really, my attention is on the CRM project I just mentioned. It’s a really big effort and I am totally focused on it!

On a personal note, what are some of your hobbies and interests?

I'm interested in a lot of things, like ornamental fish. I have several aquariums at home that I spend a lot of time maintaining. I also like reading, watching movies, and of course, playing video games! I also love animals, especially my baby Aéro, a female Birman cat that I love. My days aren't empty!

Please share a few words with our community of IT pros:

You should know that the two most important priorities here are creating outstanding solutions and providing excellent support. Everyone here works very hard to meet your high expectations. I will do my best to support my team and serve your needs!