Spotlight: Alex Gabites
Location: Christchurch, New Zealand
Your role at Kilterset: Senior Software Engineer
Give us a high level overview of your professional background prior to Kilterset
I've worked across a variety of industries in my professional career. I started off working at some larger software companies that did healthcare solutions in New Zealand. Then moved into a role as a front-end engineer embedded within a UX team. There, we worked on UI for guidance and assistance systems for heavy machinery (e.g. excavators, graders, bulldozers etc). After that, I pivoted into the startup space working first at an EV charging company and then as a full-stack developer with a property conveyancing startup in Australia. Now for the past 2 years, I’ve been here working with Kilterset on various projects.
What inspired you to pursue a career in tech/software development?
I think that it's mostly to do with my dad showing me how to build websites on Microsoft Front Page when I was younger. That sparked my initial interest in the web and web technologies that I still enjoy working with today. I actually began my career interning as a UI/UX designer but quickly realised that I enjoyed making the product just as much as I did designing it - so why not do both?
In three words, how would you describe Kilterset to candidates or other people who inquire?
Trusted, competent and caring.
What do you enjoy most about your role and working at Kilterset?
I really enjoy the people I get to work with and the diverse range of expertise they all have. It's great being able to ask a question and have several people willing to answer, each with different views and experiences.
What are some key lessons you've learned along your career journey?
A big lesson I learned early on is that there's no need to reinvent the wheel - because someone's probably already done it for you! But it's probably better phrased by one of our values which is "seek first to understand" - that's something I try to keep in mind when beginning to consider any problems I encounter on projects.
Here are a couple of ‘What’s Your Favourite' questions:
- Favourite food? An unhealthy one… it’s chicken on chips with BBQ sauce and mayo (probably more widely known as loaded fires?)
- Favourite vacation/travel spot? Anywhere in NZ will do for a travel spot.
- Favourite holiday to celebrate? Christmas, as it's our long summer break in New Zealand.
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If you could work remotely from anywhere in the world for a month, where would you choose and why?
I'd love to spend a month working from a batch with boat-only access up in the Marlborough Sounds which is up the top of the South Island of New Zealand. Its generally great weather in the summer up there and most of the batch's have their own jetties and beach access. I've actually looked into doing this a few times with some friends (a working holiday) but other things have gotten in the way each time. Maybe one day!
Can you share a memorable experience or favourite project at Kilterset you've worked on?
It seems to me that the best project always is the most recent one I've worked on. Lately that's been getting to work on Hubbl's new web application with two fantastic colleagues (Oliver and Dougal). It's had some interesting technical challenges that we've needed to overcome, a design system and component library we needed to build up for reusability into the future and lots of charts and bespoke visualisations that we had to re-create and adapt. All and all, it's been really fun working with our team and the team at Hubbl, getting to utilise our core web based competencies to do what we do best.
What do you enjoy doing on the weekends?
My favourite thing to do on the weekend is to go for a drive out of Christchurch - ideally to somewhere we haven't been before and be assured that we'll stop at a local coffee shop on the way to wherever. We're lucky to have a pretty diverse range of scenery and landscapes within easy travel distance of us and I love taking pictures of wherever we end up and being knowledgable on what is around us.
And lastly, what is something you’re currently learning or passionate about?
We're doing a lot of DIY projects around our house, so it's been great learning a whole new set of skills and tools that are completely different from software development.
