Max Duval is a senior software engineer at the Guardian. Max was born in France, studied in Canada and worked in Japan before moving to the UK. Once upon a time he almost qualified as an architect.
What made you move away from Architecture?
There were rigid structures in architecture with centralised decision-making. During my studies, I explored how computers can help us design and was always drawn to creating tools that provide immediate feedback and improve consistency. Unfortunately, I found the culture in architecture too inflexible and was unable to fully explore and implement change in the design process.
Software development was always a part of my life. I did a couple of courses on basic Java programming when I was in high school, but otherwise I was fairly self-taught, mostly using a site called Site du Zero (editor’s note: this site sadly no longer exists, link goes to an archive). I built a lot of websites in my spare time for friends and family. I even used a video game engine for my master’s degree project.
How did you end up at the Guardian?
I did what Jonathon Herbet did! I, too, opened up the development tools and saw the ‘Work for Us’ notice. I made my way swiftly to the Work for Us page and searched for engineering roles. More importantly though, the Guardian pretty much epitomised part of what I loved about London – that idea that you can be from anywhere in the world and be accepted. It was also the values that we as an organisation work diligently to uphold.
As an engineer, I strongly believe in building things that matter to others and, as a user, in having that trust and confidence in my source of news. I was always drawn to our distinct and ‘open for all’ journalism that allows everyone to access the news, along with our ad free version for paying subscribers. Making things accessible is also embedded in the engineering work, and having most of our code be open source was a major reason I wanted to work here. I believe we create more value by sharing our work.
What is your favourite part of your everyday work?
My favourite times of the day are between 8am-9am and 2pm-3pm. I enjoy the morning because it’s a chance for me to do a bit of work before kicking off the day with the team; such as closing a few tickets or building a few things. The afternoon is usually when we have more interesting client and stakeholder meetings where we get to discuss recommendations and best practices.
I also appreciate the way we do code reviews and how people here are very welcoming to suggestions for any changes in different areas. It really eliminates the feeling of ‘being in your own bubble.’
How do you rate the work culture?
The people here have really made all the difference because you feel like when you’re doing well you’re celebrated and when you’re struggling you’re getting all the support you need. The expectations from you are clear and you’re given opportunities to not just achieve your goals, but also the flexibility to reassess if need be. This comes from both a business objectives perspective, as well as your own professional progression framework.
For example, I’ve been here a year and I’ve already had two rounds of reviews. You get quite detailed feedback on how you’re performing and my manager has been very supportive in ensuring I am fully aware of where I am doing well and where I could improve. I always have a good sense of where I am and what I can achieve.
How has it been working remotely?
I joined the Guardian remotely about a year ago. I found the onboarding process great and I felt like I was part of the team very quickly. People made an effort to check in regularly. I was also encouraged to do a lot of pairing during my first three months so I got to meet and work with a member of almost every team in the department. In that way, it felt like I was not only contributing, but also building relationships which was incredibly important during a time where we have all been working remotely from home.
We’ve also been doing fika every week with our team which has been great. It’s a Swedish custom where you take a break from work to have a coffee and talk about anything else other than work.
Now I’m just looking forward to being able to spend more time with people in person. It would be great to meet more of my amazing colleagues!
Development of digital products is central to the Guardian. You could be building the products that showcase our progressive and independent journalism, crafting the tools that journalists use to write their stories, developing the services that allow those stories to be distributed across the globe, or safeguarding our financial future.
If you’re interested in joining our product and engineering team, please visit the Guardian News & Media careers page.