Introducing Raphael, one of our brilliant engineers on the identity team. Follow Raphael’s very interesting journey from English lit to the world of web development, with a lot of Pac-Man in between.
Did you always have an interest in software development from a young age?
As soon as we got dial-up internet in the heady days of the early 2000s, I was a lost cause. My first website was mostly photos of my pet rat. My first video game was called ‘Exploding Pac-Man’ (it was the same as Pac-Man, except if you hit a wall, you exploded). Both are sadly lost to the mists of time.
How did you end up working for the Guardian?
I got into the more serious, non-Exploding-Pac-Man side of software development while working on my English literature PhD, mostly to help out on open source projects and build a tiny social network for my friends. From there, given that opportunities for English grads are quite rare, I moved into web development. My friend, who works at the Wellcome, suggested I apply for an open position on the Guardian’s jobs board. The Guardian attracted me for its ethos, its development culture, and because so much of the code is open source.
How has your career progressed/changed in your time at the Guardian?
I’ve only been here for just under a year, and I already feel like I’ve learned lots about contributing to open source projects; about working better with other developers; and about how media organisations run. Only time will tell if I’ll be able to shape and influence the Guardian, and/or bring Exploding Pac-Man to the professional esports market which so clamours for it.
What does a typical day look like for you?
I tend to spend two days in the office and the rest of the week at home. I love the office because of the hum of people working (and the free coffee!), but I also like working at home because I can work on personal projects before my work day actually begins. Typically I’ll start my day by catching up on emails and GitHub, as well as join stand-ups with the other folk on my team. After that, I might get settled in with the day’s project, sometimes pairing with another dev, which is always really fun. In the afternoons we often have tech demos and interesting presentations from other teams, which helps me feel connected to the rest of the department.
What project are you working on right now?
We’re putting the finishing touches to a migration of the Guardian’s login and registration system. If you know where to look, you’ll find all my commits!
What advice would you give your younger self?
Don’t give up the dream. Believe in the potential of Exploding Pac-Man. It’ll change everything. Also, just chill out and take it easy. Life will sort itself out!
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.