At Capacity, we believe there are no shortcuts on the path to success, and we’re proud to announce that Bas Slats started 2021 with a well-deserved promotion. Bas started working at Capacity back in October 2017 as a Software Engineer Team Lead and was recently promoted to Software Architect.
To congratulate him and celebrate his accomplishments, we asked Bas a few questions that highlight his experience and future goals as a Software Architect. Keep reading to learn more!
Congratulations on your new role as a Software Architect! How would you summarize your new responsibilities?
In my new role as a Software Architect, I’ll be responsible for defining technical requirements for our products. This means that I need to make sure that the technical solution meets the business needs and translates into a solid engineering blueprint. Additionally, I need to make sure that our infrastructure does not fail as our platform continues to expand.
What originally brought you to Capacity?
The first time I heard of Capacity was through a former co-worker. He changed his job status on LinkedIn. When I read more about the company and saw there was a job opening, I reached out. After learning about the space the company is in (Artificial Intelligence) and knowing the executive team was experienced with running startups, I was excited to join the team.
What originally led you to get into engineering?
My dad got me a computer when I was younger. Ever since then, I’ve kept myself busy by tinkering with technology. When I was about done with high school, I realized people would pay for some of the stuff I did, so the decision to get into engineering was pretty easy.
What’s your favorite part about working in engineering?
Finishing a project and getting it into the hands of customers is my absolute favorite. It feels very satisfying to go from working from the ideas stage to seeing a product that is actively being used. Often when you start working on something, parts of the idea end up working differently than you imagined. These improvements and efficiencies in the design are very satisfying to discover. Besides that, it’s also always fun to start something different after a while!
What is a project that you’re most proud of in your last role as a Software Engineering Manager? Why?
Delivering workflows in a short time is what I’m most proud of. When we started developing it, the exact business requirements weren’t defined yet. In the end, we built a very scalable product.
Capacity Workflows is now a tool that allows our customers to automate their business processes. During the development of the product, I’ve seen the team grow into better developers, and after it deployed, I’ve seen the product create a lot of value for our customers.
Additionally, I think this was a great opportunity for my team members to become more independent developers and better critical thinkers. I think these are great traits for developers working at a startup. During the development stage, we continuously adjusted our process to make it more efficient. As a team, we also spent a lot of time on the whiteboard trying to make our design more future proof and explicit.
What are you most excited about in your new role?
There were a lot of moving parts in my old role. This meant it was often difficult to focus on a single task. I’m looking forward to digging into some of the challenges coming up and working together with multiple teams to find the best solution.
What’s the next big goal that you plan to achieve in 2021 (inside or outside of work)?
The biggest goal I have is to get some days back in the office! Last year was pretty crazy and it doesn’t seem to be getting much better. It’ll be interesting to see how or if we return to the office. I miss the whiteboard sessions and the occasional game of darts with my coworkers. Maybe I should be looking into some whiteboard applications now that I think about it.
Capacity is proud to promote our team members to the next level in their career and we look forward to seeing everything that Bas does in his new role as a software architect!