Meet Ricardo Pandales, a Senior Software Engineer based in Colombia who has been with the team at Modularis for six years!
Ricardo is an experienced web architect who most recently successfully led the design and development of our brand new (TypeScript) web stack. He’s exactly the kind of platform architect that anyone could wish for!
– A.J. Singh, CEO, Modularis
What is your role at Modularis?
I’m a senior software engineer. I work with our PlatformPlus® product, to help clients develop software that generates value by delivering high-quality applications in a short time. I work on the maintenance of our web platform, which includes adding new features, fixing bugs, and generally making the platform better. I also have an advisory role regarding the use of the platform; everything from helping out customers and colleagues with heavy-lift projects, explaining how to do things, and working to ensure we do things with the highest quality and speed. Finally, I plan and define projects – as well as handle crises with applications; but we try to avoid the crises!
What does delivering value for your customers mean to you?
It is important to me that our customers can deliver on their own promises, on time. I want our customers to be able to focus on creating their software product and building value, rather than using their time resolving issues with bugs and code. To me, delivering value is giving them the opportunity to use their time in the way their business needs to grow.
How did you hear about Modularis?
I read a post online from a friend about a new position at Modularis. I wanted to work at an international company to build my experience with different cultures and countries. I contacted my friend for more information, and while I don’t remember everything he told me, I do remember that he spoke with such passion about Modularis. I told him right then that this company must be amazing and I knew I had to work there.
What made you decide to take the job at Modularis?
My decision to take the job started with the passion my friend had for his own job at Modularis, and my excitement to be a part of it. From a more technical point of view, I knew the work was going to be challenging, which would help me grow as a developer and change the way I was thinking. I wasn’t coming in as just the user of some software, I was going to be the creator! When I heard about all the things Modularis does, I fell in love with the company and the technology. I knew it was going to be a technical challenge – the biggest I’ve had in my life – and I wanted to take that on!
What did you do before you joined Modularis?
Directly out of university, I started to run my own web services company. From there I worked in web development for a local company, focusing on documentation and portal development. And now I’m here, and the rest is history.
Where did you go to school and what did you study?
I went to ICESI University in Cali, Colombia.
I studied telematic engineering, which is basically a combination of telecommunications and informatics. You learn how computer networks and their protocols communicate with each other. You learn a lot about the two worlds – communications and programming.
What motivated you to first follow a career in telematic engineering, and then make the switch to Modularis and the work you’re doing now?
I was motivated to study telematic engineering because I was always fascinated with how the internet worked, and I wanted to know what was happening in the background. Telematic engineering connected to my passion, rather than just focusing on the systems.
When I learned to program, I knew I wanted to make something people would find useful. That led me to start my own company after university, where I shifted to creating web applications. I eventually realized I was investing too much of my time working on my company and missing out on my daughter growing up. I needed to change my life so I could be a better father and have more control over my time. I needed a place where I could develop professionally as well as personally, and I found that Modularis’ values matched mine in a way that would allow me to do that.
What is your favorite project you have worked on at Modularis?
I have been very fortunate to work on many projects at Modularis, but my favorite is the development and ongoing perfection of PlatformPlus®. I can create, I can use all the theories and good practices of software development, and I can apply them to this platform that will make every software developer’s life easier. I am making something that people will find really useful, which is exactly what I want to do!
Our clients have come to trust Ricardo on everything, no matter how deep or hairy it is, especially when it comes to advanced web development. They ask for him by name. He engenders trust with everyone he works with — new engineers, customers, or colleagues. – A.J. Singh
What do you want people to know about Modularis and how we support the unique challenges of software development and product management to promote growth?
We see the software as a product that has a cycle. Many companies only help you when you’re developing the product, but development is just one part of the lifecycle of the software product. You need to develop, deliver, maintain, AND test the product. We know the client needs to be efficient in all the cycles, not just development.
We have excellent tools that accelerate development, but we also provide the process and other tools to support the other phases of the lifecycle. When we help customers create platforms, it is with the understanding that their product needs to be live for several years, and that the product will change during that time. We include several techniques to ensure that if there are changes, they CAN be included without creating a new crisis.
Tell us about your life outside of work. Family life? Hobbies?
I spend most of my time with my wife and daughter. My extended family lives nearby and we are in contact with them a lot. Family is very important to me! I also enjoy exercising and I like to go on runs at 6 am. I enjoy some TV and love to travel when I have the opportunity.
What are your personal values and how do they help you in your work at Modularis?
As I’ve said, family is very important to me, and Modularis considers this a company value as well. I have a strong sense of responsibility; when I commit to something I push to get it done. I also believe in resilience. If I can’t do something, or I don’t know how to do something, I keep trying and learning until I arrive at the satisfaction that I did it; I feel that this applies to Modularis as well. We keep working on problems until we solve them.
I am also a good listener. I always try to listen more than I speak. When you hear what others are saying, you can understand better which allows you to help them – this goes for both clients and colleagues.
Ricardo is very thoughtful about how he does his work — he doesn’t just think about how to solve today’s problem but how to solve a problem once and for all to prevent issues from happening in the future.
– A.J. Singh, CEO, Modularis