A day in life of... Automation, Deployment, and Process Quality Lead

Branimir Valentić, Automation, Deployment, and Process Quality Lead

Hi, tell us in short, who are you, and what do you do in Base58?

Hi, I am Branimir, a proud father, and a human being.

I work as the CI/CD lead in Base58, and my workspace aspirations are to A) Automate everything, B) Have a process for everything I do, and C) Do skillful work. I like to think of myself as inquiring and methodical but also pragmatic.

What do you believe to be the key to a happy workplace?

Clear communication, saying what you mean in cases where you think something is wrong, or if you have suggestions, and praise the things you admire. It is up to the other side to listen, take action or ignore your thoughts.

I also believe in speaking up and taking responsibility, no matter if it is a huge mistake or if you are the only one that noticed it. I also try to be a good colleague and do my part to nurture some kind of flair and culture in the office.

Besides work, what do you enjoy, any hobbies?

I enjoy learning (fluid, practical, mainly not by heart), books (particularly science fiction), tinkering, building things, creating, shaping gardens, caring about house plants, collecting plants, lots of plants, automating things (not that again), trying to write a blog, etc.

As you may have deduced, I love a good read, and coincidentally the book I have been spending my time with lately is, in my humble opinion, one of the best books that I have read - Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality. It is a fan-fiction written by the brilliant author Eliezer Yudkowsky whom you may already know from the blog www.lesswrong.com or from his decision and artificial intelligence works.

What grinds your gears?

Long phone calls, maybe also receiving calls in general, being in large groups without a clear role expected from me to do, I can mingle, give talks or lectures, introduce people, but don't ask me to just be present and quiet, except if there is an interesting topic to listen to.

Oh yeah, the statement above includes meetings that should have been e-mails or one on one talks.

Tell us something about your career path.

I consider myself an autodidact and a lifelong learner, curating my education and taking in topics and depth of content at my own pace and depth.

This certainly does not mean that I am learning everything alone or without help. Take what you can - give back what you can.
I try to be mindful that we are the creators of our own meaning and life paths and that time is a scarce resource.

I had quite a large diversity of work and free time experiences, and mostly I enjoyed them all. I like to say half-jokingly that this is not my first life, that I am living right now.

The path that led me to my current work started with an interest in technology, automation, and working on DIY projects. I explored Linux and worked on some personal projects. I was lucky to have an opportunity to hang around some inspiring people, and together we decided to create an open-type computer club.

Many projects, events, ideas, things, and now, years later, I am sitting here and thinking about what to write down, hoping that the unique journey that I had so far has just started.

Do you have something else to say?

Feel free to reach out to me personally or check out my blog, maybe once a year (sad, I know) at https://initsix.dev.