Son Le: The Living Linter of Designveloper | Stars At DSV Universe

It’s been 6 years since Designveloper’s very first code was written but rarely did we tell you about our hard-working and wonderful guys and girls here. So in an attempt to serve you a better look at DSV-ers’ working life, here’s a little series named “Stars At Designveloper”. On the other hand, it is also dedicated to praising our enthusiastic members.

After the first talk with Thai Nguyen, today we will continue the series with Son Le – our dedicated technical manager. Starting with the position of a full-stack intern, he has been with us for 5 years and is gradually becoming a core member of Designveloper. Now let’s talk to him for a moment.

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Hi Son, thank you for being here today.

Hey, how are you doing?

Great, man. So, could you introduce a bit about yourself?

I consider myself a geek, a living linter, a developer who follows lazy-driven development methodology, a man with imagination.

How about your hobbies?

I like reading (check out my Goodreads here), watching movies, listening to various genres of music, and playing video games. 

Right, so what is your favorite book? Could you share a bit about it?

It’s The Godfather by Mario Puzo. It’s the story of a fictional Mafia family in New York in the 1950s. Once you start reading it, it’s just unputdownable. My favorite character is Sonny Corleone, I think we have a lot of things in common.

How did you become a DSV-er?

In April 2014, I was a 2nd-year student who wanted some challenges and real work experience so I applied to the company. Technically speaking, it was the good old times when SailsJS + BackboneJS was still a good combination to build single-page applications.

How was your first impression of DSV?

People here are young, talented, energetic, and humorous.

So let’s talk about your path to becoming a senior developer in DSV, first, what are the good things?

There are many. I did learn a lot from colleagues, and clients. Besides, I had so many chances to improve my technical skills as well as management skills. Last but not least, this job offers me to work with different technologies and business models.

And obstacles?

I have to work under pressure sometimes and there are learning curves when I have to learn new technologies.

What are your strengths and weaknesses? In terms of technical stuff and non-technical stuff?

Strengths: learn things quick, broad technical experience, positive attitude

Weaknesses: lazy, easy to be distracted

What is your experience in the position? What’s your main responsibility?

There are 4 main tasks. They are meeting with new clients, estimating new projects, interviewing candidates, and working on projects and R&D.

Which one is the most challenging mission? Why?

Working on projects. You’d have to do a lot of things: managing customer satisfaction, maintaining good communication between project members and customers, and most importantly: implementing the projects

And which one is the most fun task to do? 

Interviewing candidates for sure. I have chances to meet new people with interesting abilities & characteristics.

Let’s talk about a specific project that you’ve joined.

One of my projects is LuminPDF. It is a web app for viewing, sharing, and editing PDF files in the cloud. We’ve been working on this project since 2015.

Are there any obstacles? And how did you solve them?

The selected technical stack & architecture weren’t suitable for the app. We had to build new architecture & change the workflow to make the app works much faster & smoother. Also, we applied the new design to improve the look and feel of the app.

What did you learn from the project?

First thing is that we have to think outside of the box, which means thinking wider & approach a problem from different perspectives. The other thing I learned from this project is many other good software development practices.

Now let’s talk a bit about Designveloper, what do you think about the time working here?

Great time. I have met great people, and I’ve learned new things. We have many responsibilities but also a lot of freedom. In short, DSV is always like a 2nd family to me.

Who do you admire the most?

Hung Vo – CEO of Designveloper. He’s a man with great knowledge, passion & influence. Luckily I have the chance to work with him for a really long time.

What is the most memorable moment when working here?

When I traveled to the US on a business trip and when I won the DSV FIFA Champions Cup. 

Could you share a bit about that US trip? 

It was a 3 weeks trip. During that time we visited some of our clients in California. We also attended the first GraphQL summit. We were warmly welcomed by our partner – Meteor Development Group. I was really excited to see the headquarters of great names in the software industry on the streets of San Francisco. Our last destination was Los Angeles – the city of Flowers and Sunshine – the La La Land.

The schedule was really tight for me because at that time I also have to prepare & submit my graduation thesis (lol)

Do you have any wise words for others?

“So many books, so little time” – Frank Zappa

Oh, by the way, I heard that you’re going to get married soon. Congratulations. How does it feel when becoming a soon-to-be family man?

I feel overwhelmed by a lot of things to prepare for the wedding. My wedding is just a week away. Some of my colleagues will travel to my hometown to join it and I’m really appreciated it. 

That sounds great! I guess it’s time to get back to code. Thanks again, bro.