The Life of a Senior Developer: Meet Ana Margarida Serafim

In this series, we focus on the experts at Devoteam Google Cloud who are always at the forefront of progress in the exciting and ever-changing world of Google Cloud. In this article, you will meet Ana Margarida Serafim, Senior Developer at Devoteam Google Cloud Portugal. Let’s discover what a day in Ana’s life looks like and what drives her in this field of work.

Introduction

Hello, Ana! Thank you for taking the time for this interview. To start, could you briefly introduce yourself and your role as a Senior Developer at Devoteam Google Cloud?

Ana Margarida Serafim: A brief introduction

Hello! I’m Ana Serafim or Sam, I’m 37 years old and my passion has always been the arts. I’ve been playing saxophone in a philharmonic band since I was 12, I’ve done theatre and taken part in popular marches (a portuguese tradition). I graduated in Conservation and Restoration at Universidade Nova of Lisbon, specialising in metal objects, in 2012. This course was a perfect blend of arts and sciences, which allowed me to work for SLB’s Cosme Damião Museum and, later, for the National Museum of Oman, in Muscat, where I lived for around 7 months. When I returned to Portugal, getting back into that area of work was difficult, so I decided to redirect my career.  I signed up at ‘Code for All’  in 2019 and began my journey as a Developer. I learnt Java, JavaScript and OutSystems, but what fascinates me most is the logic of how each component integrates and how, as an ‘end user’, I can ‘break’ the code and make art in another way, through lines of code. Through this change, I was able to experience a new working reality, until I arrived at Devoteam. Nowadays, as an Apigee Developer, I take part in meetings with clients to design the proxy API they need, develop and test it, as well as monitor the development of my teammates.

A Day in the Life of a Senior Developer

What does a typical day look like for a Senior Developer at Devoteam Google Cloud?

I usually start the day studying something, either to better understand the tools I use or to complete certifications. I do this for 1 hour until the team’s daily meeting starts.

The rest of the day is divided between the tasks I have, whether it’s taking part in client meetings, developing projects, or supporting my teammates.

What advice would you give to someone who is aspiring to become a Senior Developer at Devoteam Google Cloud or in general?

Being detail-orientated. I analyse, think, and pay close attention to small details. If you ask me why I did something differently, I can explain the reason behind my decision.

What is the best thing about your job?

I love a good logic challenge and I love testing various possibilities. Both guarantee me good hours that fly by. That’s what I like best. 

Can you describe a (or your current) project that you have worked on as a Senior Developer, and the steps you took to complete it?

Our projects are carried out in two parts. Firstly, meetings with clients to design the API proxy, where we advise them on what Apigee can and can’t do for their challenge. From these meetings comes the API’s Low-Level Design (LLD), which has to be approved by all teams that are involved.

Then comes the development part, where we use the LLD that has already been approved to create or modify the Open API Specification (OAS) for the API in question.

Once the development phase is over, it’s time to carry out a series of tests. Both the final version developed and the tests are reviewed by another colleague on the team, where errors can be detected or other ways of implementing a given logic are identified.

Finally, it is necessary to document the decisions made during development and inform the client that the proxy is ready for use.

What is your greatest moment as a Google Clouder?

I really like it when the team is recognised, but also when we all get together and I can meet and exchange ideas with other colleagues.

Why did you choose a career in Software Development?

I think it chose me, actually. When I left ‘Code for All’, I was more oriented towards Java or JavaScript, backend and a bit of frontend, in fact, the projects I worked on before coming to Devoteam were very much geared towards that. Until I was interviewed to join the Google Cloud team at Devoteam and, as I’m not one to turn down a challenge, I accepted and I couldn’t be happier!

Go Big: what does it mean to you?

Go Big is about being recognised for my work and contribution to the team.

Can you give an example of when you went big?

The fact that Devoteam management asks me to do the onboarding of new colleagues is a way of recognising my work.

As a woman, what do you notice about ICT being a man’s world?

I identify myself as a non-binary person and I don’t like this gender distinction. Fortunately in my team I’ve never felt diminished, my contribution is accepted because it’s valid in itself, not because I’m a man or a woman. 

What’s more, I don’t understand why they say that ICT is a man’s field, when at the beginning of the history of Computer Science, it was women who wrote code, even created programming languages.

What’s the best professional advice that you ever received?

When I was still at the Cosme Damião Museum and trying to get my driving license, my boss told me a phrase that, years later, I discovered was from the Rocky Balboa films: ‘It doesn’t matter how many times you fall, it matters how many times you dare to get up and try again.’ These were words that struck me at the time and that I still keep with me today.