Interview with Gabriela Leoniec, senior front-end developer, about working in the Cloud Nine team

Hi Gabriela, please tell us a little about yourself? How did your adventure with the Cloud Nine team begin? 

G: As a web programmer (formerly a web developer), and then a front-end developer, I have been working for over 20 years. During this time, I have worked in several companies. My first and longest-lasting workplace was a university, and then I worked in large, private companies. Interestingly, I worked in Madrid for almost 2 years in a company in the hospitality industry, initially using English, and towards the end of my adventure, largely Spanish.

I have been working with the Cloud Nine team for over 2 years. I joined the newly formed Polish team in Gdańsk. The company has rented an office in the city center, and it was very important to me to have the opportunity to go to the office and meet people after two years of completely remote work. 

What prompted you to join our company? 

G: Cloud Nine captivated me with its beautiful portfolio of websites and the diversity of clients. I had a feeling that working on many projects with a large programming team would provide a good place for self-development and creating great websites and applications. This feeling was confirmed - Cloud Nine employs many front-end developers, which allows for mutual learning from each other. I was also curious about what the Scandinavian work culture is like. 

What do you like most about your job?

G: I think what sets Cloud Nine apart is that the projects created by the design team are beautiful and of good quality. Additionally, the company supports clients in providing quality product photos and interesting content. An example of this approach is a photo session recently organized by Cloud Nine and our client - Dermosil.

We advise clients on choosing payment systems, recommendations, reviews, loyalty systems, mailing systems - it's an end-to-end service for the entire e-commerce project. This way, we provide comprehensive care for the client.

The work pace in the company is high. Often, you work on more than one project simultaneously during the day, so good time management is important. I appreciate that we have regular meetings dedicated to knowledge exchange.

However, what I like most about this company is the people. I don't know how it happens, but the company employs many incredibly charismatic, smiling, and positive people. I think that's the heart and driving force of Cloud Nine.

How do you assess the work culture? Is there anything you particularly appreciate in your daily collaboration with the team?

G: The company has an atmosphere of optimism and mutual trust, even in tougher times. Despite the hierarchy in the company, you can talk to everyone in a relaxed manner, and during project work, we all play on the same team to achieve the best result together. We also establish close and direct contact with clients. There isn't an excessive number of meetings, which happened in some previous companies I worked for.

Tell us about one of the most interesting projects you worked on with the Cloud Nine team. What challenges did you encounter and how did you overcome them? 

G: The biggest and longest-lasting project that I built from scratch is undoubtedly the Dermosil webshop. The platform was awarded the main prize for the best Finnish e-commerce site at the eCom Summit Awards. This is a huge achievement in the highly competitive Finnish market. I encourage you to read the case study. I am now working on a mobile application for Dermosil.

I also worked on the Luca Faloni and Davida Cashmere websites. Each project was different, but in all projects, the main challenge is to fit within the time frame while accurately reflecting the design and delivering solutions with very good usability.

What technologies and tools do you use most often in your daily work? 

G: I mainly work in the React ecosystem. I check the sites using Google Lighthouse and Accessibility Wave. I also use Storybook for visual project documentation, coupled with the a11y package for testing accessibility in individual modules. 

I try to create semantically correct websites, paying attention to the correctness of HTML tags and those that work quickly and are ergonomic to use. 

At Cloud Nine, careful execution of the website is important, which means not only accurately translating the graphic design into code but also creatively supplementing the project in all places that were not thoroughly developed by the UX team (e.g., in modal windows or drop-downs) or in intermediate resolutions.  

What does your typical workday look like? Do you have any routines or practices that help you be more productive? 

G: I start the day with exercise. After so many years of working mainly in a sitting position, I know that taking care of my health and posture cannot be overlooked. 

During the day, I have stand-ups for individual projects - one or two, and sometimes other scrum meetings. I mostly work remotely from home, but once a week, I go to the office. If there's no downpour, I choose a bike for this route :-) 

What do you remember best about working at Cloud Nine? 

G: The integration trips were great - to Stockholm, Helsinki, Tallinn, but the party in Gdańsk was also unforgettable. It was my first time in Tallinn, and I was captivated by the beauty of this city, so I'm glad that thanks to working at Cloud Nine, I had the opportunity to visit a new place. The trip to an extremely atmospheric sauna on a tiny rocky island in Helsinki was an extraordinary sample of an important part of our Scandinavian neighbor's culture.

In Gdańsk, among other things, we had fun on a pirate ship that was rented just for Cloud Nine. And since many of our Scandinavian colleagues have a very cheerful temperament, the fun was great every time 🙂

If you had to choose three words that best describe the atmosphere in the Cloud Nine team, what would they be?

G: It's actually four words, but: “work hard, play hard” in my opinion, well reflects the work atmosphere in this team 😉