Powering a Fashion Marketplace from home
Cracking the Code with Senior Software Engineer Hashan
In our recurring series “Cracking the Code”, we ask inspiring team members at Gapstars five questions about what they’re working on and how they are fulfilling their career aspirations.
Today we’re talking to Hashan Kulasinghe, Senior Software Engineer for our partner Otrium, to learn more about how he is living his life with music, how he deals with working from home, his beginnings of getting into tech and how the pandemic has impacted his priorities.
What excites you about your role and what are you working on right now?
I work for Otrium, a partner of Gapstars. Otrium is an online fashion outlet marketplace with hundreds of designer stores offered under a one-stop-shop.
Otrium makes it possible for aficionados of designer-wear to easily find great reduced-price fashion from your favourite designers’ archives, with a full-price service and experience.
It’s an interesting place to be. The eCommerce landscape is fast-expanding and so is the need for technological advances. Otrium obviously is expanding rapidly. Its unique approach in the fashion eCommerce space has been successful. So much so that Otrium won the 2020 Deloitte Technology Fast 50 for being the fastest-growing tech company in The Netherlands.
Working for such an energetic and dynamic organisation is really fulfilling.
Tell us more about your childhood interests. How did you decide to start a career in Software Engineering?
I remember that ever since I was a little kid I had an enormous interest in Software Engineering. Out of everything that I could think of as a child, Software Engineering and Computing had me the most fascinated. I remember that I was developing simple applications using VB.Net when I was in college. This deep childhood fascination is what ultimately led me to become a Software Engineer today. And I love every bit of being a Software Engineer; especially at Gapstars.
How has the current climate impacted your priorities and work?
I would say that it has impacted me both, in good and bad ways. On a positive note, I got more time to be with my family. Meanwhile, working from home served me as an encouragement to improve my skills further. I was able to save a considerable amount of time in my daily routine.
When it comes to the bad aspects of working from home, I have felt like it sometimes tends to induce depressive mental states. I think it is because of the lack of variety in daily work from home routine. I have to say that I miss the fun gatherings we had at Gapstars before the pandemic.
Gapstars has been very helpful during this period, providing all the necessary resources and operational support without any hesitation.
Apart from coding, what do you enjoy doing?
Most of the time, what I love to do is spending time with my loved ones. In addition to that, I like to live with music. I play the guitar. Oh, and I love partying till midnight with my friends.
What would be your perfect day?
Well, I guess it depends on my mood. It could be either one of two things. I’d like to pack some clothes and travel to a place that I have never been to. Or instead, I’d arrange a fun gathering with my friends at home or in a pub.
Share one tip or advice on how to stay productive when “working from home”?
First, wake up early. Then you can plan the day early and make sure to finish your work within the time you have allocated for work. I think staying productive is all about balancing your working life with personal life. Do some workouts as well. Also, make sure to have a healthy and balanced meal plan.
This has been the third instalment of our recurring “Cracking the Code” series where we tell the stories of the inspiring team members with us here at Gapstars.
Find out how our Senior QA Engineer Shanika fights evil codes here.
And find out how Technical Specialist Naveen Wijeratne is working on Smart Mobility while practising Jiu-Jitsu here.
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