Introducing Avionero’s Back-end Developer: Ivan Yuriev!
It all started with a wise teacher in Kyrgyzstan, who told stories about all the beauty the data world had to offer. This set Ivan Yuriev’s future plans in stone – this was what he was meant to do for a living. A few years later, Ivan and the co-founder of Avionero, Anton, crossed paths, and when Avionero’s need for a competent back-end and .NET-developer came up, Ivan could do nothing but suggest that he himself was a possible candidate. And the rest, as they say, is history…
– Hi Ivan! Tell us about yourself.
– My name is Ivan, and I work as a back-end developer at Avionero. I’m originally from Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia, but for the last three years, my wife and I have lived in Moscow, since she was offered a job here in Russia. My parents and a lot of my friends still live in Kyrgyzstan, so I visit a few times a year. Apart from that, I don’t travel much, but I want to in the future. When I do travel, I don’t just do it to tick off a list, or to take pictures and selfies. Instead, I think every trip should contribute to something of real substance and value for myself. I like hiking, and there’s a lot of mountains and fantastic nature in Kyrgyzstan. Hiking not only lets me see these beautiful places with amazing views, but I also get the chance to be alone with my thoughts. I also like snowboarding, it lets me challenge myself and my physical attributes.
Art and culture are important to me as well — I love poetry, film, and music. Music is especially close to my heart, and has been ever since I started in a music class when I was seven years old. Since then, I’ve been involved with different music projects, like contests and school bands. I’ve also DJ:ed, composed my own music, as well as taken classes in sound engineering. I still have future plans for my music, but right now it’s still a hobby I struggle to make time for. Aside for music, I love talking and discussing with people. It’s amazing how we together can explore and experiment with complex questions, resulting in new knowledge for both parts. Sometimes this takes time, and you’ll need patience and self control, but it’s worth it. I’ve spent plenty long nights together with friends who’ve challenged me, and for that I’d like to thank them.
It’s amazing how we together can explore and experiment with complex questions, resulting in new knowledge for both parts.
– What does your background look like, and how did you happen to be interested in back end development?
– "A really good professional is a person who has a combination of deep knowledge in one field and broad-mindedness in all the others". That’s what my mentor always told me when I took classes in PC. It was also he who did the most important thing a teacher could do –– he showed me the astonishing world of data. That was my future predicted right there. Since I was 13 years old, I’ve dug myself deeper and deeper into the world of computer science, and I graduated, with great honour, from Kyrgyz Technical University in 2006. During my university years, my friends and I started a software company. We wanted to know what it was like to be “business men”, with all that came with it. What are the rules? What challenges are there? What’s the process like? We experimented a lot back then, and once we were actually recruited to outsource different financial companies for one of the biggest banks in Kyrgyzstan. This was a great success for a small group of friends. The next four years would come to be the best years of my life; working with the leading bank, and not to mention doing it with the best and most reliable gang ever.
But, everything changed in 2010. Some of my co-founders left the company to challenge themselves and reach new heights, which they all have. In addition to this, our biggest client closed, and the financial crisis that prevailed didn’t allow other financial institutions to buy outsourced software. After a year of battling the market, I had to shut down. It was tough, but now, post-crisis, I see it as a valuable experience. I decided to explore the world of freelance, as well as focusing on expanding my knowledge in software. During this time, I realised I was a back-end developer, and discovering the magic process somewhere up in the cloud with a huge amount of servers, as well as discover all the exciting algorithms, is astonishing to me. I knew this is what I should be doing for a living.
When I do travel, I don’t just do it to tick off a list, or to take pictures and selfies. Instead, I think every trip should contribute to something of real substance and value for myself.
I was a part of a few different projects during this time, before I found an online casual multiplayer gaming project that needed a .NET developer. The company was neither the biggest or most established, but I thought it was interesting, and did my best to come up with and add new functions, improve the stability and performance, as well as prepare the infrastructure, and so on.
– How long have you worked for Avionero, and what’s your roll in the company?
– I met Anton Tyulenev in Moscow 2016. He told me about his project — a new way of searching for flights — and he also told me about all the crazy and exciting challenges that came with it. Anton came to me for advice on a good back-end and .NET developer, and in that moment I was confident enough to suggest myself. The discussions about the project were long, and because of the upcoming tasks and challenges, I soon realised Avionero as a project demanded my full attention. This was not a half-time job. So, after months of preparation, I finished my ongoing projects and jumped on the Avionero train to be a part of a new revolution on the flight searching market!
So, after months of preparation, I finished my ongoing projects and jumped on the Avionero train to be a part of a new revolution on the flight searching market!
– What’s the best part of working for Avionero?
– The best part of Avionero is to make things for real! We’re a relatively small company, which means we have to be quick in everything we do, and this is the reason we can put all our forces into our goal. Of course, the road to achieve our goal is not always straightforward. We always have to explore new paths, and consider and investigate new aspects. Everyday comes with new challenges and new knowledge. As well as learning more from every successful assignment, every failure is the key to new knowledge and experiences. We probably learn more from our mistakes, and that means a lot to me.
Another thing I appreciate is I get the chance to be efficient and develop my own skills at Avionero. I know what it’s like to be efficient; it means you can produce useful things, to keep the quality high, to be honest in your work, to focus on details, and to never ever forget the big picture. Me knowing this makes me a professional, which leads to me being able to keep my rate as a trade specialist. Having the possibility to explore my skills is a good thing, because then I can keep my professionalism in the future. I expand my knowledge in working with non-trivial duties, and learning new things from my co-workers.
As well as learning more from every successful assignment, every failure is the key to new knowledge and experiences.
– What do you look forward to the most regarding Avionero’s future?
– To continue having our users be satisfied with our product, first of all. So far, we’ve worked hard, but a lot of this work has become the foundation for the future. I look forward to see the result after every long working day, every week of hard work, all our effort, and not to mention seeing our ideas transform into advantages for our users. And I do hope every member of team feels this way. This is what makes us work hard and try our best. The beginning of all projects is condemned to turbulence with infrastructure, management, and “boring” jobs that have to be done. But now, everything is stable and efficient, and I hope it’ll last and we keep our productivity.
“The best part of Avionero is to make things for real!”
I also have a personal expectation, and that is to keep enjoying the everyday process. We’re all very excited for our future goals and milestones, but it’s going up and down, and no day looks the same. That’s why I try to avoid “wasting” my time with false hopes. Instead, I’m living in the present and trying my best, and honestly, I’m very proud of that. That’s what I strive for every day at Avionero!
