A Day In the Life with Software Developer Team Lead, Nelson Gutierrez

Hi! I’m Nelson and I am from Costa Rica. I studied Electrical Engineering at John Brown University in Northwest Arkansas. Soon after that, I found my true passion, Software Engineering. I have the honor and immense privilege to be married to the most amazing woman in the world, Nadia, and we are beyond blessed to have two beautiful girls, Maripaz and Valeria.

How long have you been with Swimlane?

I have been in Swimlane for 2 years and 3 months.

What does your job entail?

I get to lead an amazing engineering delivery team made of four super-talented software engineers, with whom we build new features for the Swimlane Product.

I also get to contribute as a Front End Developer, creating User Interfaces for the Product as well as contributing to the company’s amazing open-source projects.

What do you enjoy most about working at Swimlane?

The people! Everyone in the company is really supportive, caring and just overall fun to work with. I joined the company the week the pandemic really hit, and it just amazed me that from day one, everyone at Swimlane went out of their way to make sure I felt welcome and part of the company even during those hard times.

I also really like the fact that I get to work on such an amazing product that is definitely causing a positive impact in the world in these troubled times.

What excites you most about your work?

Every single day I learn something new! There are so many incredibly talented individuals in the company who not only are amazing technically but are always willing to teach and share what they know with a smile on their faces.

What do you like to do when you aren’t working?

I like to play and watch soccer, run, play the piano and travel with my family, especially to the Costa Rican beaches.

What’s a fun fact about you many people may not know?

For the last few years, I have been running my age in kilometers on my birthday. This year I should be running 35km!

Your motto or personal mantra:

• Ego is The Enemy

• Become a student, always stay a student.

• Pretense of knowledge is our most dangerous vice, because it prevents us from growing

Three words that best describe you:

Approachable, Collaborative, Hard-worker

What Swimlane core value resonates with you the most?

For me, it’s definitely “Always be leveling up”. Like I mentioned previously, there’s not a day I don’t learn something here, and I just want to continue to improve and be the best version of myself that I can be to help the team as much as possible.