User Manual¶

This guide is meant to help us work together more effectively by sharing my preferences and work style. While it may seem formal, think of it as a friendly “user manual” that can help reduce misunderstandings and make our collaboration smoother. These aren't rigid rules—they're simply patterns I've found helpful throughout my career. Feel free to use this as a starting point for discussion; I’m always open to adapting based on what works best for the team.

About Me¶

Location: Originally from Germany, currently based in the UK/EU.
Professional Background: Experienced in backend software engineering (ex-Reddit), data science, and data engineering, with a focus on information retrieval (search) and building distributed, data-intensive applications and platforms.
What Drives Me: I thrive on interesting challenges and love working with bright, motivated colleagues who share a passion for problem-solving and growth.

What I Value Most¶

Teamwork is like team sports: Everyone has a specific skill and plays a specific position, and when the moment requires it, we pass each other the ball to win.

Teamwork & Collaboration¶

“Teamwork is a team sport”: Everyone has unique strengths and positions. We give each other assists to win as a team.
I love working with bright, motivated colleagues.
I focus on tasks with teamwork driven by mission and learning, not ego.

Productivity¶

Productivity needs focus. The following is not a prescription, but a pattern that has worked well for me in the past.

Mornings: Focused, using the Pomodoro technique with noise-cancelling headphones. Unless it is urgent, please send a DM and allow me to respond asynchronously.
Pre-lunch: I catch up on emails and messages.
Around Lunchtime: I'm open to socialising and chatting. Connecting with others energises me and sparks new ideas. Many of my side projects at work got started this way.
Afternoons: Great for meetings, asking for my help, or brainstorming ideas. ⠀

Decision-Making¶

Decisions should be based on data so they can be justified.
If data is lacking, use knowledge and experience as a proxy. Especially when it comes to social decisions or situations affecting “how” we work together.
Engineering is a collaborative enterprise. Being a “hero engineer” only gets you so far (trust me, I've been there) — I prefer a collaborative approach leading to more informed decisions, making everyone smarter, and buy-in from others.

Meeting Preferences¶

Agenda and intended outcomes are known before the meeting.
Meetings should have actionable outcomes with follow-ups.
I prefer meetings after lunch to preserve my deep-focus time in the morning.

Communication¶

Preferred Channels¶

Primarily verbal or direct messages (DMs).

How I often communicate¶

DM or verbally in person.
I’m formal when needed but always respectful, outcome-focused, and intentional.
If you see me asking “why,” it’s because I want to understand the reasoning or the deeper intention behind a task.
I enjoy discussing ideas and challenges. Despite being German, I’m open to humour—collaboration doesn’t have to be stuffy.

How I Give Feedback¶

Positive Feedback: Prompt and usually public (or private if we have rapport), but always genuine.
Constructive Feedback: Discussed privately, focusing on problem-solving. I often ask, “What do you think we need to do to fix X?” to foster solutions rather than dwelling on mistakes. I’m here to help resolve issues.

How I’d Like to Receive Feedback¶

Genuine, verbal, informal, and timely.
I prefer actionable suggestions for growth — whether personal or professional.

As a Lead/Manager¶

“A team is like a fist; it is only as strong as the individual fingers that hold together.” — Karin S.

I’ll shield the team from outside pressure; we tackle challenges together.
I'm fine with silliness and fun at work as long as our tasks are completed by us. Some of my most enjoyable moments in my career involved playing pranks on our line manager while delivering a distributed search and storage backend across thousands of servers in a dozen data centres, managing 100 petabytes of data.
Enjoy your work, and show what you can do.
I prioritize understanding errors in context rather than attributing them to personal traits (“Fundamental Attribution Error”). I care about what you learn from mistakes.
I understand that people have different preferences, personalities, and quirks. And sometimes people simply just don't like each other. If you have a work conflict, I'll encourage you and the other party to talk it out and negotiate a win-win solution.

What I Find Most Helpful or Challenging¶

“The easiest way to become a 10x engineer is to help five 1x engineers become 2x engineers.”

Most Helpful¶

Being yourself and sharing positivity.
Clear communication with relevant updates (including successes).
Meetings with agendas and actionable outcomes.
When I need help, show me how to help myself next time.

Most Challenging¶

Gatekeeping or dismissiveness.
People who take but don’t give.
A perpetual negative focus.
Non-technical managers with zero experience