Meet Diego, Software Engineering Intern building the Koyeb Observability Pipeline

Great news, there is a new addition to the Koyeb team!

At Koyeb, we are building a serverless platform that delivers the fastest way for developers and businesses to deploy applications. We are a small, distributed, team located primarily in France dedicated to creating the next-generation serverless cloud computing platform.

Diego joined us back in April for a software engineering internship. Learn more about him and how he is helping make Koyeb's vision for serverless a reality.

Meet Diego!

Why did you want to do an internship with Koyeb?

When I was looking for internships, I knew I wanted to find something in-between software engineering and DevOps. I definitely wanted to work in a challenging environment, something technical.

I was studying for an AWS certification at the time, so I was really interested in the engineering behind cloud providers. When I saw that Koyeb was looking for a software engineer, I knew this was the opportunity for me.

What you have been up to while at Koyeb?

I have been working on the observability of the platform, and more specifically metrics. As a user, you want to be able to see how your applications are behaving and as a developer you want to be able to monitor the health of the platform. Therefore, it is critical that we have a robust telemetry pipeline that scales and handles user traffic.

Given that the Koyeb infrastructure is a distributed system and that we handle a high volume of user data, it is a fun challenge working on improving our observability stack, which is mostly based on Prometheus and the Grafana stack.

I have also been delivering user-facing features to provide users with insights into how their applications are behaving. These features will pave the way for more advanced features, like autoscaling and third-party integrations. If you are curious, feel free to check out our public roadmap to learn more!

How did you get into programming?

I began by making websites for fun. My first project was making my mom’s professional website. I really liked it and so I kept playing around with different languages and frameworks, like Python, C and JavaScript.

After high school, I decided to pursue studies in Computer Science. I discovered that I really enjoyed DevOps, distributed systems, and high-performance computing. I am looking forward to next year when I will begin a master’s program at Tsinghua University in advanced computing and have the opportunity to explore many new and exciting topics!

A memorable project you have worked on?

During my third year of studies, I worked with the Boston Consulting Group on a machine learning project. The goal was to analyse historical sales data from a retail company and predict optimal discounts for the holiday season to drive sales. At the time, I found it really challenging but I had a lot of fun.

Windows, Mac, or Linux?

Tough one! I think I would say Linux because we love a good open source software. The whole philosophy of the project is fascinating and the technical aspect is impressive. To me, it is one of the most influential pieces of software of this period of time.

That being said, Apple’s focus on user experience makes it a strong contender.

Docker or git-driven deployment?

I definitely feel like the answer should be git given that as a company you want to focus your time and energy on building a meaningful product instead of writing Dockerfiles. You do not want to worry about ops or infrastructure management. This is why platforms like Koyeb strive to make git-driven deployment feel as magical as possible.

How do you like to spend your free time?

It has been a long time since I have had free time. When I do get a moment to myself, I like to spend quality time with my loved ones. I love studying interesting topics and working on side projects. Recently, I have been reading a lot about linear algebra, calculus and the math behind machine learning, which I find so interesting.

What was the best vacation you ever took?

Definitely, China. One of the most beautiful countries I have seen. There are so many big cities with unique skylines, it feels surreal! I also love the architecture and the natural landscapes. It is such a big country, so there is so much to see!

What’s your all-time favorite movie or TV show?

The Good Place! I find it very heartwarming and deep. It is always very comforting to watch.

Any fun facts about yourself that you want to share?

Before studying computer science, I studied literature in high school. I loved philosophy at the time and literature was a great way to explore that. I thought I was going to be a lawyer that is until I discovered programming and my passion for it.

Finally, how can we reach you on the Internet?

I am present on Linkedin and GitHub, definitely feel free to reach out to me if you are working on a cool open source project, I would love to contribute!