Meet Nils, Full Stack Engineer building the Koyeb Web Console

Exciting news, the Koyeb team is growing!

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.

Nils joined us recently as a Full Stack Engineer. Learn more about him and how he is helping make Koyeb's vision for serverless a reality.

Meet Nils!

Why did you join Koyeb?

After 5 years of engineering school and 3 years in a startup in the field of employment, I was tempted to join a tech company. I was not intending to leave my previous job, but I was really interested in what Koyeb is building and where it is going.

Plus, joining a small team where I work remotely as the main frontend engineer of a tech product was really a good match for me.

How did you get into programming?

I was first introduced to programming in a HTML / CSS class I took in high school in the US. You might say, "Meh, that's just markup, that's not programming," but it was just the starting point, and I started learning JavaScript not too long after that.

Then I discovered C, C++, C#, Java, Python and other languages, which was kind of a revolution for me. And I finally learned about TypeScript when it started to gain popularity, in 2016. Now I mainly work with this language and its ecosystem.

What are some of your favorite aspects of coding and technology?

There are so many things I like about coding and technology! I am a proponent of clean architecture, this is a way to keep the code clean as the number and type of features increase. I am also currently reading Vaughn Vernon’s book on Domain Driven Design, which helps me handle the complexity of large domain models. Lastly, I really like working on my developer experience. I even did a lightning talk on the topic here at Koyeb!

Windows, Mac, or Linux?

Well, it depends. To code, I use Linux; to make music, I use Windows; and to cut dry sausage, I use a Mac.

Docker or git-driven deployment?

Git-driven when possible of course! I only use Docker as a fallback when my build process has specificities that are not handled by our git-driven builds.

Favorite side project you have worked on?

I've been working for quite some time on a project aiming to provide a healthy discussion environment, where people can talk about the subjects they care about. It's inspired by wonderful products like Stack Overflow, the GitHub discussion tool, and Reddit. This project does not have a definitive name yet, but you can play with it here - heads up: it is in French!

But I think my favorite side project isn't even this one though, it's a web version of a game called Cards Against Humanity that I built to practice clean architecture.

How do you like to spend your free time?

My free time is mainly divided into two: coding and the rest. I really like understanding how the web works, and more recently programming in general, so I spend a lot of time reading tech articles and books, and working on my side projects.

The other half is composed of making electronic music (or trying to haha), practicing my balance skill on a slackline, and biking. More recently, I started learning to climb... but for now, I'm a noob!

What is your all-time favorite movie or TV show?

It's way too hard to give a single answer, so here are a few of the TV shows I have really enjoyed: Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, The Good Place, Orphan Black and Doctor Who.

What was the best concert you have ever been to?

Well I went to see a lot of great musicians, including La petite fumée, Rakoon, Highlight Tribe and The Algorithm, but if I could say only one, it would be Bliss.

In addition to going to concerts, I really like going to festivals where I can spend a few days listening to lots of music!

What was the best vacation you ever took?

In May 2017, I went to an amusement park with my girlfriend. It's not that I enjoyed the place that much, it's about her. It was the early stage of our relationship, we were starting to make the connections that are now the roots of a deep relationship.

Do you have any hidden talents or hobbies?

I once did! Between the ages of 14 and 22, I used to perform as a magician for weddings, birthdays and company events.

Finally, how can we reach you on the internet?

Like most developers, I have a twitter account: @nils_koyeb. And if you're interested in the stuff I code, my GitHub repositories are available at github.com/nilscox. I try to make them open-source as much as I possibly can.