Meet Alexander Infante, one of our platform engineers who focuses on building out the Socialive platform. We sat down with Alexander to learn more about his role at Socialive, as well as his experience here. Here’s what he had to say:
Tell us a little more about what your role is here at Socialive:
The title “Software Engineer” can mean a lot of things, so the “Platform Engineer” helps make that distinction for what my primary focus is. As a Platform Engineer, a large part of my job is building out the platform that Socialive runs on. This mainly entails ensuring the video streaming is reliable, scalable, and of the highest quality for customers while also creating functionality for new features that provide even more value.
In addition to the conical idea of programming, which is a large amount of my day, I spend a lot of time interacting with several teams to make sure we are building the platform correctly. I’m usually connected with the product team, other engineering teams, architecture team, and management teams throughout the week.
What is your favorite aspect of your role?
My favorite part of being a Platform Engineer at Socialive is the balance of autonomy and support. I’ve found this is traditionally a hard balance to strike, but it seems to be the “Goldilocks” amount for my personality here. I love feeling like I’m growing in my role and constantly learning every single day while also knowing I have the full support of those in upper management and my fellow team here for me. This allows for a great sense of pride in seeing my impact while also feeling secure in this environment.
What has your coolest experience been so far at Socialive?
The on-site event we had for the Product and Engineering teams. One moment that stands out in my mind was a brainstorming session for a specific product initiative. It was fun to see all of the related teams work together collaboratively (Product, Platform Engineering, Frontend Engineering, Architecture, and Quality Engineering) to develop the idea and allow it to come to fruition (it’s an initiative that is currently underway!). Eating lunch together, talking through ideas, and seeing the amount of trust and respect everyone has for one another was truly memorable.
What’s the best advice you’ve received in your career?
My dad has always taught me “You can learn something from everyone.” I’ve found that going into every conversation with a mindset to learn has been very helpful in my career.
How has working at Socialive allowed you to mentor or be mentored by others?
The entire engineering team is filled with incredibly talented, experienced, and (perhaps most importantly) kind people who love to help out however they can. Everyone has unique specialties and is always more than happy to share that information. Receiving help from one of the Directors of Engineering, an Engineering Manager, the Platform Lead Engineer, our CTO, and others has definitely helped me further my career.
How have you been able to build the relationships you have while being fully remote?
Similar to my above comment about striking the right balance, I’ve found that Socialive also has the “Goldilocks” balance of dedicated time to focus while also having accessibility to coworkers. I’ve found that everyone is willing to help, is friendly, and is easy to talk to. We did have a company meetup which was fun and great to get to know the team, and that enthusiasm has carried over with our dedicated time to just chat (on Friday afternoons).
How does Socialive support you to have healthy remote work habits?
It’s in the company values, but the most direct is “Work hard, but breathe,” which is truly followed here. Everyone is respectful of each other’s time and it’s directly encouraged to take adequate time off and use those mental health days every month (I would go as far to say it’s frowned upon to work at an unsustainable pace).
Learn more about what it’s like to work at Socialive.
