Hello! I'm Paul Harapiak. I was recently hired as Subsystem CTO. In my past, I've been a Chief Architect and a freelance consultant. My experience here is short, but I can tell you what it's like to arrive as a newcomer.
First of all, I'm working with strong talent from all around the world. If I open up a company map, I see initials of my coworkers spread evenly over every continent. This team has made a science of remote work with affected processes and focused communication. The recruitment and selection process is the most thorough one I've been through. I had to put some time in to prove myself. It was professional and fair and transparent. It was quite interesting. It was clear that if I was accepted, I'd be working with well-qualified people.
Once I was hired I received 4 weeks of intense training called CTO Bootcamp, which is fairly accurate. It's demanding, but also very interesting. It was a realistic simulation of what the real job looks like. I came out of the training knowing the ways of the company and with improved skills as an architect and communicator. With that training, I've been able to hit the ground running.
So now I'm actually doing the job. Two weeks in and I've already worked on a couple of software products and a few technology areas. I've made significant design choices and the amazing thing is I'm actually called on to make the best decision, not the cheapest or the easiest or the most familiar, but the simplest one that meets the requirements. Drawing on the best tools in the market. This has been a breath of fresh air. And tomorrow I'm going to start with a new set of problems, different product, different technology. For a lot of architects that love the steady stream of design work, this job is a dream.
