Trapti Sharma: Constant learning and making a real impact

You are a software engineer at Quincus. Tell us about the development tools you specialize in, and what your day to day is like.

I work in Ruby on Rails, and I have knowledge of Java, C, and C++. I have learned Android as well. 

My daily routine is quite simple. I get up at 6AM to look after my baby and do household chores. At 9AM, I log on to work and handle whatever tickets are assigned to me. My job scope involves working with users to determine their software needs, developing a system or application according to their specifications, drawing diagrams and models that help developers create the appropriate code, documenting the system or application in detail to help those responsible for future maintenance, and providing updates and fixes as necessary. 

This goes on until 6.30PM or so, when I log off and get back to household activities and managing my husband and daughter. 

What got you into software development? Share your journey with us.  

My father always wanted to become an engineer, but nobody in the family had studied engineering. I was the first. But I also wanted something different. More creative. So after earning my Bachelor’s in Engineering, I went into software engineering. I find it is like engineering, but it allows me to be creative with designing apps and software platforms. 

I have been working in technology for more than five years. Before Quincus, I worked for a technology services company in Mumbai, where I also did product development and software maintenance. 

Give us your take on the logistics software development scene. Is it different from developing software for other industries? What do you like about it?  

Take an example of purchasing something for my family. Everything is purchasable online these days. I just need to go to a website and buy it. All the IT systems that make that possible, as well as all the logistics processes that bring my purchase to me–all this runs on software. E-commerce has become such a huge part of our everyday lives, that working on the software that drives it gives me the chance to make a real impact.  

What do you think makes a good software engineer? 

It’s two things: what you know, and how quickly you can know more. The ability to increase your knowledge beyond the technologies and programming languages that you have chosen to specialize in is very important. The software development landscape is always advancing, so you need to be adaptable to be a good software engineer. 

What has been most fulfilling or rewarding for you, working in Quincus?  

Quincus gives me the opportunity to broaden my software development knowledge. For example, I am now working on microservices. I didn’t know what these were before. And just last week, I learned about joint search queries. I am learning new things all the time here. As our apps change and evolve and we make them better, I will learn even more.  

Communication is also very open here. I have a lot of interaction with my colleagues and manager. I learn from these conversations as well, day to day. This atmosphere of constant learning is what I find fulfilling in Quincus. 

How would you recommend other developers/software engineers who are looking to get into the supply chain business get started? 

Don’t be scared. When I was starting out, I was scared to make any changes to code because it might break. But my colleagues and manager helped me figure it out. So my advice is to not be scared, and to ask the people around you for advice, and to keep learning. Don’t worry. Because if you are scared, you can’t learn anything.