Meet Maciej Mionskowski - Backend developer at CrustLab

Full Stack developer and tinkerer. Lives in Poland; born in Gdańsk, currently resides in Kraków. Linux user, open-source votary, and privacy freak. Addicted to board games, cycling, sailing, skiing, and geocaching. Motivated by interesting challenges and competition. Fast learner, works well in a group or alone.

Maciej Mionskowski - Backend developer at CrustLab

How long have you been in backend development, and when did it start?

I have been developing software for the past ten years.

It all started when I signed up for a local social media platform that allowed users to tweak and tune profile pages using a markup language. It clicked for me, and I began creating user profiles exchanging it for a virtual currency.

Afterward, I started developing simple web pages and switched to developing modifications for video games. I ran a couple of game servers, sold a few hundred copies of plugins, and learned not only technical but also soft skills in the process.

Why did you start working at CrustLab as a backend developer, and what kept you in this company?

My experience with CrustLab has been charming ever since I have started looking for a job. Quick response times from our CEO, very transparent culture, inviting office location, and most important, what seemed like a perfect place for self-development prevailed in favor of choosing CrustLab as my next employer.

All my gut feeling turned out to be correct, and I am satisfied to work with CrustLab.

What projects have you worked on as a backend developer, and which one gave you the most satisfaction?

I have developed software for many market segments: e-commerce, video games, car workshops, trading, stocktaking, betting, software development, and browser add-ons.

I am most satisfied with the products I can and do use after they come to fruition. Being a user and a developer at the same time is a pleasant feeling.

Tinkering at my desk at the Curtlab office in Krakow, Poland.

What is the one thing you value most about working at CrustLab?

I love many aspects of working at CrustLab - to name a few:

• highly experienced people,
• transparent management,
• and flat structure.

Though if I had to choose, it would be autonomy.

What is your goal/dream not related to the work of a backend developer?

I have a multitude of goals and dreams I am working towards achieving. My bucket list has many entries. To name a couple:

Circumnavigating Cape Horn - considered a non-trivial accomplishment among sailors. Sailing around the Horn also allows you to tattoo a fully rigged ship! Just like sailing 5,000 nautical miles enables you to tattoo a Swallow. Sounds silly, I know.

Living sustainably and having a workshop - I have always wanted to get into electronics and wood-working, but moving home pretty often makes this a bit hard. Or maybe it is an excuse because there are at least a few woodworking shops and hackerspaces in Kraków, of which I could make better use.

How do you spend your time outside the office?

If I happen to have a large chunk of time to spare, I will usually go sailing with a sailing club of which I am a member. Poland has a gorgeous coastline and terrific Masurian lakes.

On a daily basis, I play board games, fiddle with technology, go bouldering (a type of rock climbing problem), and read books. I also recently started to play the guitar. There is a lot to choose, and not much time to do so. What I can say is that boredom is rarely a part of my life.

Circumnavigating Cape Horn is a goal and it allows you to tattoo a fully rigged ship!

What is the most important book you have read in your life, and why?

I have read numerous books that hold a special place in my head and on the shelf. Therefore it is difficult to choose a single one.

The book I think had the most significant impact on me is Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! by Richard Feynman. It's a collection of anecdotes, memories, reflections, and stories set around the persona of Mr. Feynman - a Nobel laureate in physics, a fantastic lecturer, and a drummer.

It is an autobiography of sorts, but I think it is also a great story showing how to experience the fullness of life, how to approach and embrace difficult situations, how to teach people. It answers more questions than I had thought a biography could answer before I read it.

What is your life motto?

Never stop learning.

I believe it is a great rule to live by, and it has served me well so far, but I also learned (no pun intended) in the process that you cannot overdo this aspect.

So maybe Never stop learning, but do so in moderation fits better, though does not sound as catchy.

If you could spend a day with any famous person (living, historical or fictional), who would it be, and what would you do?

I will be monothematic here and would like to spend some time with, unfortunately deceased, Richard Feynman, just for the reasons I outlined when talking about his book.

Who would you be in your life if it wasn't a backend developer?

A different kind of developer!

All jokes aside, I spent most of my life gaining expertise in the field of Computer Science, so It is hard to say.

I am sure I would have made one of my hobbies a full-time job, just like I did with computer science. Be it a sailing instructor or something related to board games, hard to tell.

Meet Maciek and ask him any questions about sailing or back-end development. Maciek is one of the most talented people at CrustLab. It manifests itself not only in matters related to software development but basically whatever he tries to do, he is very good at it. Working with people like Maciek is pure pleasure - find out for yourself by hiring CrustLab for your project!