For this month’s employee spotlight, we’re talking to Marek Grzybek, our Senior Fullstack Developer on the Loris Engineering team. In March, Marek will be celebrating three years at Loris! He’s also a remote employee working from Poland, though he stops by the office every few months to say hi. We asked him ten questions to learn a little bit more about him and what he does.
1. Can you tell me what do you do at Loris – but explain it to me in the most basic terms, so a 5-year old could understand?
MAREK: In really simple terms, my job at Loris is to build graphical interfaces that our clients are using on a daily basis. Anything that you can see and interact with after logging in to the Loris control center. It’s like a more sophisticated website that you can play with when you use it. Everything you can see and click on, like buttons, charts, tables, or forms, I create them and make sure they work just right and look nice to the eye.
2. So, what are you most excited about right now, personally or professionally?
MAREK: Professionally, I’m definitely excited about the AI development that’s happening now, which has accelerated significantly since ChatGPT was announced. I can’t wait to see how we can utilize it at Loris to make the product even better. I’m sure AI will change the way we live and work by a lot. For example, it’s mind-blowing that already tools exist that allow bringing static images to life by converting them to short clips. That’s just one example of many. Not to mention text-to-video generation. Definitely exciting times are ahead of us!
3. Two-part question: Where are you from and what was your favorite thing about your hometown?
MAREK: I grew up in a small town in the southern part of Poland, very close to the border, and now I live in Warsaw which is the capital city.
What I liked the most about my hometown was the fact that it was peaceful, safe, and had good infrastructure. There was everything you would need in the vicinity, yet it wasn’t as overwhelming as living in a city. We would often go out with friends and our parents didn’t need to worry about us.
4. If you had an entire day to yourself, how would you spend it?
MAREK: If we could extend that a bit to cover the travel time, I’d definitely go to the Polish mountains and spend that time resting in a cabin, go hiking, and watch a movie. Ideally turning off all notifications and disconnecting from the world. We live in a time when it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the amount of information we get every day, so it’s good to take a break from it every once in a while.
5. What has been something you’ve purchased for under $100 that made a difference in your life?
MAREK: Does a subscription count? Then YouTube Premium made a big difference for me since I use it every day. It’s not only about the ads that no one likes and which waste our time, but also the ability to download videos and listen to them in the background. These may seem like small things, but make my life so much easier and more convenient. That’s probably the last subscription I wouldn’t be able to give up.
6. So what brought you to Loris?
MAREK: When I was looking for a new job, I wanted to broaden my expertise and work on something I hadn’t done before. At the time, Loris was looking for a developer to maintain their agent assist offering which is based on Chrome extensions. I thought it was a great opportunity to learn something new.
I was also looking for a place where I could work on a product that’s meaningful and has the potential to grow. Loris checked all these boxes and I’m happy I made that decision.
7. What can one expect as a member of the Engineering team?
MAREK: Our engineering team at Loris consists of people who are very passionate about what they do. We’re open to new ideas and we’re not afraid to experiment with new technologies. Our tech stack is very modern, and everything is kept in good shape. Everyone is always ready to help. We’re also focused on the quality of our code, maintainability, and testing. You can always have an impact on the product, our process and the tools we’re using. We strive to make our lives easier and more productive. On top of that, you can definitely expect to learn something new and grow as an engineer.
8. What’s one of your favorite moments in your almost three years at Loris?
MAREK: There have been many great moments during my time here, but I think the most memorable one was when we all met in person, for the first time for me, on a company retreat in Israel. It was a great opportunity to get to know everyone better. This always makes working together easier and more enjoyable. No Zoom call can replace an actual live interaction.
9. How would you describe the startup culture at Loris?
MAREK: The startup culture at Loris is dynamic, but at the same time well-paced. It’s full of innovation, and being agile and flexible. Everyone is passionate about what they do and is ready to go the extra mile to make the product better. There’s a lot of positive energy and we all work together on the new exciting features. It’s very open and transparent, and we’re constantly communicating across teams to discuss new ideas and improvements. It’s a very exciting time to be a part of it!
10. And for our final question, what career advice would you give your 19-year old self?
MAREK: In retrospect, I think I made some good career choices in my life, but if I could go back in time, I’d tell myself to take advantage of having senior developers on my team and learn from their experience as much as possible. I’d also tell myself to experiment with different technologies and not get attached to one of them too much. At that age, it’s easier to play with new things and it’s worthwhile to do that. Having even basic experience in multiple areas always pays off.
