Luchian Carstoiu’s career journey evolved from a Full-Stack Developer role to Team Leader, then Tech Leader and Project Leader. He’s currently wearing two hats, as a Software Architect and an Engineering Manager, and is working on a crypto payments platform for the financial industry.
Get a glimpse #BehindTheCode. Discover Luchian’s story filled with hard work, a passion for coding, crafting communities, and helping others grow.
Can you please tell us a bit about yourself? What are your studies, hobbies, passions?
My passion for coding started way before working at my first job. I was always curious about what is behind things and how they work together. Sometime before high school, I started playing with websites and making some games behave in the way I wanted. I enjoyed it a lot. I’ve always known that I would be working in IT, and that is why I graduated from an informatics high school and later studied computer science at Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca. Even if some of my colleagues had already started their careers during college, I did not get a job until I graduated. Maybe because I was lazy, or because I enjoyed college too much.
Speaking about my current hobbies, my life has changed in the last couple of years. I became a father of two beautiful daughters, who mean the world to me. After work, we try to spend all our time together. Playing with silly putty of magic sand relieves stress, but nothing beats hearing them laugh.
Even though it seems that my hobby time is gone, from time to time I do enjoy an old-school gaming session with old games from “back in the day” and even more up-to-date ones.
Tell us a bit about your software development career.
I started my software development career back in 2009, after graduating from college. My first job was for a small company, where we were two web developers and a manager. We mostly did presentation sites but also managed changes to a photography website with social tendencies. After a year, I said it was time for a change, and I joined a bigger company. I worked on the back-end part for many e-commerce websites, where I learned a lot about working in a team and the challenges that come with bigger projects.
After about three years, a friend asked me to come to an interview at Fortech, because they are looking for two new colleagues to join their team. Maybe he knew that my wife is also a programmer, or he knew about the internal referral program. 😊 This is how I (and my wife) ended up at Fortech, a company with no more than 300 employees at that time. And now here I am, continuing my career path at GlobalLogic Romania, as Fortech became part of GlobalLogic.
How has your career evolved through time? What’s your current role now?
Almost 10 years ago I was nervous about fitting into a new team, but they warmly welcomed me and soon enough, I felt that I was in the right place.
My first role in the company was as a Mid Full-Stack Developer. After a couple of years, I got promoted to Team Leader, then Tech Lead and Project Leader/Software Architect. My career path did not stop there. After a while, I had to make a choice, to set off on the Project Management or Engineering Manager path. It was a hard decision, but since I was not ready to give up coding, I started my next challenge as an Engineering Manager. So, I’m currently wearing a double hat as a Software Architect and an Engineering Manager.
As a Software Architect, I am involved in defining standards and best practices, giving architecture advice on new projects, and defining training directions. In the Engineering Manager role, my key responsibility is to help my team grow. I do so through monthly one-on-one coaching, setting individual objectives, constant feedback, and mentoring.
Besides my daily duties, I am involved in technical interviews for the JavaScript roles. I enjoy finding new talent, both for my team and to help other teams grow. I am also involved in technical sales, where I assess whether we as a team are a match for the client but also whether the client is a match for us.
Tell us a bit about the software project you are currently working on.
Our client has two core products, and the scope of these products is to map the process of getting insights about land plots for real-estate developers. It helps real-estate developers to compare multiple plannings, so they can more easily choose the best opportunity.
What’s your favorite thing about this project?
My absolute favorite thing about this project is that on the front-end we can use the latest technologies, and we always want to improve the tech stack and development process. Another thing to mention is the team, both the client’s team and our team members. We really do help each other grow to be better programmers and learn how to properly code in a team, where you are not alone.
What’s the most challenging thing(s) about this project?
Keeping up with the latest tools and technologies would be one, but I think that we are doing a rather good job with it.
Tell us more about your team.
Even though I have worked on multiple projects over time and switched teams multiple times, my first team remained the one with which I have the strongest bond. We still keep in touch, even though we have been working on different projects and remotely for more than two years. Before the pandemic, we used to have multiple snacks in the office and had dedicated furniture with drawers for them. We joked about being fullSnack developers.
A tradition that overcame the pandemic is getting invites to birthday dinners. And we’re still doing that. 😊
Luchian and his colleagues.
What’s next in your career journey?
My next step would be to manage and balance the time between the double-hat I wear: the Engineering Manager role and the Software Architect role. I will make sure the transition is as smooth as possible.
What advice would you give to someone interested in joining your team?
If you are looking to start your career as a developer, or you already have a job, but you’re curious if something might be better, then give GlobalLogic a try. You may find more than just colleagues here. You’ll find your place in a diverse community, united by our passion for coding and everything technology-related.