Tomasz Szczepaniak: Our Product Support Technical Lead

Tomasz Szczepaniak joined us over 4 years ago and is currently working as Product Support Technical Lead. He’s our shark who likes to take matters in his own hands. Tomasz shares some insights into his after-hours interest: dynamic shooting and offroad and explains what he likes most about working at CSHARK.

CSHARK: What did you do prior to joining CSHARK?

Tomasz Szczepaniak: My entire professional experience (well, almost) is related to application support. However, just before CSHARK, I worked for CreditSuisse as a Database Developer. Working for such a big corporation has its pros and cons. For me, the biggest disadvantage was the fact that I had a very small impact on my work environment and what was happening around me.

C: How did you start at CSHARK?

T.: A headhunter called me and described the open position at CSHARK. Having heard the offer, I made a call to quit CreditSuisse because I really wanted to have a greater impact on my work environment.

C: What do you do as a Production Support Technical Lead?

T.: As a matter of fact, this role puts a huge responsibility on the person in charge – my role is to establish customer service of the highest quality, both for the customer support team and customers who interact on a daily basis. My day-to-day duties are focused more on management than technical service. In such a dynamic environment, we constantly need to adjust our processes to changes which are implemented on the fly around us.

C: What do you like most about your job?

T.: I LOVE MY TEAM! Also – that it’s impossible to get bored in this position.

C: How are your past experiences helping you in your work right now?

T.: My entire professional experience was related to support and I was also leading different teams, so I feel confident in my current role. Although this position is not new for me, I enjoy the fact that life at CSHARK is more dynamic than in my previous jobs.

C: What is it about shooting that you love so much and what’s the most important lesson you tell everyone on their first go?

T.: Shooting gives me a huge rush of adrenaline, as I’m practicing dynamic shooting. This shooting discipline forces you to constantly adjust to the situation. It’s opposite to static shooting, where you have to run around the shooting track and score points by hitting targets, which quite often are moving or placed in a way that requires you to crouch, lie down on the ground or even stand on one leg to be able to hit them. So, I can easily compare it to my current position – flexibility is the key to success.

Tomasz was actively helping us gain new skills during one of our retreats.

C: Tell us more about offroad: what excites you about it?

T.: The people! In my opinion, the best thing about offroad is the cooperation between contestants. This specific competition has not been severely destroyed by money, unlike other car race contests. In lower tiers where you are not allowed to use winches or to heavily modify your car, it’s all about skills and cooperation between people. You can have the best stock car that money can buy, but if you don’t have the skills and you are not a team player, you will not achieve anything.

“The great thing about offroad is that it brings people together.”

The wonders of offroad!

C: What advice would you give to anyone applying to work at CSHARK?

T.: “Just do it!”

C: Answer with just one sentence:

1. What’s the most unusual thing you’ve ever done?

T.: Wreck diving

2. Name three items you would bring to a deserted island:

T.: Cooking pot, axe, flint

3. Your favorite game?

T.: Ages ago it was World of Warcraft, now I’m into killing zombies – I recently played “The Last of Us 2” and it just amazed me.

4. If you were a superhero, what superpowers would you have?

T.: Regeneration ability, like Wolverine.

5. You spot a swimming shark, what do you do?

T.: Nothing. I’m in the water, they are much faster than me. If it’s a killer shark, and I don’t have any weapons on me, I’m doomed! However, smaller sharks will not kill you, as they don’t like human flesh. They can bite but would rather not kill.

If you like this article read the interview with Piotr Opiełka: Software Developer Who Gets a Party Started or with Krzysztof Kundys: His Career Path at CSHARK and His After-Hours Secret.

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