Team Interview Peter (Admin)

Who are we and what happens here? There is already some information on our team page. But that only answers who works for us, not what our team does. That's why we want to give you a few more insights. To do so, we talked to a few of our colleagues. Today we introduce you to Peter.

Hi Peter, thanks for your time!

How long have you been with wunschlösung and what exactly do you do?

Since 2015. It's been six years this week. And I am an administrator. But the term is a bit difficult, it also goes a lot in the direction of operations. I mainly make sure that all the systems run internally and for customers. I design the infrastructure of the systems and am responsible for their operation.

My job is very flexible because I fight on all fronts. For new projects, I'm asked how things can be implemented technically. I'm also involved in support and with the developers, because I make sure that deployments are rolled out properly. I'm also responsible for debugging and if something gets stuck, I take care of it.

How does your work fit into wunschlösung?

My job is to make sure technically that wunschlösung can work. I also help clients build and run their infrastructure and build the systems that roll out the developers' code. Application management and monitoring are part of that.

What actually brought you to us?

I have known our founders for a long time and have already worked with them before wunschlösung. Simon and Thomas asked if I would like to work at wunschlösung because they needed an admin. Until then, they had looked after their servers themselves, so my first task was to straighten everything out and bring it all together.

Do you still remember your first days here? What was it like?

It was still the first office in Jena. There was only one big room with Marcin, Thomas and Simon, all together. The others brought me into the team because they needed someone who could take care of the server & co. full time, so there were a few things that we then set up together, for example the internal communication system.

I was able to integrate well from the beginning. At that time, everything was still quite chaotic, that was half a year after the foundation. I can also programme, so I also helped write software at the beginning, because I was not yet fully occupied as an admin. It was a great time, very team-oriented.

The small team bonded, we went out to eat together a lot and played Mario Kart during our lunch break. I like to think back to the beginnings, but I'm also happy about everything we've achieved since then.

What does a typical day in your life look like?

I get up quite early, around six. I don't need an alarm clock. Then I check the monitoring emails to see if something is stuck. If something has happened, I get right on it and try to fix it before it causes problems for the customers.

If nothing happened overnight, I make a coffee and watch the news. See what's been going on in the world. Then I either drive to the office or sit down at the computer in the home office. In the morning there are the dailies, where we first talk about what happened yesterday, what's coming up today and whether anyone needs help. Then the support comes and we talk about what needs to be done. There's always music playing, either on headphones in the office or loudly at home. That motivates me.

At some point there's lunch, huddle (the virtual, communal meal) with the team if I can find the time. After lunch I have a coffee and then I continue until evening. What I do exactly depends on the day and the events.

Throughout the day, I always keep an eye on my mobile phone to monitor the monitoring system. There I see utilisation, critical information, whether the systems are still running, how much memory is being used and other things. In the evening after work, I like to go for a walk or ride my bike to clear my head for the next day.

If you were "boss", what would you do differently?

I have seen wunschlösung grow over time and one of the things I think is a shame is that the team is no longer together in one office. As the company has grown and we now have two locations, it's harder to get everyone in one place. We do try to maintain a sense of community through team events and travel (when we can), but it's just difficult above a certain team size. But the bosses can't do much about that. Everyone tries to get together as it suits them.

And finally, why wunschlösung and not another company?

My job is very diverse, every day is different. Variety is one of the reasons why I am here. Before, I often changed jobs every few years because I quickly got bored with the same systems all the time, but that's different here at wunschlösung. There is always something exciting to do, there is always new fodder. Besides, the team is great, you can talk to everyone. I like the fact that you can develop yourself here and do your own thing. For example, at wunschlösung I was given the option to work from home years ago because I don't live directly in Leipzig or Jena. That's not a matter of course. It's also nice to have the opportunity to be completely involved in projects. You don't have to go through a pecking order, here you can offer many of your own ideas, which are implemented in the end.

Thank you, Peter!

Would you like to know more?
Find out here how the founding of wunschlösung came about, or visit our team page. You can also get to know other wunschlösers in our blog.