Employee Spotlight: Android Tech Lead Edvardas Neznanovas
Welcome to another fascinating edition of our Employee Spotlight interview series by Atlas VPN. Today, we have the pleasure of sitting down with Edvardas Neznanovas, the Android Tech Lead at Atlas VPN. As the mastermind behind the development of the Atlas VPN Android app, Edvardas brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the table.
Throughout this interview, we will explore Edvardas' role as an Android Tech Lead, and gain valuable insights and advice from his experiences. Join us as we delve into his journey, the challenges he faces, and get to know the person behind the exceptional tech professional.
What are the main responsibilities of an Android Tech Lead at Atlas VPN?
The main responsibility is obviously to develop an Android application for Atlas VPN, but there’s much more to that. On a daily basis, the focus shifts from agreeing upon certain things with other teams, reading through customer support tickets, and looking through what is happening around Android to be the first to tackle upcoming challenges.
What are some of the most significant challenges you face at work?
Currently, it’s time management. While developing, I love to plan everything out, write down every possible use case and come up with a good solution. This requires a lot of focus, and every time I get distracted, getting back into the so-called “development zone” takes time.
There are days when I’m constantly revising my work from a few hours ago, trying to pick up where I left off, only to get drawn into a meeting or discussion about something else and repeat the cycle. I’m trying to plan my days to have windows of uninterrupted time yet not ignore anything else.
What advice would you give to aspiring Android developers who want to make a career in the tech industry?
The most valuable advice for all development roles is to never stop learning. Tech is constantly growing and evolving, and if you want to be competitive, you need to sharpen your skills every day. Forever.
A great start for Android developers is learning Kotlin, solving some basic programming problems, and then moving into the apps.
What have you learned from your biggest professional failure?
Your failure is not always as horrible as it appears to you. Everyone will forget about it faster than you think, and lessons learned will make you grow even faster.
The rule of thumb for approaching failures should be:
- Stop the panic.
- Fix what can be fixed.
- Make conclusions and improvements so it doesn’t happen again.
What do you enjoy the most about working at Atlas VPN?
One thing I can say for sure is that I have fantastic colleagues. They motivate me and make days in the office a cheerful experience.
If you could switch roles with anyone on the Atlas VPN team for a day, who would it be, and what would you do differently in their role?
I would like to try a lot of roles and see if I would fit in. I probably wouldn’t do anything differently.
If you could develop any Android app in the world, what would it be, and why?
Benchmarking app. I started my way to Android development because I had a phone that couldn’t run a game I wanted. It took me quite some time to make it work, and during that, I discovered a world of custom operating systems. Every day I experimented with different tweaks, and to measure the performance, I used benchmarking apps. So it would be fun to make one someday.
What’s the best advice you’ve received?
“You get what you paid for.” It may sound like a simple rule in a capitalistic world, but if you think about it has a much deeper meaning.
What are your long-term goals and aspirations?
To race with Max Verstappen.
