In conversation with a Backend Developer at Fibonalabs

Fibonalabs is a knowledge hub for its employees, where they learn to showcase their soft skills and technical skills. We recognize our employees' efforts and ensure that they get the appreciation that they deserve. We believe that our employees are our best resources who keep us going. To provide the spectacular digital transformation which our clients have envisioned, our employees put forth their best efforts, creativity, and expertise. We are always open to innovation and challenges as we adopt a growth mindset at our company. We specialize in areas like experience design, product development, and cloud solutions.

We had a warm conversation with one of our Software Development Engineer-2, Sneha Herle, on her experience working at Fibonalabs. Sneha is a dedicated Backend Web developer, who has almost 3 years of experience in the field. She has been a part of our team at Fibonalabs since January 2021 and has been awarded as a “consistent performer”. With Node.js and Python as her skillsets at Fibonalabs, she never misses an opportunity to learn new things. Here are a few snippets from our conversation:

• What are the roles and responsibilities that have been assigned to you lately at Fibonalabs?

In recent projects, I was responsible for Backend API development and code integration from different developers working on the project. I had to collaborate with my team of developers to assemble the project and deploy it into production. I was recently promoted to SDE-2, so I am a reporting manager at the medium level.  Also, I conduct technical rounds of interviews for developer profiles. Apart from this, I have taken a webinar on Serverless Computing with AWS on behalf of Fibonalabs. I also write blogs for Fibonalabs.

• What are the skills which you have acquired here at Fibonalabs?

I have gained soft skills like project management, project leading, collaborating across teams, etc. at Fibonalabs. I have also acquired the following technical skills at Fibonalabs:

1. Serverless Node.js
2. AWS SAM  
3. Building secure APIs with AWS Cognito  
4. AWS S3  
5. Handling performance issues  
6. Writing complex SQL Queries  
7. Serverless Code Deployment

• Talk about your favorite project in backend development?

Smile Genius is my favourite project to date. I worked on the project from scratch, so it gave me the creative freedom that I dreamt of since my learning days. Based on the requirements of the project, I used to do my research and implement my ideas. I was given the role of a decision-maker, where I had to interact with a great team of skilled and friendly developers. I interacted with front-end and back-end teams, which made me understand the bigger picture with ease.

• How important is it for a backend developer to know about the front-end aspects?

I think is very important for backend developers to have a fair knowledge of the frontend aspects of a project. For example, let us say the UI consists of an email button. When the button is clicked, it should trigger a mail to be sent to the intended receiver. To make this happen, we need to code the functions in the backend API. The frontend aspects reveal the necessary parameters that are needed to do this. Thus, backend development cannot be complete without interacting with the front-end team, as the processes go hand in hand.

• Is there any creative aspect to backend development? Is everything strictly technical and rigid?

I feel creativity is very subjective. In backend development, there may not be any visually-creative elements, unlike UI/UX design or frontend development. I find tasks like designing the API structure, designing databases, figuring out relationships between different entities in the project, etc. intriguing. In backend development, I’d rather say that creativity takes a skeletal form.

• Which is your favorite technology to work within the backend, and why is it so?

Since my school days, I have been drawn towards the concepts of Object-Oriented Programming. I started with C++ in my school days and eventually learned Python. Currently, Python and related frameworks are my favourites to work with backend development.

• Bust two myths about backend developers

Myth 1: Backend developers = full-stack developers!

Many people do not know that there are three types of web developers; frontend, backend, and full-stack developers. Full-stack developers specialize equally in both front-end and back-end development of a project, whereas a backend developer’s skills are limited to the backend part only, and they just have an idea about the front end.

Myth 2: Backend development is too tough!

I have seen many people with this mindset, shying away from backend development. I would like to address this misconception by adopting a different perspective. In comparison to the front, there are a greater number of concepts involved in the backend, which may seem overwhelming to a fresher. Since the backend involves functions like databases, API development, code structuring, etc that give life to the interfaces, there are a greater number of concepts to be explored. With proper guidance, a learning path, and a wise investment of time, people can gain knowledge in this domain with ease. My favourite aspect of backend development is that we provide the soul to the interface, to make it lively. So, I feel something as complex and intriguing as this would demand more time to get started with.

• Talk about your recent accomplishments

The project that I worked on went live last year successfully. I consider this my greatest achievement. The project is special to me as I worked on it from scratch and led my team of fellow developers. I owe my “consistent performer” award that I received for the previous quarter to this project as it gave me the exposure and platform that I needed to put forth my best skills, be it technical or management skills!

• A piece of advice you would like to give to aspiring developers?

I would like to emphasize that there is nothing to panic about getting started with backend development. You just need the right plan and a healthy perspective. Freshers should always start by working on their basic concepts. For example, if you are a web developer, you need to know how the internet works. This includes knowledge about TCP/IP protocols, REST API standards, etc. Once your base is strong, you can start with a programming language to work with, for example, Python, JavaScript, PHP, Perl, etc. After this, start exploring a database language like MySQL, SQLite, Postgres, etc.

Later you can build simple projects like a To-do list to understand how CRUD (Create Read Update Delete) operations work. These projects involve the basics of frontend development also, such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Through this, you can get a decent picture of how the front correlates with the backend to function lively.

You can upskill yourself further and it would take a few months to create a stable backend developer portfolio for yourself. But always keep in mind that learning is a constantly evolving process, and that is the best part!

• If given a chance, which role would you switch to for a day at Fibonalabs, and why?

I would love to become a software test engineer for a day. I feel that testers have a unique mindset, i.e. They are constantly scrutinizing an app or a code to detect the presence of bugs, that the developers do not have. I want to be a tester for a day to see experience the tester-thought process and propose some unique test cases!

• What is your favorite part about the work culture at Fibonalabs?

Everyone here at Fibonalabs is friendly, helpful, and responsive. I feel this helps us to work productively as both a team and individuals because no one’s time and efforts are compromised. The collaboration and responsiveness amongst the teams are top-notch, thus resulting in personal and professional growth.

• Lastly, describe Fibonalabs in 3 words.

Friendly, fun, and scholarly.

Our Product Development lab consists of talented frontend developers, backend developers, native and hybrid mobile developers, and scrum masters. Apart from Product Development, we also provide services related to Experience Design and Cloud Solutions. We would love to include talented and passionate people in our teams. If you are interested in growing and co-learning with us, check out our current openings!