Meet the team: Interview with Alba Rodríguez

Today we are very pleased to introduce you to Alba Rodríguez, our new Software Developer in the Tech Team! Apart from computer programming, Alba also studied Biology. She considers herself a very curious person, and loves outdoor sports! Although she doesn't mention it in the interview, she has a kitten, so one more member of the Orvium animal family :) Continue reading to find out more about Alba!

Your name? (the real one! :)

My name is Alba Rodriguez Salvador.

Favorite movie?

My favorite movie is Interstellar. Everything related to the universe, wormholes, and black holes seem super interesting.

Do you play music?

No, according to my friends I can't even hum a song 😂But there is not a single day that I don't listen to music!

Last book you read?

Happiness is the problem, by Pedro Vivar. I love philosophy in general and Stoic philosophy in particular! 🙃

Do you have any hobbies or favorite sports? (curling is not allowed)

I love hiking, running, and yoga, but I also like to bike, skate, and climb. I like all sports (especially outdoors) but I don't do any regularly. 🧗🤸🧘🏋🏻‍♀️🏞️🏔️

Tell us a bit more about yourself, how did you get into software development?

This is a long story, but to sum it up, I have always been a very curious person and that led me to study Biology. During the last two years of the degree, I collaborated as an intern student on a regular basis in a Genetics laboratory where I learned about bioinformatics. I have always loved everything related to genetics, microbiology, and nutrition.🔬🧬🖥️📚👩‍💻👩‍🔬

At this stage I learned about bioinformatics and I loved it, but I felt that I lacked the tools to develop as a professional in this field, so I became more and more interested in programming. During my master's degree, I attended a seminar on “Personalized Medicine based on the knowledge generated through Big Data analysis” and that was the trigger for my decision to sign up to study programming.

I wanted to be able to develop applicable as well as theoretical solutions and I felt that the mix of science and technology was the best way to achieve this. I feel really happy with the decision I made.

What do you love about your profession?

I love everything. The possibility of creating from scratch, being able to be creative, the flexibility, and the excellent atmosphere that exists in the world of technology where teamwork and sharing information are prioritized.

What is your philosophy behind software engineering?

"𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘺."
It's like the little voice I hear all the time. Try it! If it works, great! And if not, you will always be able to keep the experience and you will have learned how not to do it.

What brought you to Orvium? What do you like about the product?

Everything. The project, the team, the technology, and the company culture. I met Orvium on LinkedIn and the match was immediate!

I couldn't feel more aligned with the project's mission and vision of making science open to all. I understand science as something dynamic and constantly advancing and changing. And in this evolution, a platform like Orvium seems essential to me. I also believe that scientists should be able to focus all their efforts on research and not invest their time in procedures derived from publishing.

From the technological point of view, honestly, I feel privileged to work with great people and professionals, with the latest technologies, good practices, clean code, TDD, CI/CD, agile methodologies, and incredible company culture in terms of confidence and flexibility.  As a developer, it is a dream come true!

Personally, it makes me very happy to feel that in some way I am part of a project that contributes to making science accessible to everyone. And I feel that Orvium is a perfect place to develop as a programmer and to continue contributing to the scientific world.

Any funny/interesting stories that you can share from your time in Orvium?

This might be a bit embarrassing, but the truth is that I make a lot of video calls with family and friends and, since I started my position at Orvium I had multiple online meetings with the whole team as well. At some point, and for no reason, these get mixed up in my mind, and I have been close to ending up in various meetings in front of my new colleagues enthusiastically saying "Goodbye kisses!!!"😂

Anything else you would like to share with us?

Nothing else! Thank you very much for your time reading me! And if you know someone who might be interested in open science, don't forget to tell them about Orvium! 😉

Thank you very much for your honest answers Alba!

We love to have you on board and hope you enjoy your time with us at least as much as we do.

With this post now you know a bit more about our team. We hope you enjoyed it and remember to check our previous "meet the team" interview with Sofía González from the marketing team.