From triathletes to restaurant owners, Impel has some amazing employees in its ranks. We’re introducing you to a new employee every month as part of our Employee Spotlight Series, giving you an inside look at our charismatic culture. This month, we’re introducing you to Louis Guerra, Impel Lead Test Engineer.
What do you do at Impel?
I’m the Lead Test Engineer. My team is responsible for building and maintaining the software tools that we use to test our products.
Which core value resonates most with you?
Definitely inventiveness. Being a software engineer means constantly solving new problems or investigating new mysteries. You need to leverage your own curiosity to drive you forward to solutions. That drive to solve those mysteries and learn something new each time is something we programmers really depend on.
What has been your favorite initiative or project at Impel so far?
At the very beginning of the pandemic lockdown, my team had to scramble to make sure that the developer tools that were available in the office were also available to every programmer working from home. This meant that all of the in-office automation servers that we had used to run tests had to be migrated to the AWS cloud in order for the other developers to make use of them. This was a fascinating project because it taught me a ton about cloud infrastructure and security, but also because it was a project that was critically urgent given the circumstances and importance to the success of our developers’ projects.
Tell us about a day in the life of a Lead Test Engineer.
The first thing I do in the morning is check the status of our nightly automated test runs to make sure that everything is working the way it should. If any issues popped up overnight, I’ll bring them to the attention of the other devs so we can work to fix them. After that, I balance my time between my long-term quarterly projects, and any smaller projects that pop up along the way. While my team rarely works directly on the products, we often collaborate with the other devs to make sure that the features that they’re working on are properly tested. We’re also constantly setting up and managing test machines, so we’re often the first line of defense in helping devs with any issues that arise with their dev environments.
What are three words you’d use to describe Impel?
Innovative. Determined. Human.
What do you like to do when you’re not at the office?
I love making music. Since college, I’ve been doing music production as a hobby; mostly on my own, but sometimes in collaboration with bands or rappers. I make hip-hop, drum and bass, but I do like to explore and try other genres.
I also love playing puzzle and strategy games. I’ve recently begun to dabble in competitive Magic: The Gathering. It’s been an amazing hobby during the lockdown because I can play against friends or in tournaments from my desk. I love the game, and I’m surprised I didn’t find it sooner.
What ranks first on your bucket list?
At some point in the future, when I’ve decided I’ve had enough of the big city and the tech industry, I’d love to move on to teach high school physics or computer science. I had some really amazing teachers in high school that got me excited to learn science and math. I’ve always felt that I owe so much of my success to those teachers, and I’d like to give back by teaching high school students myself. Plus, I’ve always loved explaining things. One of my favorite parts of working as a test engineer is the challenge of communicating complex problems to my colleagues.
His bucket list says it all, Louis is a team player who is thoughtful in his work and has a passion for helping those around him learn and succeed. Follow us on the Impel Facebook and Impel Instagram pages for updates. You won’t want to miss next month’s spotlight on Senior Accountant, John Lutz.
