Andrew Kell
Artec Leo team lead
Almost 13 years in Artec 3D
Luxembourg office
The primary objective of our team is to ensure the successful development of the Leo project in alignment with the key business goals. Our team stands out as one of the most interconnected within the company, maintaining regular communication with various teams. This dynamic interaction involves issue resolution, idea sharing, and a collective effort to overcome past challenges, leading to the creation of a popular product.
What I like most about the job is the opportunity to contribute to cutting-edge technology that propels humanity forward and significantly impacts large-scale campaigns. Upon joining as a developer, I was also involved in the Security Solution project, which, though unfortunately phased out, provided a rewarding and enjoyable experience.
Our flagship Leo scanner was immediately conceived as a microservice architecture, incorporating numerous specialized services within the device. This design allows for seamless replacement of microservices, fostering quick integration of new features. Additionally, we embrace a flexible approach to programming languages, enhancing the project's adaptability.
I try to recruit not only great professionals, but also people who are comfortable working with each other. Effective communication, openness, and friendliness are essential qualities to ensure smooth teamwork within our small teams at Artec 3D, where avoiding arguments and lengthy pull requests is crucial.
It's important for a team leader to listen to his team, to look at which tasks are prioritized and which ones give more impact to users. Sometimes it's more important to do many small tasks than one big one with an unknown outcome.
Outside of work, my life revolves around my two daughters, who occupy a significant part of my time. In moments of personal leisure, I find joy in painting miniatures (accessible on my Instagram) or running tabletop RPGs like Dungeons & Dragons. I am also interested in Mentalism (a form of magic tricks). Once I even did a show in Artec at the beginning of my career. Also I’m quite into psychology since it's the most complicated and buggy computer humanity dealt with.
Upon relocating to Luxembourg, I encountered some complexities connected with the length of it. However, I now consider Luxembourg my home, appreciating its tranquility, the charm of the city, and the welcoming community that resides here.
From what I can recommend to check out are the excellent game Detroit.Become human and the rather non-boring sci-fi series Expanse. Moreover, Person of Interest, Mentalist and Fringe are my all time favorite shows. I can also recommend my favorite book of all time by Derren Brown called “Tricks of the Mind''.
Blitz:
Cats or dogs?
Dogs. Even though I have two cats. The kids want a husky. I probably would like to have a retriever.
If you could have a drink with any famous person, who would it be?
Nikola Tesla and some other physicist or science popularizer. Brian Cox and Neil deGrasse Tyson.
If not programming, what would you like to do?
I like stories. I would connect my life with things that have to do with stories. I'd tell them, make them up, maybe write a book. There's nothing better than a good story.