Up close and personal with Gideon Heilbron: DPDK’s new Senior Front-end Developer

To celebrate the occasion, what better way to get to know Gideon better than with an up close and personal interview? It’s only fair to shine the spotlight on Gideon to talk about his new role, what drives his passion, and what he has in store for DPDK. So, without further ado, let's dive into it. 

Thank you! I’ve always had DPDK in the back of my mind since I started working as a creative developer. Especially once I moved to the Rotterdam area, where people always mentioned and talked positively about DPDK. This always made me curious about what it would be like working here. 

After freelancing for 7 years and always hopping from company to company, I noticed I missed working in a passionate and creative team. Luckily, someone approached me and said DPDK was looking for a senior front-end developer and so here, I am!

I’ve always been very interested in design and writing code. That’s why at my first few jobs I was working for small agencies as a designer and developer, which at the time was pretty rare and well sought after. 

After a few years, I noticed my design skills were not as good as dedicated designers so I decided to focus on one of the two skills which, surprise, was front-end development. I still give design and user experience advice. In fact, this has become a huge part of my work as a freelance front-end developer.

I think most developers naturally progress to a more leadership and managerial role, and that is something I’m very excited about! I love helping people, making their lives better and easier, listening to their frustrations and passions, and making sure they can enjoy and do their work properly. 

I’m very excited about websites and development becoming more optimized and more user-friendly. The improvement in user-friendliness is undoubtedly a result of design evolution and its emphasis on user experience and interaction. As developers, it is our responsibility to ensure that these interactions not only function effectively but also remain accessible to everyone.

The fast-paced-ness of it, partially at least. I don't necessarily think that the problem lies in the quick changes, but rather it doesn’t feel like front-end development has become very mature in the last few years while back-end development has. It often feels like we're stuck in a cycle of reinventing the wheel, facing the same challenges and obstacles for years on end.

I think developers are always on the lookout for ways to improve their workflow, so they jump on new things without thinking twice that promise to solve their current issues, even if it means facing new and sometimes larger problems along the way.

In the last few years, I’ve increasingly become someone who enjoys nature and going outside (something a lot of developers will probably relate to). When outside, I love hiking, camping, mountain biking, and backpacking. I also love bouldering because of the small puzzles you have to solve with your body. 

While at home, I love solving different puzzles in the form of board games (especially the big and complicated ones). I’m also very passionate about coffee and even have a small roaster in my garden shed!

Don’t ever expect to be done learning! If you love learning new things, constantly evolving, and solving complex problems, go for it. You won’t regret it!