Introducing #ecoationnation citizen and Front-End Developer, Sayaka! Originally from Kochi, Japan, Sayaka earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Liberal Arts before moving to Canada and building her sharp mobile and web development skillset, which she now uses every day to contribute to ecoation’s front-end development projects. Since joining the team in 2019, Sayaka has played a key role in ecoation’s progress over the last 18-months spent on the commercial market, including the major product upgrades engineered and introduced at the end of 2020. Based out of the North Vancouver ecoation HQ office, Sayaka has also been a part of the collective transition to working remotely and creating the future of ag, even from a distance. This post aims to celebrate Sayaka and the amazing work she does.
1. What does a day in the life of a Front-End Developer look like?
“My day starts at 8am, by checking my to-do list for the day. I usually work on small tasks that I can complete before the standup meeting for the Apps team at 10am. We go over tasks completed, in progress, and to be worked on at the standup. My tasks differ depending on where we are at in the development cycle, but I spend most of my time coding to build new features or fix bugs for the web application. I also work with other developers discussing the current project, and attend meetings as needed. The last thing I do for the day is to make a to-do list for the next day.”
2. Do you have a favourite memory since joining the team in Sept. 2019?
“Big releases I worked on with my team are quite memorable. When we achieve something big, I often recall the stand ups we had back when I joined ecoation. At that time, the team was small enough to fit in a meeting room whereas today, three teams have to do it separately. This reminds me how quickly the company has been growing and how lucky I am to be part of this dramatic growth.”
3. Of all the projects you've worked on, what are you most proud of?
“If I were to choose one, it would be the IPM risk maps that help our customers understand, at a glance, which part of their greenhouses have higher risks of pests or diseases like a heat map. I remember it took months for the project to go live - we had a lot of meetings, and the data science team worked hard. It is something that our customers can make use of, and I am proud that I was able to contribute to the project.”
4. What are some of the biggest challenges and problem-solving opportunities that you experience in your role?
“The data for greenhouses is generally huge, and the larger the greenhouse is, the heavier the data becomes. Therefore, it is important to work with the data efficiently and we need techniques to make the application more performant. That is the biggest challenge I think we have been working with so far.”
5. What are some keywords that you would use to describe your role?
“Flexible, objective, connected.”
6. What do you like most about working at ecoation?
“The first thing that comes to mind is that ecoation is where I can achieve my goal as a developer: to make people happier. It is a pleasure to work on meaningful projects in a fast-paced environment, which never bores me. And, ultimately, the reason why I can do my best at work is because people I work with are talented, kind, and supportive. I really appreciate the environment I am in.”
"Sayaka checks all of the ecoation values checkboxes. She’s awesome and this is a great look behind the curtain of being an engineer here." - Matthew Cox, VP Software Engineering
Thank you, Sayaka, for sharing an inside look into the life of a Front-End Developer at ecoation. You are essential to our collective success, and we thank you for the work that you do.
Looking to join the team? Check out our Careers page for all of our current opportunities!