Meet the IDRTeam – Robert Kubaty, DevOps Lead 

I think I was born a nerd. I know this is cliché, but as a kid, I always wanted to take things/toys apart to see how they worked. Naturally I felt the computers were great fun and wanted to program them to do interesting things. I started my career as a low-level developer. I always loved programming small things like microcontrollers and did electronics as a hobby. The reality of what the job market required pushed me more into high level programming, cloud computing, and DevOps.

IDR is relatively small for the complexity of technology stack it uses. I think most developers are to some extent involved in multiple domains. As a DevOps engineer I’m mostly involved in processes around development and infrastructure behind apps like Investor Services and Subscription. I look after our entire Azure estate. I’m also involved in the day-to-day operation of our IT infrastructure and our M365 productivity platform. 

Be and stay open-minded. Technology tends to change quickly, but on the other hand, some principles and good habits stay the same. Try to embrace change, but don’t ignore advice from experienced ‘dinosaurs’. 

It’s really hard to say. I’ve received so much good advice over the years. A funny one that comes to mind is the usage of ‘rubber duck debugging’. It’s about tackling the problem by articulating it using spoken language. It’s surprising how often you hit upon the solution to the problem just by trying to explain it to someone. Even if that someone is a rubber duck on your desk. An imaginary rubber duck will also do.

I used to play volleyball a lot, which I had to pause due to injury. Other than that, I really enjoy cooking. I also waste/spend a lot of time playing PC games. Mainly DOTA2 these days.