Team RBN Spotlight – Kosta

Kosta, Cloud Solutions Engineer.

 

What do you do here at RBN?

As a Cloud Solutions Engineer, I get to communicate with our clients and help design and implement cloud-based solutions based on their requirements. Projects will often involve cloud migration and/or transformation, as well as ops automation.

 

You’re a recent addition to the RBN team.  What made you choose RightBrain?

I was told there would be chicken wings. More importantly however, I was thoroughly impressed by the caliber and talent of the team of engineers who interviewed me. They really pushed the limits of my technical knowledge and solidified my impression that RightBrain is the kind of company where I could grow rapidly as a technical professional.

 

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to be an astronomer. Aside from studying space, I really liked the idea of getting to stay up very late at night.

 

What things do you look for in your workplace?

Variety. Being able to work on different projects every 1-3 months can be challenging, but it’s also very rewarding and allows me to grow more quickly through experience than I ever thought possible.

What’s your favorite thing about your job?

Definitely the people. Collaboration is something that seems to come naturally in this office, you never hear the words “not my job.”

What is your office nickname, and how did you earn it?

Whiskers. ‘Cause I’m curious like a cat.

 

If you could switch your job with anyone else within RBN, whose job would you want and why.

In a not so distant alternate timeline, I could see myself having a strong interest in Digital Marketing and Social Media Management. That would put Amy in the cross-hairs for this question.

 

What advice would you give anyone starting out in the industry?

Start learning and start communicating, then don’t stop. This field is constantly evolving with new technologies emerging. Being able to understand and utilize those technologies is half the battle, the other half is talking about them.

How has RBN helped you in your career development?

By leaps and bounds. The technologies I’m exposed to in 1-3 months of project work here are easily worth triple that time at other workplaces. You’re drinking from a firehose at RBN. Furthermore, the financial support and time occasionally allotted for certification training is a very generous benefit.

 

What would you do (for a career) if you weren’t doing this?

I’d probably be doing odd-jobs over the internet to sustain myself while trying to get an ecommerce business off the ground – possibly one that sells custom golf club head-covers. That, or a professional video game reviewer.

Three words to best describe you:

Tall, Human, Not-Robot.

 

If you were the subject of a movie about your life, what would the title of the movie be, what genre, and what actor would you like to play you?

An old-school James Bond film starring Charlie Chaplin, titled “Silent, But Deadly.”

What do you do for fun outside of work?

I like to see how many bananas I can eat in a day. My record is 3.

 

If you were on death row, what would your last meal be?

One infinitely long spaghetti noodle. Probably with bolognese.

 

 Do you have any hidden talents?

I can grow hair at an alarmingly fast rate. Most people don’t consider that a talent, and almost nobody considers it hidden.

 

Who’s your spirit animal?

An antelope. Because much like the antelope, I too have a strong distaste for being eaten by lions.

 

What are your three most overused words/phrases?

“Welcome to Flavortown,”     “This is what peak performance looks like,” and “Worst case Ontario.”

 

What is the weirdest job you’ve ever had?

Gas station attendant. That’s what we were called in Canada anyway. Gas jockey, is that the correct term here?

 

What would you most like to tell yourself at age 13?

I know you’ve got a lot of virtual worlds still left to conquer, but if you can spare the time to convince the folks to mortgage everything and buy some AAPL, that would really bode well for future Djukic family.

What was the last song you listened to on your smartphone? Or what’s on the last playlist you listened to?

There’s Just Nothing Better Than a Beard – by The Beards