innFactory is characterized above all by a strong team and long-term collaboration. That’s why we want to introduce our team in short employee interviews in the coming weeks.

Name:

Nicolas Schlecker

Education:

Computer Science student in the 5th semester

Nico is currently completing his practical semester at innFactory

Area of activity at innFactory:

Solution Architect

How long have you been working at innFactory and how did you become aware of innFactory?

I have been working at innFactory since November 2019. At that time, I had just started my computer science studies and was accordingly overwhelmed. Among other things, the hundreds of emails with information and offers that sometimes didn’t even concern me didn’t exactly make orientation easier. One of these emails did catch my interest. An invitation to the X-Conference. On October 25, the conference took place at the TH Rosenheim. After several presentations by Prof. Dr. Gunter Dueck (former CTO of IBM), Anna Kopp (IT Director Germany/ Microsoft), Alain Veuve (CEO & Founder/ Parashift AG), and Julian Kramer (Chief Experience Ambassador, Speaker, Adobe EMEA), so-called “Barcamps” took place in the afternoon. This is where innFactory comes in. Toni (Anton Spöck) and Maxi (Maximilian Grassl) hosted the barcamp on “Chatbots with DialogFlow”. During the exciting presentation including an interesting demo, I noticed a Flutter sticker on Toni’s laptop. Flutter is a framework by Google for developing apps for iOS and Android. I had been working intensively with the framework for the last 2 years before this presentation and had also developed an app that allowed students to view their individual schedule including the cafeteria menu (open source on Github). After the presentation, I approached Toni about the sticker, showed him the mentioned app, and was then invited to innFactory. In a conversation a few days later, we got to know each other better. Again a few days later, I had my first day of work. The rest is history.

Why did you choose innFactory as your employer during your studies?

Honestly, I didn’t really make a conscious choice. When I started at innFactory, I wasn’t even looking for a position. Somehow I slipped into it, which almost 2 years later I’m very happy about! I’ve learned a lot during my time at innFactory and have grown from my challenges. In addition, the entire team consists of likable and nice people who are not only up for any fun but are also excellent in their respective fields.

You started programming at 14. How did that passion come about and what fascinates you about programming and computer science in general?

My favorite game back then was Minecraft. I particularly enjoyed extending the game with mods and thus trying out even more beyond the somewhat boring base game at the time. I also had some ideas for both existing mods and completely new ones, but no way to implement them. As a result, I started searching on YouTube and elsewhere how these mods were developed. It couldn’t be that hard. After a few weeks and months, I had brought my first blocks and items into the game. Now came the problem that all these new things only worked in my Minecraft, so the logical next step for me was into server-side mod development and so on. I just jumped from topic to topic and tried out everything that interested me at that point. In computer science or programming, what fascinates me is the, in my opinion, limitless possibilities.

What event was the absolute highlight at innFactory for you? Which implemented project are you particularly proud of?

Every new project is a highlight for me. It’s always a new challenge to understand a customer’s requirements and implement them so that not only the customer but also the end user of the product is satisfied. Product requirements, especially regarding visual implementation, are often not clear-cut, which doesn’t exactly make development easy but does give room for artistic freedom.

For example, with the komro Air Control app, the visual implementation was left open, so I could just develop away. The app now doesn’t look like every other app but is somewhat unique.

However, I’m particularly proud of the LumIdent 3 app. A new development of the existing LumIdent app from Siteco. It combines several different aspects of computer science. From data management, both locally and synchronization via a REST interface, to transmitting lighting profiles as bits and bytes to luminaires via various transmission paths such as Bluetooth and RFID. The mobile app is still in active development but already consists of over 40,000 lines of code. Furthermore, the app is very well received by Siteco and their testers, and we continuously receive positive feedback.

At innFactory, there are also regular team events, such as a joint gaming night, pizza or schnitzel dinners with the whole team, or a trip to the IAA in Munich.

Which three employee benefits do you particularly appreciate at innFactory?

– Flötzinger Spezi

– Flexibility (home office/office, vacation planning, and working hours)

– The opportunity to try new things and advance yourself

What is your favorite programming language?

My favorite programming language is very closely Dart. In second place, I see TypeScript, and in third place, Kotlin. I particularly like Dart because it’s a very modern language that has learned from the mistakes of older languages and adopted modern concepts from other languages. Furthermore, the language is developed publicly on Github, and even someone like me, who knows little about language development, can bring forward their ideas.

What do you like to do in your free time when you’re not programming?

In my free time, I really enjoy cooking and occasionally mixing one or another cocktail. I also like to play the latest video games as well as a round of CS:GO now and then.