The Faces of Mavericks: Jussi Pölkki
Jussi is a Fullstack Developer with a whopping 15 years of work experience. He enjoys mentoring younger developers and can explain complex technical solutions in a very understandable way thanks to his long experience in both tech and customer work. Before joining Mavericks Jussi was actually considering entrepreneurship, but Mavericks won.
What is your professional background like?
I’ve been interested in computers and technology since I was very young, and coded my first websites in the dial-up days. After high school I moved from the small town of Siilinjärvi to Helsinki to study media technology. At first I wasn’t sure if I was more interested in video production or coding. After working part-time in a small tv startup and producing live shows and editing commercials during my studies, I decided to focus on programming.
I have about 15 years of software development working experience in a few different companies. The first job was at a big tv network where I worked amidst a news and entertainment website. Back then it was the number one website in Finland. The work itself was mainly frontend development and hacking the in-house CMS. After a few years I transitioned to a fresh startup that built a location based nightlife mobile app. This was a great place to learn about prototyping, pivoting and mobile development. Alas, the startup, wasn’t successful, so I joined a marketing company where I worked as the development lead of a small team. There I got to build campaigns and ad tech solutions for clients and gained experience from customer work.
What are your best skills and abilities? Soft and tech.
I have a calm and analytical approach to problem solving. Working in the hectic marketing sector has taught me to keep my cool even in the most stressful situations. I like working independently, which of course is a must in this Covid-affected world, but I value teamwork too. I also enjoy mentoring younger developers. Having lots of experience from working with clients has given me the skills to explain technical solutions in a more understandable way for less tech oriented clients.
On the technical side I’m a fullstack developer with emphasis on frontend. Nowadays I mostly work with JavaScript and TypeScript apps using popular libraries and cloud providers. The last couple of projects have also required PHP skills, which I have been using for a long time too. I consider myself more of a jack of all trades than a master of some specific skill.
What do you like to do outside work?
In the summer time you can find me from the beach or cycling around the Helsinki suburbs. Cycling is a great way to get to know your city better. I also spend my free time hanging out with friends, playing video games or spinning records. I usually spend my holidays traveling, preferably somewhere warm, and I am waiting for the day when it’s safe to go again.
What got you interested in Mavericks?
Before leaving my previous job, I was considering freelancing. Mavericks’ model that combines the consultants’ freedom to choose their projects with the competitive salary and employee benefits won out. I was already familiar with the company before joining, but the proposition sounded a bit too good to be true. Well, it has been pretty much what was promised. I’ve been in a few great projects already, and it’s nice to be in such a developer-centric company. Transparency and fairness, that are Mavericks’ values, are also important to me.
Mavericks is the go-to software consultancy for the top of their field software professionals who want to get the best of two worlds: The salary level and freedom of a freelancer and the safety net and sales machinery of a consultancy. We are constantly looking for new team members – are you the next Maverick?