We are Polar Squad! Here is Tuomas Palosaari – Our training expert from Kokkola!

Tell us a bit about yourself and your background?

I’m Tuomas Palosaari, a DevOps consultant, hobbyist musician, and co-lead of our training squad. I studied software engineering and I administered servers. At some point, I wound up doing DevOps.

What was the path that led you to become a DevOps consultant for Polar Squad?

I did my non-military service at then Chydenius Institute, later University Consortium of Kokkola, and got stuck there. I found myself doing software engineering consulting, managing servers, and even found myself wearing a manager hat for some time. 

Fun fact: I almost managed to finish my degree in software engineering. 

After almost twenty years of university work, I got an offer through a friend to join a private company as a “DevOps” expert. I took the role after some hesitation. 

I don’t think the company nor I knew what DevOps actually meant* but I think all the parties involved quickly started to learn. I even managed to finish my Master’s degree while working there. After a couple of years, I found myself in a managerial position of sorts and was moving away from what actually interested me professionally.

At some point, I contacted Polar Squad and I met with a couple of their representatives earlier. The level of professionalism impressed me so much that I wanted to work with them.

*I still don’t. At least I might change or refine my opinion on it weekly.

What tools do you use in your work?

Vim or VS Code for writing code, Bash, I run Ubuntu 20.04 on my laptop. I can use anything that can run an editor, a browser, and a terminal of some kind. Most of my work involves communicating with others so the technical tools are not that important.

What sets Polar Squad apart from other companies you worked for?

Compared to my previous employers, Polar Squad is open about everything we do company-wide. The almost complete lack of hierarchy is very nice. I get the feeling that: we’re all adults and professionals, we can be trusted to do smart things on our own.

How would you describe the culture in Polar Squad?

I think we all take pride in being a part of Polar Squad. I still can’t quite fathom the total level of knowledge and competence this company has. The low hierarchy took some getting used to, but after that phase, it feels empowering. I like the earnest way we give feedback to colleagues.

Tell us about your day to day routines?

I start the day with coffee in the morning, then Slack. After that, I would do some reading and writing, meet with clients, and exchange ideas with colleagues (I forgot to mention that in between all those I drink more coffee). Every day is a bit different except for the coffee part.

What kind of technical challenges do you face in your work?

DNS. It’s always DNS. Even when it’s not.

All technical hurdles can be crossed somehow, the more interesting challenges come from working with other people. 

How does it feel to work with developer teams? Do we have a common ground?

We’re working towards the same goal, so yes, we definitely have a common ground. Everyone involved with developing software or running online services does.