Each day, everyone at Springworks comes into work with a true passion for building products and tools for the HR ecosystem. We are artists, innovators, achievers, and dreamers, with a one-track mind to fine-tune the products that we build. Through this series of posts, we showcase our team members, their roles, and what a typical day looks like for them. You can check all the posts here.
Suraj Rawat joined SpringRole in March 2019 as a Blockchain engineer to develop core services used for our products. Apart from building the #VerifiedProfessionalProfile platform of the future, Suraj in his free time helps forward the Blockchain community in India and contribute towards open source development.
Here’s an interview with Suraj about all-things-Blockchain and beyond.
What was your first foray into Blockchain? Did you want to work in Blockchain before joining SpringRole?
I was always interested in Blockchain. I had worked on a project at my senior year at college using CryptoNote. It was a public voting application built on the blockchain technology. The idea was born from the speculations of EVM (Electronic Voting Machines), used in Indian elections, being vulnerable and prone to tampering.
I developed a tamper-proof system where votes, once cast, could be secure and un-editable. Also, I wanted to protect the voter’s identity, which I achieved with the blockchain technology. There were a lot of voting applications which were built on Ethereum but none which were based on CryptoNote, and the reason I used it.
What does a Blockchain developer at SpringRole do?
At SpringRole, we are working on an array of technologies and projects. Blockchain, Machine Learning (ML), and Data Analysis are some of the verticals we are working on. Most of the services we use for our products are built in-house so that we don’t have to rely heavily on third-party services. I am working on meta-transactions for the SpringRole platform.
I am also working on SpringWallet, which will reduce the friction involved in using a decentralized application like SpringRole. This would help anyone with or without the knowledge of Blockchain to interact freely on the platform.
What do you love the most about SpringRole?
The best part about SpringRole has to be the freedom and the flexibility you have regarding your work here. The timelines for any project has enough space for you to analyze, research, and execute a task in a planned manner. The approach here at SpringRole is to get the work done in the correct way rather than just getting it done.
The flexibility in working hours is another aspect of working here, which I love. We have the freedom to choose our working hours. We are encouraged here to find the most productive hours of the day for ourselves and to produce the best work we can in a given timeframe.
Working on Blockchain is a modern position. How do you think your role has evolved overtime working here?
Working on Blockchain is really exciting. I have worked on API’s, which help the core services of both SpringRole and SpringVerify. The industry is evolving, and there is innovation happening regularly. This means that our services will grow with the industry, and with it, my understanding and contribution.
Blockchain brings in a level of security and decentralization, which was not available to the user before. While developing anything, we have to keep in mind these aspects and have a detailed understanding of decentralized data flow. This is inherent in the technology and is something which every industry needs going forward.
There is a lot of innovation still to happen in the blockchain world, both in terms of development and adoption. This is good for everyone working on the technology and for the people using it.
What is the favorite part of the development for you?
The best part of development for me is the final chance for me to push the code to production. It feels like the conclusion to all the research, planning, coding, testing, and confirming if the feature works with all the other pieces of the product.
Walk us through a day in the life of Suraj!
- I am a morning person, and I like to get up early and have some time for myself before getting on with the day.
- The next thing I do is open my Reddit feed and read away. I firmly believe that the content on Reddit has a level of authenticity to it. This keeps me abreast with all the news and development in the Blockchain industry.
- Look into the tasks for the day. Work on some of the development problems and hiccups in the morning. I strongly believe in scheduling the day and working on the toughest issues in the morning hours.
- Reach the office and it is time for work.
- Plan, schedule, and start coding.
- Take a break sometime during the day and play Foosball.
- Test the code and push it to development.
- Travel back home.
- Have dinner and go to bed early.
What is the SpringRole development team like?
Everyone in the team is good at what they do. We are working on some of the most challenging products.
Products which are aimed at change and a brighter future. The team collectively has immense talent and I believe we could develop anything we want.
What advice do you have for future developers?
The one piece of advice I have for developers is to analyze anything they venture out to do. Make sure you have a thought for all the aspects, plan, and understand the impact it would have.
This implies seamlessly into development and anything you take up in your life. Things will go wrong irrespective of your planning, but your preparation for the event helps you learn from your experience in a structured way.
Try everything which comes your way, especially when you are new to development. You never know what you find or love in the process.
And yeah, never push your code directly to production. Let it breathe in dev for a while. 🙏
How can anyone interested in Blockchain and SpringRole apply to work here?
Anyone interested in working with us could directly reach out to the team on LinkedIn. I reached out to Kartik, CEO at SpringRole, and said I would like to work with the team and be a part of Blockchain development.
My profile was forwarded to Bharghavi, HR lead at SpringRole, who in turn arranged a couple of interviews. First was with Karan, our Technology Lead, and the second was with Shivhari, our Product Manager.
The most significant emphasis in the interview, other than the technology, was on how good I was at researching and learning on my own. I had to go through an assignment which probed my learning capabilities and my interest in the technology.
About SpringRole
SpringRole is enabling everyone’s #VerifiedProfessionalProfile on the Blockchain. It is a decentralized attestation-based professional network platform powered by the blockchain.
SpringRole is the platform where people can view, share, and get attestations on their professional profile, thereby creating a verified resume that they can share and use. The organizations themselves verify a user’s educational qualifications and work experience, which is written directly to the blockchain. To assess a user’s skill set, SpringRole has a system of weighted endorsements that let users objectively look at people’s profiles and evaluate their skill level.
Learn More
To learn more, and be up-to-date about all-things-SpringRole:
- Create your #VerifiedProfessionalProfile on the Blockchain
- Visit our Website
- Join the conversation on Telegram
- Follow us on Twitter
- Read more posts from our Blog
- Want to work with us? Check out open roles at SpringRole
