Hello everyone! If you guessed that I’m about to tell you that we’re growing again and I’m about to introduce you to a great new colleague, well you’ve just scored 100% correct on this mini quiz!
Today’s spotlight is on Sebastien Duquette, who has joined our Wayk Now team (by the way, make sure you check out the Wayk Now Roadmap 2017 to see the awesome stuff we’ll be doing this year). I recently had the chance to chat with Sebastien and learn about his experiences, personality, hobbies and more. Here’s a look at our conversation:
Can you tell me a bit about your professional background?
I received my degree in Computer Science in Montreal, and have focused mainly on information security since graduating. I’ve worked as a penetration tester, and for the last several years I’ve been a malware analyst with ESET and Google.
What would you say is your biggest professional achievement so far?
I’d say it was the investigation we did into Linux malware when I was with ESET. As you probably know, Linux has a reputation of being virtually malware-proof compared to other operating systems but we came across significant botnets infecting Linux servers, with backdoored versions of Apache, Nginx, OpenSSH, and even BIND. Our insights received widespread coverage in several major technical publications, including Slashdot and Ars Technica. This was very rewarding given the amount of work and time we put into the analysis.
What was it about Devolutions that made you want to work here?
My last job involved a good dose of programming which I really enjoyed. Having the opportunity to make it a larger part of my day-to-day work experience, while also using my skills in reverse engineering, was the perfect combination for me. Wayk Now is an ambitious and interesting project, and there is plenty of challenging work to be done as it is a relatively young product, which makes it quite exciting. And last but not least, the relaxed environment and excellent work conditions here made it a simple choice to join Devolutions.
What would you say are your top three strengths at work?
I would say autonomy is one of my main strengths. I’m also good at getting the big picture and figuring out where a team wants to take a project. I’m also goal oriented and love to learn new things.
What tasks do you carry out in your job, and what are some of the tools that you use?
I use Visual Studio on Windows and CLion on Linux as my IDE. We use mainly C, cmake, and git for the Wayk Now project.
What are your impressions about working here?
It has exceeded my expectations, and everyone has been really welcoming. The office atmosphere is great. It a good balance of productive work and fun. I’ve created a couple of code changes that have already been integrated into Wayk Now, which is super motivating. Oh, and I can’t wait for the warmer weather to come back to experience the Wednesday office barbecues, I heard the food is delicious!
What goals would you like to achieve at Devolutions?
As a personal goal, I would like to improve my programming and development skills at the professional level. I would also like to take on gradually larger parts of the Wayk Now project as I build my expertise.
On a personal note, what are some of your hobbies and interests?
I enjoy outdoor activities like cycling, hiking, and camping. I also play video games, and recently picked up Rainbow Six Siege. I like the fact that communication and information play such a crucial role in this game. I also help organize a computer security conference in Montreal called Northsec, which takes a fair share of my free time, but is also a lot of fun.
Please share a few words with our community of IT pros:
I’m very excited about what we have in the works for Wayk Now. I think it has the potential to become a very useful tool to add to your toolbox and a nice complement to Remote Desktop Manager.