Scaling Python at Godel

Yury Stsiapanau is Head of Python at Godel. He is responsible for the future success of the Python division and oversees bringing in new people to the team. Last year, we spoke to Yury when he was appointed Head of Python at Godel. We recently sat down with him to discuss what is making Python a leading language and what are the qualities of a Python Engineer he looks for.

Hi Yury, what have you been up to since the last time we spoke?

I have been busy delivering exciting projects to our clients and working to reach our goals. At the moment, our main goal is to focus on education and development. It’s also been an interesting year for Python — Microsoft have invested quite heavily in it and want to speed it up. Currently, Python is quite a slow language with slow response times, so they want to make Python competitive with other languages. Microsoft has in fact committed to making its performance 30% better over the next year, alongside recruiting and expanding themselves — which is a good sign for Python as a whole.

What is making Python a leading language against C#, Java and other backend choices?

There is no easy and simple answer to this question — it all depends on the user case, but I can highlight the benefits. Python has a great ecosystem of production-ready, open-source frameworks and libraries. It has a big community of developers, something which has increased dramatically over the past year. I also think Python has great tools for working on data analytic projects.

Would you say that Python is attracting clients?

We definitely hope so! I think that the Python language attracts clients, and we aim to find additional clients who are using Python. We’ve had positive feedback from recent pre-sales meetings, saying Python is easy to use and they like the idea of it. We have seen great success with the division since Godel opened a dedicated Python division and I feel the team will have the most impact on companies using it.

What do some of Godel’s recent Python projects look like?

We have recently been working on projects for Secret Escapes, creating new tools that they can offer to their partners and suppliers. They want a much faster solution to manage their systems, make it as easy as possible. We are creating a tool to manage the information and anticipate the system to make sure they have everything they need. The team of engineers at Secret Escapes have invested in the market and are looking for new developers. The team are happy and care about what they do.

What makes up a well-rounded Python engineer?

Once an engineer knows how to write code, they can learn Python. The skills you learn are common and I think learning this language offers great opportunities for an individual. Python is seen as a steppingstone and a good first step when preparing for a job as it’s easy to pick up and learn. We would ask engineers, are you able to estimate the work? Which I think is the most important part of writing code. We are bringing in developers from different industries and cross-language skills who have a DevOps mindset.

When talking about the soft skills required to be a Python engineer, it’s important to participate in the team and focus on improving the skills to be engaged and proactive. I point the team in the right direction when they have an opportunity to grow, and I work with them to take on this responsibility themselves. I plan to introduce courses to the team to keep them in the know — I myself are looking for courses on how to be more proactive, I’m always learning.

How do you see Python developing over the next 12 months?

I expect to see more engagement coming in for Python. We hope to see a migration from older microservices to new microservices, however people can be quite reluctant to change. In relation to that, we find it can be difficult to recruit for the old legacy. We aim to promote Python to clients, but you have to take small gradual steps when you do this.

For our Python division, I have been participating in interviews and had some positive chats for new Onboarding and Talent Acquisition opportunities. It will be a great opportunity to find specific people to report to in this function. Over the next 12 months, I am excited at the prospect of having a great team around us to improve the Python division further — something I feel will be the main factor when it comes to recruiting new members of the team.