Chief Technical Titan - Our Knowlegde Giants

Introducing our most recent Titan: João Paulo Peixoto.

After being a Scrum Knight for nearly a year and a half, João is now one of the six giants making sure everything runs smoothly in Critical TechWorks teams.

"I know what a Scrum Knight is, but what on earth is a Titan?"

A Chief Technical Titan plays a very important role in our operation. Due to their vast experience working as developers, the Titans are very useful sources of knowledge. João, for instance, has been working in software development since 2003.

“We don’t control the teams; we mentor and point them in the right direction.”

Although João doesn’t manage the different work groups directly, he does have a vital task: to make sure everyone is developing in accordance with Critical TechWorks working methods, agile software development and the Scrum framework, and adopting a DevOps mentality, where everyone is on their top game in a fast-paced environment, where no one has to wait for anything in order to keep developing.

Another part of a Titan’s role is guaranteeing that everyone is as autonomous as possible.

"Our BMW stakeholders hand us a set of requirements and, after that, the team members are responsible for the rest: developing, testing, setting up and supporting the systems.” says João.

“In an ideal world, where the crews are experienced enough, they wouldn’t need me.”

A Titan only “enters the game” whenever their help is required.

Despite the name, they’re not oppressive leaders or control freaks. They’re also the bridge between BMW and the crews.

CHALLENGING PROJECTS WHERE EVERYONE IS WORKING Moreover, they assure that every single group has everything they need in order to deliver their best work, whether it’s human resources or tools. If you’re in need of another pair of hands in your unit, do speak to your designated Titan. João, who previously worked in Critical Software as a Senior Software Engineer, works directly with 10 teams that are developing navigation and autonomous driving technologies. A challenging project where everyone is working to make sure that artificial intelligence acts like a top-tier citizen driver who doesn’t cause accidents.

These kinds of novelty systems, such as autonomous driving, and Critical TechWorks’ mission – to develop the future of mobility - are two of the reasons why João is most excited about waking up every morning.

“Since I joined Critical TechWorks, I’ve had to learn new technologies from scratch, and that’s what inspires me to work in this field, learning something new every day.”

TITANS ARE NOT ABOVE ANYONE

João would also like to remind everyone that, due to the flat hierarchy system at Critical TechWorks, Titans are not above anyone. They share the company’s values when it comes to caring and focusing on its people.