TL;DR: This third entry in our World-Class Talent series of our blog highlights a tech lead who is devoted, caring, highly collaborative, and a well-experienced developer in Bulgaria. Here are his guiding principles in what is a successful career story. 

Alper Hasan’s contributions to our company have been described by his lead, Blankfactor’s CTO in Software Development, Lucho Hristov, as those of a person who has a deep understanding of the development process lifecycle. Lucho also highlights Alper’s vast knowledge across different software platforms and technologies as our tech lead. 

What’s more, Alper is noted for caring deeply about mentorship and collaboration with peers. His work comes across in a way that makes him overall loyal and reliable at Blankfactor. 

Let’s find out together what our Tech Lead in Software Development, Alper Hasan, has to say about his personal career success story and strong areas of expertise. 

When it all started for Alper

20 to 25 years ago, it was hard to find work in software development in Bulgaria, Alper explains; especially for someone who grew up far away from Sofia, Bulgaria’s capital. As he recalls, while no established schools existed at the time to prepare young people for careers in tech, ironically the market still insisted on hiring predominantly experienced developers. This had much to do with Bulgaria rumored as having the best hackers in the world and the country’s long, while under the radar, investment in reproducing Western computer technologies during the Cold War. In the meantime, Alper and his peers were just entering the field being mostly self-taught.

Since then, the education system in Bulgaria has moved significantly forward to support young people with interests in the tech world, building computer science departments and capitalizing on the sound foundation of the region’s famed mathematics programs. As for Alper, he lucked out at finding mentors who recognized his eagerness to learn and grow in the profession and who entrusted him with work. 

Fast forward to today and Bulgaria has risen to a well-known and leading tech hub in Europe and the world. How did that happen? Alper’s personal experience of this period is illuminating. 

First, it wasn’t always easy. 

Alper started with .NET and Java and later moved on to PHP and different database technologies. Eventually, he came into the role of a team lead in various business intelligence projects. Today, he’s a cared-for leader in our software development department. 

Alper is actually one of the very first employees of Blankfactor as well as other sister companies. You will recognize him by the friendly smile that seldom leaves his face. He has been working together with Lucho for many years and in various different endeavors.

Yet, from what Alper tells us about his beginnings, he had to learn solely from books. Personal computers were a luxury and he had limited access, if any, to many of the resources available to juniors today. Instead, he had to visit libraries for literature, and not being able to rely on blogs or on the vast information logs online that exist today, he employed his own ingenuity to master tech skills. 

“It was really difficult, but also exhilarating, because one had to really strive to learn” he says, as he shares how the best way for him to learn is still by reading books and by doing something wrong, making mistakes and learning from one’s own mistakes. That’s how you grow, you dig, you find a mistake, re-do the task, make a mistake again, and fix it. This system of not fearing errors is part of Alper’s secret for succeeding in the profession and how to never forget that doing something right requires the perspective of failing first. And now, he’s passing the baton on to his younger peers, and hoping to be able to make the learning curve much easier for them. 

Continuously learning about new technologies is key

Alper observes that, what in his mind seems most challenging to people in the field, is having to continuously learn new technologies. “You need to learn all the time!” Because technologies are changing very fast, people in this field need to accept that applying their intelligence and learning about new processes continuously is part of the game in order to do their job properly and solve tasks faster. 

“Now there’s a big community that’s polishing what we consider best practices,” he says. This means developers are completing tasks better every time. In the end, developer skills stand at the center of software development company business. 

What’s a day like for a tech lead?

Writing code, building a product that demands a continuous re-engagement with a vision, helping coworkers whenever they need him, mentoring developers who are still gaining valuable experience, and picking the best talent to bring onboard: these are all a big part of Alper’s daily duties. Add to that the need to quickly switch between all of these disparate responsibilities. Alper has been involved in the hiring process for a large number of members this far. 

But he’s mainly a tech lover, he says. Even though he constantly collaborates with people from Colombia and Costa Rica, it makes no difference to him when communicating with different teams when it comes to work. For Alper, techies speak a common language. 

When asked what makes him happy, Alper answers without a doubt; delivering successful projects and helping younger colleagues learn fast – that is what brings him real joy. Yet, one assertion he also makes strongly is how he likes to bring everything to perfection. His tone is clear as to how much he takes pride in “doing everything the right way”. 

Alper is highly confident that “We’re bringing over the best talent to the company, which is part of my job here in Bulgaria; to find the best developers, and all the experts.”

What about Alper’s leadership approach?

Alper is known for his poised ways of going about work. And speaking to him about his leadership style makes that even clearer. “I’m friends with everyone on the team!”. He says so as he describes how strongly he believes in creating an amicable environment “so it’s a real pleasure for everyone to work together.” Assuring people in fact enjoy their work is his main motivation. 

It’s no wonder this level of devotion to clean and excellent code and nurturing an approach to working together long-term makes Alper stand out as a charismatic and loyal co-worker. We’re definitely proud and happy to have his level of top talent on our side.

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