How did your adventure with SoftSystem start?
I started my adventure with programming from my own business. As a student, fascinated by the potential and opportunities offered by the rapidly developing IT industry at that time, in 2000 with a group of friends we founded the first information portal in Podkarpacie and one of the first in Poland, which I must admit with satisfaction is still functioning today 
. Working on the portal and in the latest technologies gave me a lot of joy, but working in the office in front of a monitor for a young, energetic person is not enough, especially since I liked travelling, discovering new places and taking on new challenges. And here comes the SoftSystem company, which offered and still offers the possibility of going to the United States and the option of working as a programmer directly from the sunny state of Florida. The tropical climate, sandy beaches, crystal clear water, the vision of working closer to an English-speaking client and the possibility of travelling on business around the United States encouraged me so much that I decided to take a job in SoftSystem in 2003. Of course, I wanted to work there not only to be able to go to Florida 
but also to continue to develop in a prestigious international corporation. That is how my adventure with SoftSystem began, which continues to this day.
What was your career path in our company?
I have been working at SoftSystem for over 18 years and during this time, slowly gaining professional experience, I had the opportunity to work in various positions. I started my career as a programmer on a small scale, but a breakthrough project for those times. It was a brand new set of applications to support genetic research, which allowed the organization to conquer new markets, acquire new customers, continue to develop dynamically and expand on all continents. I will add that when I got a job at SoftSystem, about 120 people worked in the office in Rzeszów, and currently, the company employs over 550 qualified specialists.
At my request, after less than two years of work, I was delegated to work in Florida at the partner company SCC, which is also our main client. Thus, my dreams came true. I could program and at the same time continue my travel passion, visiting the most beautiful corners of the state of Florida . At SCC, I worked not only as a programmer but also as an implementer and support programmer. I admit that the new responsibilities, especially close cooperation with the client, have significantly broadened my horizons and changed my perception of the application development process. Two years of working at SCC, experienced co-workers and the proximity of customers gave rise to ideas for new solutions and applications. One of these ideas later turned into a project to be developed and continued in Poland. In order to be able to implement it, in 2006, I decided to return to Poland. In my new role as an architect, I started conceptual work on a new product, SoftDMI. I could consult and design a new system with the best and most experienced architects and analysts. But for their help, knowledge and experience, it would not be possible to design and create a product that is currently an indispensable part of virtually all applications that our organization sells. After completing the conceptual work for the further development of the SoftDMI application, in 2008, a separate team, in which I was a team leader and then Product Manager, was appointed. It consisted mainly of programmers and architects. Over the years of DMI dynamic development analysts and implementers also joined the team. It has become a complete, harmonious package of experienced enthusiasts of new technologies. The commitment, openness and willingness to modernize the surrounding reality, have always been the driving force for our team, constantly pushing us to take up new challenges, create new products and solutions. Over the years, new projects, such as QueryAgent, DLS, GlobalTracker or even the recently implemented WebDMI and DevTracker have been created. With the increase in the number of projects and the team development, in 2018, I received a promotion for my current position, i.e. Projects Manager. I am convinced that it was the opportunity to progress through all career levels, cooperate at each stage with great people full of optimism and the commitment to work that allowed me to become who I am now in our organization, a mature and responsible Manager.
You are currently the Manager of the DMI Development team. Tell us more about your tasks in this position.
I think that in our company this position’s tasks and responsibilities are defined in a similar way as in other companies in the IT industry. In my work, I put a lot of emphasis on constantly inspiring and motivating my employees, setting their path and trying to remove all obstacles that could in any way interfere with their work or even discourage them from it. In addition, I think that developing creativity, independence, a sense of responsibility for the job in employees, supporting them in making difficult decisions and celebrating their successes is what, in my opinion, is the most important task of a Manager. I also believe that the employees are the Manager’s reflection. It means that every even the slightest failure of an employee is also a failure of the Manager. Nowadays, the Manager’s role should not be limited only to project management, scope control and supervision over the implementation of entrusted tasks, but also should base on broadly understood coaching and partnership. A good manager should try to understand and help solve every, even the slightest problem of the employee, even if this problem goes beyond purely technical aspects, not related to the project or work. Don’t get me wrong, the scope of work must be controlled by the Manager and completed by the employee within a given time. However, today, in dynamically changing, multigenerational teams with brand new challenges, the role of the Manager has to be redefined. Today, the Manager is more than just a supervisor.
What exactly does your team – DMI do?
The goals and expectations of the DMI team are very different and dynamically changing because DMI is not a typical team in our organization. I think what distinguishes us is that apart from the standard tasks related to the development and support of the SoftDMI product, we try to look for new solutions and constantly improve the reality that surrounds us. We do not adjust to the environment around us, but we undertake the challenges to adapt the environment to our visions. In addition to development and support for the SoftDMI product, we are constantly taking on the challenges and risks of new projects and tools such as Plate Builder / Hamilton, GeneCapture or the abovementioned WebDMI, DLS, GlobalTracker and DevTracker. All these projects allow team members to advance in the latest technologies currently used in the IT industry. Moreover, taking into account the size of our organization, the number of people who actively use DMI in their daily work, the dispersion of its installation, the use of the applications we create, not only significantly facilitates work but gives us and our clients a sense of security and control over the process.
Currently, due to the dynamically changing situation on the market, we have open positions in our team for: programmers, support engineers and the manager of the programmers’ team. I invite all those who are not afraid of challenges and want to work in the latest technologies in a harmonious team with a friendly atmosphere, all those who are open to change and constantly want to improve the reality that surrounds us.
Tell us more about the projects your team is implementing.
As I have already mentioned, our main product is SoftDMI (Data Manager of Instruments) – it is a desktop application responsible mainly for communication between physical medical instruments and other applications developed by our organization used to analyze the results. In addition, the SoftDMI application provides a wide range of functionalities for routing messages, controlling physical instruments, pre-analyzing and adjusting the results. For now, the application is part of the Genetic suite installed on virtually all clients, as the results from the instruments are the basis of virtually every medical examination. SoftDMI, except for working with genetic suite applications provides instrument support for products such as NGS, BioBank, BloodBank, TotalQC, Lab / Micro 5.0. The list of new products is dynamically expanding. Our application supports most types of medical instruments available on the market, especially cytogenetic, molecular, biochemical and pathological, providing more than 300 dedicated setting profiles for them. We are currently at the stage of finalizing the work related to the release of a web version of the DMI with significantly extended functionality – the SoftWebDMI application.
The other important products are DLS (DMI License System) – a web application that provides backup of settings and instrument drivers and enables total license control of installed devices. Another product is also a web application called Global Tracker. It is an application supporting and documenting the process of implementing instruments, in particular the work of our implementers and developers. I must also mention our latest project, DevTracker, a web application that allows you to conduct the development in agile methodologies while ensuring the appropriate level of process formalities and providing documentation that meets the stringent FDI requirements and the highest ISO standards.
What are your team’s development plans?
Our team’s development plans depend on many factors, often factors beyond our control. Therefore, we try to respond to the dynamically changing market situation and customer needs on an ongoing basis. Currently, our main goal is to release the official version of our newest product, SofWebDMI. It is a web equivalent of SoftDMI extended with additional functionalities of manual and automatic analysis and processing of results. We are convinced that a completely new product, which is SoftWebDMI, soon will be delivered as a complete and, at the same time, lightweight solution for smaller laboratories. When it comes to larger laboratories, it will successfully replace the currently used SoftDMI. WebDMI is a product that is our response to the rapidly growing market, that allows you to significantly reduce the costs of organizations and potential customers while maintaining the maximum required functionality.
Potential candidates would like to know more details. Characterize the open vacancies.
We are open to new programmers, programming mainly in web technologies, but not only. We also want to strengthen the group of support engineers who are our first line of defense and support in solving problems related to the installation and use of our software in client environments. In addition, we also have an open position for the manager of the development team. We are looking for someone, who will see to our development from the procedural side and bring new ideas. A detailed description of the requirements for individual positions is available on our website in the ‘Career’ tab. I want to add that the most important features of our candidates are: commitment, independence, responsibility, willingness to take on new challenges and constant self-improvement. We are looking for people who do not give up too easy, are communicative, open-minded, appreciate a good atmosphere at work and look for stable employment. I think that despite the dynamically changing situation in the IT job market, our company still has a lot to offer and positively stands out from the competition. Our company quickly reacts to changes and adapts to the current market reality, to meet the expectations of its employees. Flexible working hours, the possibility of working remotely or in a modern office, in Poland or in Florida, and the redesigned incentive and pay rise system is probably the best example of this.
What are your interests outside of work?
I have always been into creating web applications Thus, I am lucky that in every job, i.e. initially in my own company, and now mainly in SoftSystem, I can still pursue one of my greatest passions. My second passion is photography, especially advertising photography. My adventure with photography began in 2005 in Florida, where one of my friends from SCC (thanks, Janusz ), right after the birth of my son, lent me a professional camera and studio lighting set, and I must admit that I got bitten by a bug. A few months later, I started to complete my equipment, and after returning to Poland, I opened a professional photo studio. I must admit that photography still gives me a lot of pleasure after so many years, but unfortunately, I can’t devote as much time to it as I would like. The last passion that I want to mention, which accompanied me from an early age is the mountains and the exploration of the unknown. I started quite early, at the age of 14, rock climbing and cave exploration. It was something that gave me the most fun. Currently, I have limited my activities to hiking in the mountains, mainly alone or with friends. This form of spending free time, communing with myself, definitely opens up new horizons for my thoughts. During many hours of hiking and communing with nature, the best ideas are born in the head. I think that in today’s world, heavily overloaded with information and activities, hiking is an excellent form of therapy for purifying and organizing thoughts.
