An interview with Julie Oppermann, Senior Frontend Engineer

AMBOSS

How did you land at AMBOSS?

After taking a year of maternity leave, I was looking for a new role where I could work on something impactful that added value to user’s lives.

When I was living in the States (and before the pandemic) I worked for a year at Moderna Therapeutics, and so I thought I would search for another role that would build on my background in Biology. When I saw the job description at AMBOSS, it checked all the boxes and I knew I had to apply.

What about your role brings you joy?

I must admit that I get a bit of a perverse pleasure out of refactoring/deleting/and otherwise annihilating legacy code. But I guess the best part is knowing that the features we’re working on are helping the next generation of doctor’s ace their exams and provide the best possible care.

What does a typical day as a frontend engineer look like?

Our team starts the day with a round of ‘good mornings’ on slack. At 10am, we have standup where we share what we’re working on, do a quick sync with the priorities, and check if anyone needs support. We then work on our respective tickets, often pairing when we need to debug an issue.

We also spend time reviewing each other’s code, and attending various scrum ceremonies. On Wednesdays, we all try to come to the office, get lunch together near the office, and sometimes bubble tea in the afternoon.

What challenges and projects are the Learning Guidance team working on?

The Learning Guidance team is dedicated to helping our users study and learn smarter. We maintain the question bank, articles, US exam simulation mode, self assessment, and more.

Currently we have a number of projects underway including initiatives to eliminate legacy code, improving the user experience of the question bank, simplifying the creation of question sessions, and adding additional filters to customize the studying experience. We will also look into how we can improve our courses for DACH students and physicians.

We’re also working on drafting a new architecture proposal (together with other teams), introducing Typescript, removing Recompose and Higher Order Components in favor of Hooks, and adding UI tests.

What’s something you do outside of work that not many people might know about?

I maintain an active (art) studio practice outside of work. I make large-format abstract, perceptual paintings with moiré interference patterns. This spring, I had solo exhibitions in Berlin, Düsseldorf, and Paris.

What surprised you about your role or team when you joined?

The Learning Guidance team is the most collaborative and supportive team that I’ve been part of — that was a very happy surprise.

Outside of work, we also love to get together for delicious food, such as the amazing green beans and eggplant at Shaniu’s House of Noodles.