Spend the day with Julio Gaucín and see what it’s like to be a Senior Production Configuration Engineer.
“Have you ever seen Grey’s Anatomy or ER? My role is very similar to that of an ER doctor.” As a Senior Production Configuration Engineer, Julio Gaucín tackles all complex technical issues related to the configuration of production applications and is the first responder to production client issues. He has to know everything there is to know about any particular application—including how to reverse engineer it—so he can resolve issues before they start to affect clients. It’s high-stakes work, but Julio loves learning! Read on to see how he typically spends his day:
“Have you ever seen Grey’s Anatomy or ER? My role is very similar to that of an ER doctor.”
9:00 AM: I start my day by catching up on emails and finishing up some documentation. I manage a client portfolio of about 18 high-profile global clients operating in different time zones, so my mornings are spent doing a daily review of open tickets for them in Zendesk. On a good day, we’re looking at about 30 tickets and 15% of them might get escalated to me directly. Otherwise, the L1 off-shore team in the Phillippines or the associate engineer assigned to the client help handle tickets.
9:30 AM: Once I’m done making recommendations on next steps for the L1 team, I turn my Slack status online. I meet with my colleagues Hamilton and Lionel for 30 minutes to discuss the overall team status, brainstorm ideas to develop new processes, and work on DEI strategies.
10:00 AM–12:00 PM: My first weekly client meeting starts and they continue back-to-back until around mid-day. These meetings are similar to standups, where we discuss any open issues with them and talk about where the team is with any tickets they have submitted for us. During these meetings, I partner with an associate engineer and I let them lead to enable their professional growth.
“Right now I’m into ancient cultures, architecture, and archaeology in general. I’ve also been reading about different cultures and their myths and legends.”
12:00 PM–2:00 PM: After my meetings, I Slack with other teams about upcoming go-lives. I’m the technical escalation lead for my team, so I help guide teammates on next steps with tickets. This includes configuration best practice recommendations, troubleshooting advice, tips for client communication, promotions to production, and more.
A sev1 issue comes in—an urgent issue that shuts the system down—and I go into surgery mode. A lot of the clients in my portfolio are financial institutions and time is money for them. For every minute their system is down, they might lose out on millions of dollars. During a sev1, it’s my job to resolve the system issue as soon as possible. In order to resolve the issue, my team collaborates with team members from the organization to reach a solution—it’s a 360-degree team effort. An escalation typically takes about 4 to 5 hours, but today my team reaches a resolution in just two. Now that that’s done, I find the time to scarf down some lunch.
2:00 PM–3:00 PM: After lunch, I gather my teammates and meet with the Customer Success team to discuss the client portfolio and next steps.
3:00 PM–4:00 PM: I take some time to catch up with my Employee Resource Strategy Group responsibilities as VP of “Mucho Amor.” My team, in particular, is striving to incorporate DEI into our team culture. We’re already pretty diverse in terms of different backgrounds and ethnicities, so now we’re just trying to make sure we’re accounting for any gaps there might be. We focus on retention, personal and professional growth, and we have a lot of candid conversations.
“I am an avid Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner and have been waiting anxiously for gyms to re-open, but reading has helped me pass the time!”
4:00 PM–7:00 PM: I make sure that the Change Management board is up-to-date and make sure all production deployments are accounted for on the calendar by partnering with my colleague Felix, the technical escalation lead on the Platform Support team.
7:00 PM: As the day winds down, I finish up some odds and ends. I go over tickets in Zendesk one more time, adjust configurations for the modules I’ve built for client monitoring, make internal notes, and close out any issues that have been resolved throughout the day.
After work, I go for a quick jog and make some dinner. I am an avid Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner and have been waiting anxiously for gyms to re-open, but reading has helped me pass the time! I’m a physicist by schooling so I still enjoy reading about sciences. Right now I’m into ancient cultures, architecture, and archaeology in general. I’ve also been reading about different cultures and their myths and legends. After that, I touch base with my family on Facetime before getting ready for bed.
To hear more perspectives from other Unqorkers, check out the other entries in our Unqork @ Work series and our Creator Spotlights.
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