Thoughtworker Spotlight: Paul Sobocinski

Paul Sobocinski ,? Engineering Practice Director at Thoughtworks Canada is responsible for elevating the technical excellence of software engineering practices by running internal, client-facing and community initiatives such as technical coaching programs and #coderetreats. Besides coaching and mentoring engineers, these days, you can also find him collaborating with Thoughtworkers at daily ensemble sessions, tinkering with #GenerativeAI tools.?

But what do burgers, turtles and fiddles have to do with Paul’s career journey? Well, you have to keep reading the Spotlight to find out.?

Beyond the tech realm, you can find Paul spending time with his family at all the neighbourhood hotspots or jamming out on the ukulele. Check this week’s Thoughtworker Spotlight for more on Paul and his favourite product that follows him around with great ideas.?

Tell us about what you do in 50 words or less

As an Engineering Practice Director at Thoughtworks, I support professionals in pursuing technical excellence in Software Engineering practices. What that looks like day-to-day: kickstarting a technical coaching program, organizing community workshops such as Global Day of Coderetreat, providing on-engagement client support via technical leadership, and mentoring Senior Software Engineers.

What’s the most interesting challenge you're working on?

Generative AI and its lofty promises have overtaken the software development industry. I am leading a team that is pushing the boundaries of what is possible by experimenting on new Ways of Working that involve Generative AI.

It’s challenging because of the rapid advancements in the space. What we learned last week may no longer apply this week. In recognition of this, we run daily ensemble development sessions (also known as “mobbing”) where we spend most of the session building something useful with Generative AI tools (such as GitHub Copilot). We save time at the end to share our candid, on-the-spot assessment of how the session went and how Generative AI helped or hindered us.

What inspired you to have the career you have today??

I’d say that it’s been a series of inspirations.?

In my final years of high school, I took a computer course in Turbo Pascal. It helped me realize that coding could be both easy and fun for me. Mind you, this was my first introduction to a high-level programming language — prior to that, I was exposed only to BASIC and Turtle Graphics (in Logo), which I did not find as intuitive or easy. Nowadays, I doubt many would!

The next inspiration came when I was working late at a fast food restaurant, trying to troubleshoot a point-of-sale unit with our custom software on it. When I finally managed to get it to stop crashing, it was inspiring to see both employees and customers get real value from the software that I helped build – yes, that “value” even included the burgers, which were relatively healthy!

What achievement are you most proud of in your career to date?

Everything we’ve accomplished at Thoughtworks Canada to date. We have become a beacon for best practices in end-to-end product development, and I’m proud of my contribution to sustaining the technical aspects of these practices. We have become a thought leader globally across Thoughtworks by contributing techniques for skills-based technical coaching, supporting curricula, and supporting other regions in starting their own programs. We’ve also become an important contributor to Toronto's XP/Agile community by running Global Day of Coderetreat for multiple years now; in fact we’re in the midst of planning this year’s event.

If you could go back in time and give yourself career advice, what would it be??

Always watch for opportunities to empower those around you to do their best work. When they arise, jump on them immediately—however small or insignificant they might seem.

Broadly speaking, steer yourself and your peers towards environments with abundant opportunity. Doing so means that you won’t need to seize every opportunity for yourself. You can raise others up to the challenge instead. Especially if you think you can do a better job (you might be surprised). Essentially, an environment of abundance means that you and your peers have the best shot at achieving your full potential professionally.

What do you love to do outside of work?

Spending time with family. Jamming on the ukulele and fiddle. Occasional travel to kid-friendly destinations. But for the most part, as a family, we enjoy staying local and really getting to know our neighborhood — the parks, the shops, our neighbors, the library, the local events, etc. You know, the simple stuff!

If you were stuck on a deserted island, what album, movie, and book would you take with you?

Album: 1 (The Beatles)

Book: The Lord of the Rings

Movie: Star Wars (the original trilogy)

Yes, I’m cheating – it’s a compilation album and both the book and movie are trilogies. But come on – you’re the one putting me on a deserted island. Cut me some slack!

And finally, what’s your favorite product and why?

I’ve got to say ChatGPT. I’ve downloaded the iPhone app and it’s become my chipper, trusty, eager-to-please assistant that helps me with everything from planning my daughter’s birthday party to designing ideation workshops to composing ukulele jingles. It’s fun and useful — the best combination for a software product!