From Texas to ESYON: Roan Dominguez Tells Us How It Happened

We regularly hold interviews with our employees to give people the opportunity to get to know ESYON and get a sense of what it is like to work here. Since August 2021, we have employed a colleague from the USA, Roan Dominguez. The young developer told us how he landed here, what his first few months at ESYON were like, and why language was never a hurdle in his everyday life at the company. Following are excerpts from the interview – enjoy!

A Friend’s Recommendation Led Him to Germany

To start things off, Roan told us a bit about himself. He studied computer science at the University of Texas in San Antonio and likes to joke that immediately after graduation he jumped on the first plane to Germany. “But in fact, it was about a month later,” he adds with a laugh.

To the question of why he chose Germany, and why specifically Leipzig, he answers: One of his friends is German, and over the years she described the work culture, the work-life balance, the healthcare system, and the general conditions in the country in very positive terms. Roan also identifies with the German mindset. The young Texan decided on Leipzig because his best friend moved there from Tübingen a few months before he graduated.

Roan’s actual journey began when he saw a job posting from ESYON on LinkedIn and decided to apply. Adding to the difficulty posed by the physical distance, the application process was further complicated by the coronavirus pandemic. Nevertheless, Roan managed to travel to Germany for a personal interview and a trial period. This procedure is typical for candidates applying to ESYON. In our experience, it is the best way for both parties to assess whether there is a match and if they can envision working together. It was an easy decision in Roan’s case, and he has been part of the ESYON team since August 2021.

Language Was Never a Barrier

As an American, Roan speaks little German. “At first I was worried that this might be a problem and that I would feel a bit isolated at work,” he admits. But the concern was completely unfounded.

“The team included me right from the start and speaks to me in both English and German,” he says, adding with a smile, “The small talk often takes place in German so I can improve my language skills. I think that’s great. But we prefer to discuss important topics in English.”

Roan is also an integral part of the team outside of the daily work routine. Barbecues and evening card games take place every few weeks, and he joins whenever possible.

Growing Responsibility Instead of Permanent Junior Level

We wanted to know how Roan feels about working at ESYON and his tasks as a developer. “What I’m experiencing is much better than the situation many of my friends in the US are facing,” he explains. In the US, many young professionals are kept at a junior level for a long time, at least two years. “You don’t get to do a lot of work during that period, at most a bit of debugging and a few small projects.” Roan considered himself to be at a junior level at the time of the interview. However, he says ESYON started him off with simpler tasks so that he could be given more responsibility later on.

“No company gives a newcomer a huge project right away. ESYON doesn’t do that either. But I’ve noticed that I can take on more responsibility bit by bit.”

As a developer, Roan primarily works on the Amazon Marketplace Connector and OXID eShop for Microsoft Dynamics 365.

He just completed a major project, where he developed a special feature for a potential client. “A prospective customer wanted a reconciliation of the settlement report from Amazon Seller Central with the financial data in Microsoft Dynamics 365. I developed this feature and integrated it into our solution so that it can be used by all customers.” 

Future as a PHP Developer? Maybe

We asked Roan about his future goals at ESYON. For now, he wants to continue to develop the AMC and OXID eShop für Microsoft Dynamics 365. “We still want to add to the capabilities until we’re at the stage where we just have to make small modifications based on individual customer’s requirements.” And after that? When that time comes, Roan can imagine looking at other areas of the company. “I would like to deepen my knowledge of PHP,” he said. “Then I could become even more of an all-rounder and support frontend development, for example, which I’d personally love.”

ESYON listens to these and other concerns of our employees, which Roan also recalls experiencing during his application process: “At the job interview, you are always asked which areas you would be interested in pursuing as your career develops. It’s great that ESYON is open to these wishes.” We understandably can’t yet say if and when Roan’s desire for a stronger understanding of PHP development will come true. If a chance opens up, we will definitely give Roan an opportunity to develop his PHP Skills at ESYON.

Roan, thank you for this lovely and informative interview! We are very happy that you have chosen ESYON and hope to have you with us for a very long time!