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AsKin Questions to Laris Mahmutaj, Java & Open Source Team Lead

AsKinQuestions Background

Our name is intentional. “Kin” refers to family and “Carta” refers to maps. When together, we’re Kin + Carta — a group of connected makers, builders and creators, who come together everyday to help our clients build experiences and plot a clear path forward in today’s digital world. Carta is what we do, Kin is who we are.

AsKin Questions is a series that brings the day-to-day experiences of working at Kin + Carta to light, all through the eyes of our Kin. And today, it’s Laris Mahmutaj, Java & Open-Source Team Lead in our Prishtina office, who we asked some questions to.

Image of Laris playing the guitar
Photo of Laris's cats laying down

Tell us a fun fact about yourself.

I’ve really enjoyed music since I was a little kid, especially the guitar. When I was in elementary school, I have fond memories of trying to build a guitar by myself and imagining I was Bon Jovi on the scene (it’s my lifeee 🎶). Now I play the guitar from time to time and still enjoy it immensely! I’m also quite into gaming, particularly challenging games such as Dark Souls or Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, which I’m currently playing. I also have two beautiful cats, Miso and Beba, who constantly add love and silliness to my life!


What's your role at the moment?

I’m currently the Java & Open Source Team Lead at Frakton, part of Kin + Carta, where I have the honor of leading a wonderful team of backend developers to create practical and unique solutions for our clients.


What's your favorite part of the job?

It has to be the team and the culture! I try to take as few remote days as possible because I really enjoy being in the office — the collective energy of our colleagues is a wonderful experience and fuels me in my daily work. I never see it as “just another day in the office”, because there’s always new challenges, new jokes and more fun to be had with the team. To me, Kin + Carta is an environment where growth, learning and fun all go hand-in-hand together.

Image of Laris in the office

How did you end up doing what you do?

I’ve been a part of Frakton for two and a half years now. Back in 2017, I initially planned to study architecture but ended up switching to software development studies, as the job market was more developed and I could see myself making a bigger impact in the world through programming. I basically had zero prior knowledge of computer science and software development when I started studying it, but the field turned out to be really exciting and I was hooked on it from day one! 


Why did you join Frakton, part of Kin + Carta?

I attended a tech academy during the summer break of my first year of University, where I followed an Android Development course that was being lectured by two Frakton employees. On the last day of the course, we visited Frakton’s office to see how they work, and I was fascinated by the people, the environment and the energy in the office! Throughout the open floor, teams were playing table tennis or PlayStation and making jokes, while simultaneously working hard to ensure success for their clients. Finding this energy where the team can genuinely have fun while also being productive is quite rare, so that’s when I committed to one day work at Frakton.

Once I was done with University studies, I immediately started looking for a job and saw that Frakton was hiring .NET Developers. As that was my focus back then, I applied and went through the application process, ultimately being hired as an intern for the Backend team. Throughout my time as an intern I experienced immense professional growth through working with numerous frameworks on many different projects.

When I finished my internship, I was hired as a Junior Backend Developer and dove deep into my first project, which further helped me grow and learn how to take my skills to the next level. Frakton offered unrivaled growth opportunities for my career, as I moved to a Mid-level backend developer within a couple of months and was promoted to Project Technical Lead after one year of joining as an intern! Although this was a whirlwind of an experience for me, the welcoming environment is filled with growth, support and learning. I’ve never once felt incompetent or scared to ask a question and discuss issues with my colleagues or management. It’s the people here who constantly work out differences in order to ensure a harmonious and productive work culture and guarantee excellence in delivery for our clients.


Do you have any advice for young people who want to work in the tech industry?

Yes — try not to get carried away with new, fancy technologies, and instead make sure to first properly learn the fundamentals. There will always be new things to learn but they will not be as valuable without a strong foundation.


What inspires you?

Apart from the company culture, it is the fact that our work always has a direct, positive impact for our clients. It is rarely a matter of simply writing some code or doing a bit of debugging on a project. We get to create practical, effective solutions that ultimately make the world work better for everyone.

Want to join Laris in an environment full of growth, learning and fun?

Apply now

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