Introduction
Hi! I’m Gabor Torok. I currently work as a full stack web developer. I have the most experience in working Python/Django in the backend, and Elm/TypeScript in the frontend. I also worked extensively with PHP and Emacs Lisp in the past.
Besides programming, I worked as a technical lead, engineering manager, product manager and programming mentor too. I have experience in working with teams across different timezones and locations.
My strongest professional areas are:
I enjoy building communities and tools. I tend to look for ways to improve the processes and team work around me. I have kanban, agile and sociocracy in my toolbox.
I enjoy mentoring other engineers and I’m curious to learn from others. I’ve been a curious Stack Overflow contributor for more than 10 years.
I have experience in working for small startups and bigger organizations too. Therefore I had seen challenges at various levels, and I’d learned how to respond to them in a constructive way.
Notable work experiences
2022- Habyt
I currently work in a small tech team to streamline the back-office processes of the leading coliving provider to enable the expansion of the business world-wide. We build a platform using TypeScript and Next.js.
2020-2022 Budapest School
I worked for a grassroot, yet state-recognized Hungarian alternative school system that hosts children from kindergarten to high school. We built a school platform from scratch based on Python/Django and Elm that connected teachers, children and parents. I worked in a fully remote team. We practiced pair programming a lot. I was responsible for onboading the other developers.
2018 Babbel
I designed and managed Babbel Neos, a 6-month software engineering training program. I was teaching and mentoring career changers who wanted to become professional developers. I used sociocratic tools to facilitate the training project.
Key impact: I enabled 9 people to get a full time job as software developers at the company. 8 of them stayed with the company after 1 year. Read how they perceived their first year as a junior developer.
2017 Lettuce Grow
I was the developer partner of the founder of Lettuce Grow, a startup company that wanted to create a digital marketplace to help connect small-scale farmers to local businesses in Portugal. We didn’t manage to raise funds, and eventually launching the product failed.
Key lesson: Make the implicit explicit: vocalize assumptions, put down agreements. Use disposable prototypes as long as possible to facilitate the product conversation and enable fast iterations.