Minntho

What do you do at Wieni?

I’m a back-end developer, mainly working on Drupal and other PHP projects. A lot of my work revolves around developing or integrating APIs, defining content structures, and building automated processes and integrations with external applications.

Right now, I’m mainly working on projects like UZ Leuven, Bruzz, and Vlaamse Nutsregulator.

Before joining Wieni, I had never worked with Drupal before, so it’s still relatively new to me. But the transition went a lot smoother than I expected, and I’m still figuring out which parts of the ecosystem I enjoy most.

What did you do before Wieni?

I graduated in Multimedia & Communication Technology, with a specialisation in Web & UX. Even back then, the back-end side of development was always where I felt strongest.

In my previous role, I worked as a full stack developer, building and maintaining websites from A to Z. That included development, maintenance, and support.

At Wieni, I now focus fully on back-end development, which feels much closer to what I naturally enjoy most.

Why Wieni?

My interest actually started just by reading through the Wieni website. The Who are we page and the Knowledge Center gave me a very clear picture of how the company works.

A lot of agencies stay vague about their culture or processes until you actually start working there. Wieni was very transparent about its team, technologies, and way of working, which immediately stood out to me.

That feeling only got stronger during the interviews.

What I appreciate most now is the culture. There’s a real investment in team atmosphere and creating a pleasant environment. Things like the monthly Wieni Assemblies and the yearly retreat genuinely contribute to that.

There’s also a lot of flexibility and freedom. The async way of working and being able to choose when to work from home or from the office makes a big difference.

What kind of work excites you the most?

I enjoy projects that are used on a large scale or improve workflows for other people. There’s a lot of satisfaction in seeing that something you built actually has an impact in the real world.

I also like features where I need to explore a new technology or approach. Learning while building is probably what keeps things most interesting for me.

Which tools can’t you live without?

PHPStorm is definitely my go-to IDE for PHP projects. I also use VS Code from time to time for lighter tasks.

Copilot has become very useful as well, both for programming and analysing data.

And Spotify is probably the most consistently open app on my laptop. Music is on pretty much the entire workday.

Who is Thomas outside of Wieni?

Outside of work, cycling takes up a big part of my time. About two years ago, I bought a road racing bike, and since then I’ve been riding thousands of kilometres every year.

My favourite rides are up in the mountains. Some of the most memorable climbs I’ve done so far are Mont Ventoux, Alpe d’Huez, and Stelvio. But the list of routes I still want to do across Europe is very long. If I had to pick a climb that is next on my list, it would probably be the Col du Galibier.

I also try to go to a few festivals and concerts every year. You could probably run into me at places like Rock Werchter or Pinkpop.

What would you do if you weren’t a back-end developer?

Probably something in networking or cloud engineering, if I stayed in tech. Or something completely different, like becoming a mountain guide, just for the fun of it.

Lightning round

1. Stand-up or async updates? Stand-up

2. Deep work: morning or late in the evening? Late in the evening

3. Animations: subtle or over the top? Over the top

4. Tabs or spaces? Tabs

5. Dark mode or light mode? Dark mode

6. Remote or office? Hybrid

7. Coffee, tea, or lemon water? Coffee (75%) and Nalu

8. City or nature? Nature

9. Summer or winter? Summer

10. Music or silence while working? Music

11. Notion or pen and paper? Apple notes

12. Pair programming or solo building? Team programming

13. Podcast, book, or blog for learning? Documentation

14. Most-used keyboard shortcut? CMD + X