Wise Words From Our Principal Engineer

The life of Konstantin Ramenskii, Realize's Principal Engineer, may look routine to an outside observer. He wakes up at 5:00AM and sits down at his computer, taking breaks to go to his fridge or work on his garden. Konstantin's days, however, are anything but monotonous. He is the architect behind the Realize application, writing the code that is the core of the design experience.  

When you decide to place a rug under your living room furniture or change your wall color, you can credit Konstantin. As exciting new features are added to the app, like the ability to share rooms or see different designs in the same space, Konstantin ensures the existing structures remain strong. Konstantin senses if an aspect of the balance is out of order and "needs extra love.”

Love is definitely the right word. It is clear that Konstantin has a deep appreciation for programming. He has designed games for as long as he can remember. While working as a lawyer in Saint-Petersburg, Russia, Konstantin spent his evenings designing and programming. He even gravitated toward contract law because he could think through a contract like an algorithm. 

"If you want to do something, you have to love it” is one of Konstantin’s many mantras. And once he tasted startup life, developing CatAndCat, Konstantin was hooked. He thrives in intellectually stimulating environments where drive and limited resources push innovation.

When Konstantin met Founders, Mike, Wes, and Rik, he knew instantly that he had to join the Realize team. He finds pleasure in untangling complex engineering problems, of which we will never have a shortage.  

Even though we would all agree Konstantin is one of the smartest people we've ever met, he admits that he is constantly amazed by how little he knows and how much there is to discover. As he tackles new kinds of problems each week, Konstantin finds himself uncovering fields of knowledge he didn't know existed. Instead of feeling overwhelmed, he gets a thrill out of these "wondrous discoveries.”  

Konstantin’s favorite kind of problem is dealing with something beyond his control that can’t be reproduced on developer devices. While many would shy away from these kinds of challenges, he loves finding creative solutions and sharing them with others who may be running into similar environmental complications. He finds that the process of solving these problems opens doors for him to look deeply at complex systems and understand how they are organized. 

Konstantin applies this thoughtful and curiosity-driven approach to everything he does. In our weekly podcast chats, he is able to take tactical knowledge and analyze it with philosophical musings. On the flip side, he digests the abstract and turns it into something tangible. Even when it comes to thinking through what motivates him, Konstantin breaks down what motivation truly means. He is the kind of team member who pushes those around him to think critically and broaden their perspectives. 

Konstantin says that he believes in two pieces of advice: 1) Never give up, and 2) Always give something a little extra time. According to Konstantin, never giving up means understanding that the possibility is out there. And just because a problem has a possible solution doesn't mean it needs to be solved today. Often these elaborate problems require taking a step back, even if only for a moment, to re-approach from a different perspective and find a solution you wouldn't have found in the moment. 

If you're interested in working with brilliant and thoughtful engineers like Konstantin, check out the positions available at Realize.

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