My name is Moustafa Aly — this is why I joined Aha!

Energy is reflective. If a few teammates are unhappy, negative sentiments can spread across the broader group. But this is also true for positive energy. When you show your enthusiasm, people will show it back to you — the good vibes grow. This phenomenon has always intrigued me. And it has been unexpectedly helpful in guiding my career.

It is motivating to pursue your passions. This feeling is amplified when you can work with others who are driven to do the same.

I first developed an interest in engineering at university. It started with my "Introduction to programming in C" class — I remember how happy I was to complete my first "Hello, World!" assignment. But it was my professor who made it really enjoyable. He had a wide range of knowledge and gusto for the material in every lecture he delivered. As I continued with school, this left a lasting impression on me.

After earning my degree, I got a job in front-end web development for a consulting company. It was a client-facing role where I got to work on projects like building out new webpages and optimizing online checkout for a couple of businesses. It was a great first experience to dive into. But over time, I wanted to branch out to other areas and become a full-stack developer.

I decided to join a startup where I could gain back-end experience working on a customer relationship management tool. The change of pace was invigorating. This is also when I was introduced to Rails. I found it easy to learn and satisfying to use — so much so that I knew I wanted to keep working with it moving forward.

My interest in Rails is how I found the job openings on the Aha! engineering team. Once I began the interview process, Aha! became the obvious choice. I was encouraged by what I learned about the company's culture — it is focused on helping people grow, share knowledge freely, and achieve together.

I wanted to be part of a team that shares a strong sense of enthusiasm for what we are building.

Since joining Aha! as part of the platform team, I have been able to work on a number of exciting projects. In a sense, the whole engineering team is our client — we are always thinking of new ways to improve our application's performance and make processes more seamless for everyone. For example, I worked on transitioning our background processing to a more efficient framework (a big effort led by Maeve). I also helped overhaul the way our engineers set up their environments, reducing a lengthy manual workflow down to a single command.

The massive scale of our back end means there is always another component to work on. I often flex between multiple projects in a single day. Some are major upgrades and others are simple quality of life improvements. But I learn something new with each project. It is difficult not to when working alongside such a high-achieving team.

The days are never boring at Aha! — you always have exciting work to do and are surrounded by smart, energetic people.

Interviews can be telling as to what a team is really like. And the energy I picked up on during the Aha! hiring process is palpable every day. Everyone has been friendly and eager to help since I first started — two years in, this still rings true. And it is genuine.

That is why I joined Aha! — and why you should too.