At first glance, he’s friendly, open, and always with a smile, but what strikes you after a few moments is his ability to juggle words, use an elevated form of expression that feels warm, and surprise you with quotations and cultivated references. A conversation with him could go on endlessly, and you’d enjoy it!
The first thing he mentioned at the start of this Tech Story was that “I’ve only had two kinds of interviews before; I’m not used to them. I would either be the interviewer or interviewee if the officer would ask for a report.”, and he smiled with genuine shyness.
But we’ll get to that story in a second, first questions first.
Are you reading something at the moment?
I’m currently into Anthony Doer’s Cloud Cuckoo Land. It has three narratives rolled into one: one’s taking place in Constantinople, one’s nowadays, and the third is on a spaceship in the future. All of which draw from Iliad’s story.
Did anything in your life recently surprise you?
I don't want it to sound cliché, but everything surprises me since I've joined RebelDot. There's a focus on people feeling good at work, enjoying it, and forming a community, all things new to me, shocking to say the least. From an institutional point of view, in the area that I come from, the main interest is in the well-being of the said institution. Therefore, it comes first. It is not so relevant how the person feels, although the quality of life is studied. Here, at RebelDot, people are consulted, and the emphasis is on our feedback; decisions made in the company exist so that they bring more comfort to our lives. I didn't know or even think that companies like this existed. My experience was very different.
Tell me the story of your background, how it all started
I come from a modest family. I entered high school in 2005, and at the time, in Romania, people considered military high school very good. Getting in was a real strength challenge, mentally and physically, and everything about it impressed me, which made me want it even more. I took the tests, passed, and got in.
It was all kinds of things, sometimes fantastic, but mostly hard; you learned a lot, and there was a strictness that everybody appreciated. Every action was very well organized. During high school, the schedule was strict; we were up at 6 a.m. and would usually finish with classes, homework, and studying at around 8:30 p.m. We did not have access to technology, remember I'm talking about the period between 2005-2009, so social media was out of the question. All-access to information was through our library passes. After four years of high school with an intense Mathematics and Informatics program, what made the most sense was to join the Military Academy.
In that library, I discovered that I enjoy reading, so much so that I joined both the Air Force Academy and the Faculty of Letters. After graduation, I enrolled in the Romanian Armed Forces, which is indeed a particular dish. I was away all the time, mostly in training camps and activities as such. I started learning foreign languages, English and German, because I needed more intellectual activities than physical ones, and I continued to learn everything else I wanted.
One day, a friend with over ten years of experience in QA told me more about his line of work, and I decided to follow a learning course myself. I did so in Cluj-Napoca in a local school. The professors there were very dedicated and reasonable. It made me more curious and eager to assimilate more and more information, so I needed some hands-on experience. At the time, I had no CV. My experience in the Army, no matter how many specialized courses I followed, wasn't relevant in civilian institutions. But I wanted to learn, create something of my own, and produce something relevant to the world outside the institution.
In 2021, I entered LinkedIn for the first time. I researched other people and described myself as 'the QA enthusiast.'
RebelDot was a shocking first contact with a company outside the institutionalized world. I started as an intern. There were about 300 candidates; 10% completed the technical test, then an HR interview and a technical interview. To my surprise, I passed the selection. But guess what? I had already resigned from the Army and had not received an answer from the Rebels. I was lucky. But somehow, I thought I would get where I needed to be, or at least, I had this faith that I would get where I wanted. The internship was very cool, with actual processes, a real app, real people, and applied theory compared to school days.
What motivated you to leave the Army?
The Tartar Steppe by Dino Buzzati. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone inside the institution or considering joining it. It’s about a fortress where only the best military men must protect it. They spend their whole lives sitting there and waiting for the nameless enemy to come. This man reaches 50 years old and yet feels much older than that, physically, mentally, and I’d say morally, too. Therefore, he’s still young but already on his deathbed. The other soldiers were praising him like a hero, but he felt like he’d waited his whole life for something that never came and wasted his entire life for something that, in the end, felt so little.
It was a short, quick book, but it helped me realize that I was wasting my life, so I decided to go live. I am not saying that this story made me change the course of my life, but I am saying that stories are the only things that matter in our lives. Their impact is most valuable.
Tell me about this past year since your life took a new course and you’re a full-time Rebel
Alex Laslau, one of our People & Culture specialists, called me to give me the good news that I joined the team officially. Since then, he’s been my best friend. One can get emotionally attached to the person who gives them the news that changes the course of life.
How’s work as a QA engineer now?
At the moment, I'm working a lot with blockchain. Blockchain is a unique technology that is a whole universe that connects applications, various environments, and people. What I understand now from the project I'm working on is that it's swift, easy to check and control, very secure, and an environment where the rules change from one iteration to another. It's incredible, it's ever-changing. My experience on the project I'm working on now gives me the chance to do something that is pioneer work in Romania. Me and the team have much to learn from every such experience.
What is the most complex challenge you’ve overcome in these two distinct domains?
In the army, working with people is the most complex and demanding thing. Not in the sense that it would be difficult and tiring, but the fact that I was an officer, meaning that all my decisions impacted people directly. I started with five people in my team; then I reached forty. It is essential not to lose your temper in front of people; it is not allowed or frowned upon for you to show the emotions you experience. I was cautious about speaking exclusively with military jargon, careful about my walk and every step I took, how I posed any problem, and how I spoke. It is challenging to be someone's leader, and I say this after five years as a platoon commander; there is a lot of pressure, there is no beginning and end to the day, people become overworked, they will have grievances and many more. But it isn't easy in this type of environment. It was an exchange, an understanding of possibilities, limits, and requirements. I wanted to do the job well, not with indifference, and to build relationships.
In QA, I desire to bring value to my team. What I do impacts the work of others. I want problems not to reach the users but to ensure quality in QA and that the impact is real. I get involved in the process; I try to learn the business, the app's purpose, what it must do, where it wants to go, and how the person should feel when using it. Applications occupy many hours of our lives and must be of higher quality. For a QA, the challenge is to validate the development and bring value to your team through feedback, suggestions, and methodologies that could improve the flows. A sound QA engineer has the soft skills and a way of communicating everything that's not going well.
What is your favorite part about what you get to do now?
The sense of belonging. What I do is vital to everyone. I feel relevant, like I matter. I work in mixed teams and with the client’s team; I am very grateful for the trust and growth I get in the Rebel team. People here are interested in my development. It’s inconceivable that another person than myself is concerned about my growth journey.
If you enter a grinding spin, no matter how good you are, you lack a sense of belonging, feel a plateau, and start looking for other challenges. If you are concerned about your growth and that of others, everything develops nicely together. Another fantastic thing is that I have a QA Lead, Mihaela Marica, and she’s terrific. She focuses on company values and culture, and we always discuss my growth journey, but I don’t feel like checking boxes. I don’t feel the pressure, but the guidance comes naturally.
What would you pursue and why if you were allowed to work on any project or research endeavor without constraints or limitations?
Wow, no constraints! At the risk of sounding cliché. In Blindness by Elias Canetti, a guy is in a tower his whole life, simply enjoying and reading and enjoying reading. I want to be able to assimilate as much as possible and to study. Without a test or a report, just out of pure pleasure. My biggest fear is that no one will ask me what books I would choose on a deserted island, says Teo kiddingly.
As the conversation with Teo unfolded, his passion for technology and innovation became increasingly evident. His eyes would light up when discussing the latest advancements in artificial intelligence, and he spoke with an infectious enthusiasm that made complex concepts accessible to even the most tech-averse of people. It was clear that Teo's technological journey had been anything but ordinary, and everything that led him to our Rebel team had a purpose.
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