CultureINSIDEPopular this month

INSIDE: Deep dive into our Software Development team

About the INSIDE series
This series takes a deep dive inside our teams to take a look at how we work and discover our culture behind the scenes.
At CLEIO, we bring together a wide range of skills and expertise in one place to offer full strategy, design, engineering, and quality assurance support. With our collaborative approach, we harness our collective knowledge to foster innovation and develop medical devices that will make a positive difference in the world of tomorrow.

After digging into the world of our mechanical engineering team, let’s take a sneak peek behind the scenes of our software development team, led by François Gélinas.

François Gélinas has a strong passion for IT, which fueled his decision to pursue software development studies at school. After graduating, he spent a decade working as a developer at an SMB. Throughout his career, he transitioned into project and team management before finding his way to CLEIO, where he is now the software development team leader. What pushed him to join the company was “the medical industry and CLEIO’s vision to make a positive impact on people,” he remembers.

Three years ago, François Gélinas became part of the team while it was undergoing a significant transformation triggered by a rapid increase in hiring. Fast forward to this day the team has more than twelve members, and fresh talents are continuously recruited.

Philipe, Joël and François

A team that does so much more than just writing lines of code

Designing a system from start to finish

For François, the members of his team are not just developers. They do much more than write the code requested by the client. They are full-fledged software engineers. “They help manage and mitigate risks, ensure the right technologies are used, and engage in research and development exercises,” he says. Software developers are involved from the early beginnings of a project and participate in all brainstorming stages.

Their role is to design a system by being present throughout its development and collaborating continuously with the other disciplines at CLEIO. “For example, if we need to write the code for an app that will allow a device to connect via Bluetooth, we will collaborate with the embedded software developers, but also with the user experience and user interface (UX and UI) teams,” explains François. The quality assurance team and project managers are also involved in regular follow-ups.

DragonVision

Surpassing yourself with a wide variety of projects

Projects are abundant at CLEIO. They are all different and require a lot of expertise and rigor in their execution. Currently, the software development team has seven major projects underway. “All of our projects are good challenges,” François acknowledges, “they are extremely varied.” They can be multi-disciplinary, deadline-driven, or require in-depth knowledge of various topics such as cybersecurity.

Katia has been a software developer at the company for four years, and this is what keeps her motivation at the top:
“I really enjoy the variety in the technologies themselves. It’s the diversity that brings the challenge. You constantly face new ones.”

— Katia

Throughout the years, she has realized that she has made lots of progress and can increasingly take on a leading role in certain projects.

And to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to work on a project that resonates with them, François gives his team members the freedom to choose the one they wish to be assigned to. “I believe that’s the best approach. The more motivated you are, the more efficient you become, so it’s a win-win situation. Currently, I’ve just embarked on a project focused on women’s health, and I’m truly excited,” Katia confides with enthusiasm.

Staying united while working remotely

Encouraging teamwork

As a team leader, one of François’ primary roles is ensuring everyone feels comfortable with the projects they work on. To achieve this, he emphasizes communication, mutual assistance, and collaboration among his team members, who can work remotely or in a hybrid mode.

Usually, several software developers collaborate on the same project and regularly conduct code reviews. “Every feature needs to be reviewed by someone else. In my opinion, this is crucial,” explains Joël, who has been on the team for a year and a half. “It helps improve the overall project, code quality and provides a fresh new perspective.” Katia shares the same point of view: “Working as a team enables us to enhance our skills and see other ways of doing things.

Above all, there is a genuine sense of mutual support. Joël noticed this from the start, which makes a big difference for him:

“People are naturally inclined to help one another. They share information and even create instructional documents to assist each other during the development process.”

— Joël

Focusing on the good ones

To foster a positive mindset within his team, François has established a weekly meeting every Friday. It lasts one hour and is a dedicated time to discuss core matters without focusing on ongoing projects.

Each week, everyone congratulates another team member for one of his achievements. This is a way to emphasize the positive and enhance the overall atmosphere. “It can be related to a successful interaction with a customer, a task completed, help provided, or a positive word about someone’s work. Giving and receiving positive feedback is equally rewarding and motivating,” explains Joël. Everyone is free to share their expertise in a particular technology or discuss a noteworthy discovery. It’s an excellent method to continue learning and stay updated with trends.

This meeting was established almost two years ago, and Katia quickly noticed the impact: “It’s an hour where we can really talk to each other. It brings a lot of positivity, and it’s a great way to be united as a team.

Sharing good times together

Apart from team meetings, François relies on activities outside the office to strengthen the bond within his team, and there are numerous opportunities to do so: group hikes, happy hours, lunch outings to restaurants, rock climbing, and more. “A few weeks ago, we all went curling as a team. Honestly, it was better than I could have imagined,” shares Katia.

These gatherings facilitate the integration of newcomers. “There is a friendly atmosphere at CLEIO. Everyone is open to conversations and actively participates in the activities,” says Joël.

What’s next?

François has a multitude of goals for the coming months and years. With the growing number of medical projects at CLEIO, he aims to expand his team’s expertise in cybersecurity, technical documentation, and verification testing.
When it comes to recruitment, François is particularly drawn to profiles of developers who exhibit curiosity, a passion for new technologies, and, ideally, experience in the Medtech industry. Above all, candidates must align with the company’s values. According to him, this is crucial to ensuring strong team cohesion.

Katia actively participates in recruitment interviews, and in addition to emphasizing the significance of values, she also expresses a desire to see more women in the field, stating, “I believe we definitely have a place here.” Just before the publication of this article, Diksha joined the software development team, making them now two! Girl power! 🤘

Under the spotlights

François

Katia

Joël

Looking for a life-changing job experience?

If you aspire to join a team with a promising future and are eager to embrace new challenges at CLEIO, now is the perfect time to submit your application!

Author & collaborators

Written by
Caroline

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