Lorenzo Sciandra
Senior Software Engineer @ Microsoft
London, United Kingdom
Lorenzo is a Senior Software Engineer at Microsoft — a few years ago he decided to use React Native for a project. He hasn’t stopped since: he became an Open Source maintainer for the core project, helping the Facebook team. He also cares a lot about mental health, so he decided to help his local OSS community with a dedicated meetup, ProvidedAsIs (currently paused indefinitely 'cause Covid).
Area of Expertise
Topics
Finding a balance
If there is one thing I have always struggled with, is finding a balance between being a full time software engineer and being an open source contributor & maintainer... and a human being.
In this new 'status quo' where most of us are going fully remote, this balance may be even harder to reach; what'd I'd like to share with you are a few macro concepts and a couple micro actionable(s) that helped me in the last couple years.
All hands on deck: the RN Community experience
A useful metaphor for the React Native project is that of a huge ship. Operating such a vessel is a massive effort, that requires many people running back and forth the deck hoisting the sails and lowering the anchor - but also rowers, cooks, and skippers just to mention a few. During my two years on this journey, as a developer not working for FB, I've experienced and participated in the evolution of the project from a unique vantage point.
I could tell tales for days of the many seas we've been through, the high waves and the storms we've weathered - but one constant has been the help provided from other sailors like me, part of the community. The collaboration with the RN team allowed for increasingly more complex roles and projects to ship - and we are all but done.
So I want to raise a glass to these companions, and through my narration showcase what the community accomplished - and the new horizons we are steering towards.