Short:
Facundo is the Solutions Engineering Team Manager at Storyblok. From Buenos Aires, Argentina, he has more than 15 years of experience in software and web development. He loves engaging with the dev community, speaking at events and conferences, and creating and sharing content. He is one of the organizers of React Buenos Aires, the biggest React community in Argentina. He also organizes DevSummit AR, a Dev community in Argentina. He has been selected as Prisma Ambassador, Auth0 Ambassador, and Cloudinary Media Developer Expert.
Medium:
Among the different things that Facundo enjoys, some of them are meeting and connecting with other people, web development, and talking a lot. After more than 15 years working as a developer, creating products and projects for different organizations and clients, he thought it would be great to combine those three interests in some way. In his search of ways to handle that, he discovered the world of Developer Relations. Nowadays, Facundo works as a Solutions Engineering Team Manager at Storyblok, and he spends his time engaging with the dev community, speaking at events and conferences, creating and sharing content, writing articles for different websites and platforms, leading workshops, and talking (of course). He is one of the organizers of React Buenos Aires, the biggest React community in Argentina. He also organizes DevSummit AR, a Dev community in Argentina. He has been selected Prisma Ambassador, Auth0 Ambassador, and Cloudinary Media Developer Expert.
Long:
Hello! I'm Facundo from Buenos Aires, Argentina.
At the age of 8, I got my first personal computer, a gift from my father: An old 386 PC. I started playing around with MS-DOS, Windows 3.11, and really old games. The first time I formatted my computer and re-installed all the apps, I felt like a hacker.
Later, in high school, I studied informatics and graduated as an informatics technician. That was my first approach to software development. I started learning how to code, using Visual Basic 6. I put this knowledge into practice when I got together with some friends to create games and apps. In our senior year, we developed an accounting system that was used by a small factory in our neighborhood. In the meantime, I spent my time doing other things that I still love doing: Listening to music, meeting new people, going to concerts, attending football matches, and discussing about movies and TV shows.
It was at that same time that I had my first experience with web development. I created very simple and ugly websites using tools like Microsoft FrontPage or Macromedia Flash. I created websites with articles, pictures, and even background music (ugh). In order to learn more and experiment with HTML and CSS, I created websites for everything: My group of friends, local rock bands, sports tournaments, etc.
I started studying at university when I was 18. That was when I got my first real job: Software Developer in a consulting company. I started working with Visual Basic 6 and MS-SQL Server. A couple of years later I learned C# and started using .NET Framework.
By that time, a friend and I created a tech forum. It was a cool place to discuss different topics, answer questions, or share updates related to technology in general. I met some cool people thanks to that community.
During my later years, I worked for several clients and companies: Agencies, software factories, exchange offices, electricity distributors, insurance companies, assistance companies, financial investments firms, etc. I learned a lot, I worked a lot and I improved a lot as a professional.
As side-projects, I contributed to a couple of tech blogs, writing and sharing news about applications, websites, and the internet in general.
As software and web development aren't everything to me, I also enjoyed doing other activities: I played the bass guitar, learned French, started a personal blog with short stories, etc. I also participated in different radio shows, on both AM and online radio stations.
In December 2011 I graduated from the National Technological University of Argentina (Universidad Tecnológica Nacional) as a Systems Engineer. I haven't stopped there and I continue challenging myself and learning every day.
After going through several jobs and experiences as a developer, for more than 12 years, I started to feel that I wanted to mix my development experience with some of the other things that I also love doing: Meeting and engaging with other people, writing, creating things, and talking (a lot). In this search for ways to handle this idea, I discovered the world of Developer Relations. I met some great DevRel engineers, developer advocates, and other community members that helped me to learn about this "area" of the technology organizations, and the different tasks that a DevRel position involves. And all the dots started to connect.
I am now a remote Solutions Engineering Team Manager at Storyblok. This job position makes me enjoy my everyday work, learn a lot of new things, and face new challenges. All of this helps me grow as a professional and as a person.
I am also one of the organizers of React Buenos Aires Meetup, the biggest React community in Argentina. We organize monthly events in different spots of Buenos Aires, where we enjoy sharing interesting talks from the community and networking with people from different backgrounds.
I also organize DevSummit AR, a Dev community from Argentina where people interested in different tech topics can engange and share knowledge and experiences in different in-person and online initiatives.
I'm an optimistic, enthusiastic, and hard-working person waiting to see what the future holds for my career.