Welcome to the latest post in our “Employee Q&A” series, where we interview an employee to reflect on their career and experience at 3D Cloud™ by Marxent. Part of our success is mainly due to our people. So, we’re excited to feature a hardworking team member to learn about their journey at 3D Cloud.
This week, we spotlight Shawn Kilian, Software QA Analyst at 3D Cloud. Let’s read on to learn more!
Shawn, how did you find out about 3D Cloud?
Well, I’ve been here for a year and a half now. I remember hearing from my brother, Vince Kilian (Executive Director), that he was going to work for a startup at the time. As the years went by, I watched Marxent start progressing and taking off, and here we are now, a decade later.
What is your role in the company?
I am a CMS Quality Assurance Analyst. Right now, there are two of us, but there’s always work for more of us, especially since we are expanding so quickly.
Where did you go to college?
I went to Penn State University for Art. I have a lot of experience in app development and game development from previous jobs. I did 3D modeling professionally for the government for 4 years right out of school. I’ve done flash animation, video editing, and VR, so I’ve been on many projects as a dev or designer.
What does your current role consist of?
I identify bugs in code that will prevent the user from using the application. We always joke with the devs about trying to break the software. I will break whatever you just made because nine times out of 10, I can find something that feels weird.
What is your favorite part of the role?
Oftentimes, you get presented with a problem that can take you down a rabbit hole. It can be the most frustrating rabbit hole, but it not only fixes the problem, but you also learn so much. Even if you’re not the one that figures it out. So, I’m always learning because theirs a million different systems; they all talk to each other, but some don’t, and over time, you develop what they call tribal knowledge. We’re all supercritical. To even lose one person on the team is a devastating blow.
Everyone has their least favorite parts; what are yours?
My least favorite part is not being able to produce something that I saw with my own eyes. Even if I see it more than once or bring a dev on a call and I still can’t prove it. I’ll think about it throughout the day.
What is your direct team like?
Well, we just flew to Ohio for a few team meetings and got to go to Scene 75 and do bowling and golf. I was excited about getting to see faces and joke about things that aren’t work-related; I think that was super helpful. Within the team itself, we love playing video games. That’s kind of a common thing about software people, right? We all seem to have a supercomputer build, and we like to show pictures of our specs. Some of them even make their own keyboards. I’m not that cool. I do a lot of long-distance running. It takes a lot of Grit, one of the Marxent company values, to run 45.6 miles in 12 hours. If I can do that, I can get through a huge project or whatever test we’re doing.
Leading into that, what has been your biggest accomplishment so far at 3D Cloud?
Definitely asset versioning. That was a very, very big deal. I had just started and was on a new team. I was just learning Postman. It was a lot of pressure. They wanted me to check and ensure all our assets were loaded correctly. This is a very powerful tool and, if not QAed properly, could be very dangerous and break a lot of stuff. So, I QAed it. I did it solo as a QA person from the back-end perspective. I sometimes still think about it, so if there’s a bug, I’m sorry! Overall, when I think of my success here, I think of asset versioning.
How often do you talk to the other QAs?
Everyday. We have a meeting every day at the end of the day for a touch base. Having the ability to call on the front-end QA to test the stuff that we don’t know well is extremely powerful.
If someone wanted to work on your team, what is the one thing they should know about?
The one program you should know before joining the CMS QA team is Postman. I didn’t know about it prior to joining. I never opened the program and never used it, and the very first day, they assigned it to me. You need to be able to adapt and learn the program. They even gave me time to take the classes for 2 full days of work! So, Postman….you must know Postman because that’s the back-end.
Is that something that previous QAs in past roles would know about or specific to Marxent?
It’s very specific to back-end testing. There are so many tests where the only option is Postman. If you don’t know how to use that, it can be very challenging.
What is the most unique part about working at 3D Cloud?
I would just say the fact that when I wake up in the morning, I’m not going to the same office doing the same thing, pushing the same buttons, and clocking out at the same time. It’s not the same every day. It’s like, “here’s a new tool we’re making, and if that tool is done, here’s another tool we’re making.”There are always new tools! Every day is different.
What did you notice about our culture while working here?
I like the side channels we use to stay connected the most. We’re always sharing music, photos, and 3D models. Recently we showed off our Halloween costumes and family gatherings, so I see where we try to stay connected in a remote environment. Another thing I would like to add is how you can be honest about anything here. I like that I’m not ashamed of being myself. I mean, look at Stephanie from the Marketing team, who loves Taylor Swift. Everybody at the company knows about it. It’s just part of her fun personality. Not a single person has told her to be quiet about it. That’s an example of Marxent being accepting of who you are.
Thank you, Shawn, for taking the time to speak with us. You show incredible passion for your work. Thank you for all your contributions to the company’s success.
If you are interested in working in QA at 3D Cloud™ by Marxent, please visit our job listings.
