Spotlight: Michael Kovacsik

Q: Tell us about yourself!
A: My name is Michael Kovacsik. I can’t say that I am from anywhere in particular because I moved around a lot when I was a kid. My parents and I were known in our family to move every 3 or 4 years. I’ve lived in Northern and Southern California, Arizona, Colorado, Texas, Tennessee, Arkansas, Ireland and now in Washington State. It was difficult to constantly change schools while growing up, but it made me adapt to new environments and it gave me experiences of many different kinds of people and cultures. I can make friends wherever I go.

We are a happy-go-lucky type of family who are always looking to see something new and different. We are always up for a laugh. Even at each other’s expense, but truly in jest.

I’ve been with Kitestring for almost 3 years now as a Software Developer.

Q: What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
A: I love playing videogames, modding videogames, watching movies, exercising and travelling. I enjoy going out to a pub for some grub and a pint. I especially love doing this when travelling to different cities, states or countries. It’s such a great spot to people watch. I also enjoy going out for a drive in random directions while listening to my music, just to roam around. Whenever I get the chance, I enjoy going to “haunted” locations such as “haunted” hotels, abandoned hospitals, castles, etc. I find the spooky side of life to be fun. It goes without saying that Halloween is my favorite holiday. I still dress up for Halloween to hand out candy.

Q: What led you to this career? Were you influenced by anyone or anything?
A: I originally tried to get into the videogame industry, but that was more difficult than I thought it was going to be. I am intuitively knowledgeable about technology in general. I am definitely the family IT person. So, while I was working on skills in my spare time for Level Design and world building in engines like Unity and Unreal, I took some classes at a community college for IT. Specifically for Network Security. I even joined an Offensive Security Hackathon competition and ended up specializing in password cracking. I then stumbled upon an entry level job involving web development. That is when I first started taking coding more seriously and I fell in love with it. Ever since then, all I want to do is work with code.

Q: What are you most proud of accomplishing since joining Kitestring? (personal or professional or both)
A: As I am working for Walmart, I am proud of how much I raised the standard in our coding and documentation process for my team. I am now considered a “go to” developer who has a lot of weight in things that I say. I use this to try and continue raising the standard for best coding practices and especially documentation. My team lead and even developers from other teams reach out to me for suggestions and help with the flows for their features.

Q: What’s one thing – either industry-related or not – you learned in the last month?
A: How close we are to dramatically improve our energy storage in batteries in a mass production kind of way.  Batteries like the sodium-ion battery could replace lithium to significantly increase electric car range, reduce weight, and reduce the massive mining it takes to extract lithium. I find technology like this fascinating.

Q: What keeps you motivated?
A: The want and desire to constantly improve myself. Whether it’s physical/mental fitness or gaining more knowledge in general. I can always improve myself in some way. I don’t think it will ever end, so I can always have a goal of some kind going into old age.

Q: Where is your favorite destination to travel to, and why?
A: If I had a large budget, then it would be Ireland. It’s such a beautiful country with so much to see.  Everyone is kind and welcoming. Their humor lines up with mine so well. They are able to give jest while also receiving it with ease.

Q: What do you do to unwind after a busy day?
A: Laying on the couch, watching YouTube while eating some junk food is heavenly when I’ve had a super busy and stressful day. But then I’ll feel too lazy and want to go for at least a short walk. But then I’ll end my day back on the couch, watching YouTube while eating some junk food.

Q: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
A: Don’t take everything as absolutes. This applies to the good and bad in life. There is usually some sort of catch for something good and there is usually a silver lining for something bad. Seeing both sides to the good and bad can create a well-rounded viewpoint.

Q: What, if anything, are you currently binge-watching? Or reading?
A: I love horror movies and shows, so I started the Chucky series recently. There are 3 seasons of it, so I have a lot to see. I’m a bit late to this party, so I have some catching up to do!

Q: What do you like most about working at Kitestring?
A: Working at Kitestring is fantastic. Everyone is kind and thoughtful. I always feel like I can reach out to people whenever I need help or if I come across an issue. Even if I think it is a dumb question, they respond with courtesy and professionalism.

Q: Who inspires you and why?
A: Nikola Tesla. For one man to have such a fundamental and natural understanding of all things electrical and mechanical is amazing. Without his dedication to his work, especially through all of the people throwing doubt, dismay and hardships at him, we would be nowhere near where we are technologically today. We would be even more advanced if we took him more seriously at the time.

Q: What’s a fun fact about you that most people don’t know?
A: I am double jointed in my thumbs. When I was younger, I would freak out other kids by pretending to break my thumb backwards.