Eugene, it's great to see you again. Where have you been hiding all these years?

Yes, it's been a while and there's a lot to catch up on! A few years ago I decided to take some time out and started doing freelance work while improving my drumming skills.

Not pictured: something really funny to Eugene's left

Fantastic! So how did you hook up with ALM Works?

My band mate at that time, Igor Baltiyskiy, was already at ALM Works - he got me involved in some projects. After a while a few things came together and I ended up going full-time with ALM Works, living in Barcelona, and studying there in a music school.

That would be a long commute to the office… So what do you do here – I know you are the Knowledge Keeper, what exactly does that entail?

My work here started with technical writing along with support and licensing tasks. After a while some sales and marketing activities were added to my remit. It was a little bit of everything so it was hard to find a precise job title.

And you do all of this remotely, from Barcelona? Does that pose any particular challenges?

Yes - I do everything from there. In our case I'd say there are no special challenges. The only difficulty is that outside there is always the perfect weather and you have the sea and the mountains right beside you. And I sure do miss the free cookies in the office.

Mmm… cookies. Is that all you miss? Do you ever get bored working alone?

I have to confess, I do. I love being around people, so it's a bit hard for me sometimes. On the other hand it gives me more flexibility and I can plan my day better.

So what keeps you dedicated to ALM Works when you're so far away and have no free cookies?

There are several reasons. It's a real pleasure to work in a small company where everything is transparent and everything you do makes sense. It's the most satisfying job I've had in the whole of my 10+ year career in software. I'm more than happy to give up cookies for that.

The best cookies in life are free

Given that ALM Works is a small company, do you feel more of a personal involvement in the products you contribute to here, and do you have a favorite among them?

Sure. I also communicate with the customers a lot, so I can feel all the pleasure (and sometimes the pain) they experience using our products. As for the favorites, my vote goes to Structure - the plugin that helps you use JIRA for Project Management, Requirements Management, QA and Help Desk.

I heard rumors of a secret project going on here at ALM Works, what can you tell me about it?

Nothing, I'm afraid. It's still strictly under wraps...

Good call. I better let you get back to work now. Thanks for taking the time out to be interviewed, and it's great to be working with you again! Is there anything you'd like to say to our readers while you're on air?

Hi mom! And a big hello to the Atlassian community and our users - thanks for being with us and helping us to make awesome software!

You can connect with Eugene on LinkedIn