Meet the Orbit Engineering Team: Malki Davis

Welcome to the Meet the Orbit Engineering Team blog series! We're diving into learning about the awesome engineers at Orbit and what it's like to be a part of the team. Enjoy!

Today, we're chatting with Malki Davis, a software engineer on the team based in Jerusalem, Israel.

Let’s start with two truths and a lie about yourself.

1. I've been to all 50 US states.

2. I’ve been skydiving.

3. I majored in psychology.

Which statement was the lie above? Any interesting stories to share?

I haven't been skydiving. I considered it after loving the Dare Devil Dive at Six Flags (too many times to count), but by now, I think I am over that dream 😂 

My family loved traveling, so we had a motorhome and would travel for a few months in the summer. We made it to Alaska on a cruise (after driving from NY to Vancouver) and Hawaii by airplane.

Did the psychology degree to make my mother happy :)

‍Tell us about your path into tech and how you ended up at Orbit.

I worked my way into a systems administrator role at a US law firm in Jerusalem by playing with all things tech. I wanted to move to the next level while working from home to be more available for my family, so I headed into programming. 

To make the road to becoming a full-stack dev short, I took the Flatiron Bootcamp, worked at some fun startups, learned a ton about businesses, customers, coding, and breaking things. A fellow Flatiron alum introduced me to Orbit, the startup 'out of this world,' and I was excited to come and join the best crew from around the world 🧑🚀.

What does a typical day at work look like for you?

I always keep a TODO list, an ever-growing list sometimes. I also keep a note of the last place I left off, so when I come back to the computer (even if it's only an hour later), I will remember what I was working on.  

I like to start my day with a few hours of quiet work before Slack gets busier and meetings occur.

What’s a feature or project you’re most proud of that you worked on in the past three months?

Strengthening some of our supported integrations. Integrations can be quite hard to set up, and I feel it is very important to Orbit users to have a pleasant beginning in their Orbit workspaces.

What’s your favorite thing about working at Orbit?

Hands down, the engineering team. Everyone has each other's backs, always encouraging, giving compliments and constructive feedback, and looking to learn from one another. The vibe and interaction between colleagues is full of great energy.

Describe the type of person that would thrive as a member of Orbit’s engineering team.

A developer who is willing to challenge themselves and work hard but also appreciates a work-life balance, does well on a team and knows how to give credit where credit is due.

What is your current favorite gem, library, tool, or anything else that helps you with your work? Why?

Flycut! It gives you the ability to have a history for copy and pasting. I learned it from Avi, the co-founder at Flatiron, and since then, I cannot live without it.

Lastly, where can people find or connect with you online?

Find me on LinkedIn!

The latest buzz about Malki

We asked other Orbit engineers what it's like to work with Malki, and here are some of their responses:

"Malki is so helpful to me and has always demonstrated that "don't stop until we solve the problem" spirit when we work together. Her attention to and empathy for user needs is also really inspiring!"
– Alex Morton, Software Engineer

"Malki is always excited to jump into a pairing session to troubleshoot issues with me, even if it is just to "rubber duck" our assumptions about a bug or feature. As part of the integration team, we've had to do a lot of that and it makes our product and customer experience all the stronger for it."
– Colin Loretz, Software Engineer

"Malki asks a lot of questions, and they’re the kind of questions that you’ll like answering! She isn’t afraid to ask about something that isn’t clear for her: code, documentation, discussion, etc. In a remote team, that’s the best skill to have! That allows her to level up quickly as an engineer and contributes in improving documentation for everyone."
– Ulrich Sossou, Engineering Manager

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Like what you're reading and curious about joining the Orbit engineering team?