int main(void)
{
To whom it may concern
{
const char *Name = "Stefanos Christodoulidis";
u8 Age = 27;
Brief Finance
{
I'm currently 27 years of age.
I hold a position in the company TSYS as a C/C++ developer
I'm looking to expand my horizons and get a new job that is more in line with
the skills i want to pursue as a software engineer
My vision of an ideal job would push my understanding of dogma free performance oriented code.
A program either runs faster or slower, user time is either wasted waiting on loading screens or it is not.
}
Brief Graphics
{
I'm currently 27 years of age.
I hold a position in the company TSYS as a C/C++ developer
I'm looking to expand my horizons and get a new job that is more in line with
the skills i want to pursue as a software engineer
at heart I'm an artist but I approach art from a technical standpoint
my ultimate goal is to become a great graphics programmer
but other interests include being close to hardware and working with its limitations
and math
}
Years of experience 6
{
timeframe & tech used(sorted by time spent on it)
{
2019 - 2021
( for art )
{
C++ generative art framework ( openFrameworks )
//TODO:place gif
Java generative art framework ( processing )
javascript generative art frameworks/tech ( p5.js, html canvas )
}
2022 - 2025
( algo trading on my own and writting software as a freelancer (but mainly for trader friends )
{
C/C++ ( data processing/signal generation/execution )
Golang ( networking )
Python ( prototyping )
}
2025 - now
( TSYS desk job )
{
C++
Pro*C (oracles preprocessor that lets you write inline sql in your c)
C
Oracle SQL
Docker
Groovy
Visual Basic
}
}
}
Where I was:
{
Would build trading software for myself in C/C++:
{
Projects worked on
{
ordeflow analysis
{
i would have websockets listening to derebit option flow, bitmex futures, bybit futures and nance futures
from derebit option flow i would build a gex profile
from bitmex futures and bybit and nace i would basically have something similar to exochart for myself
but i would also tag execution with it
}
candlestick multitimeframe frequency analysis
{
inspired greatly by the works of John F Ehlers
i bought his book cycle analytics for traders and basically implemented all the indicators described
in that book from easy language and mt4 to C
and had a program that would use Coinbase spot orderflow to build candlesticks and calculate the indicators on it
}
trading terminal for bybit and binance
{
i made a simple terminal interface cli that i would run commands into and it would handle execution for me
i also had it enter based on indicators
}
}
}
}
Where I'm at:
{
Current Coding Pursuits outside of work:
{
* Photography Site builder and webserver is running this site
* Websocket Client in C (im tired of forking into a binary i built in golang and i find it fun to implement specs)
* Learning X11
* Learning OpenGL
}
Current Position : C/C++ Software Engineer @ TSYS
{
what initially allured me to the position
{
workin with encyrption and encryption math(yet this didn't end up being the ccase as to my time allocation)
}
what i actually do
{
* maintenance and feature addtion in 2 legacy C/C++ codebases that are at this point over 30 years old:
( 2million lines )
focus: ( messege processing between credit card message formats and business logic on cc tx )
code: ( c and c++ and Pro*C )
build system: ( recurive muliple nested makefiles )
( 300k lines )
focus: ( encryption )
code: ( mostly c and Pro*C )
build system: ( simple makefile system & Visual Studio Windows build)
* maintenance of my teams preproduction testing kubernetes environment:
( rest api containers )
( c / c++ application hosting containers )
( load balancers )
* specific examples:
> Legacy MSVC Build Revamped
> Implmenation of hardware security module functionality outlned by the boxe's spec (can't talk about it)
> Unravelled Complexity of a Devops Pipeline
> Created a driver for testing that found more bugs than the qa department
(menition how because of the slow moving nature of the company this was not pushed finally because everyone was too lazy to review it)
}
}
}
Where I want to be for in my next position:
{
I want a job that makes me a better coder rather than a worse one
I'm looking to work in a team or in an environment that hasn't given up that doesn't settle for mediocraty
and wants their code as well as their product they give to customers to be absolutely excellent rather than just good enough.
The more the job keeps me has friction graphics programming / performance / math the better.
I'm not looking to enter a company that has alot of managerial politics that seep into the codebase.
}
Difficulties faced in current job
{
Adapting to a slower environment
{
i've lead a life where i've had to be 100% or nothing
with my band we would tour so everyday you show up 100% or you might miss the next show
in that if you forget something at the venue
or slow others down
or forget to handle some logistical thing
your entire day is devoted to making the show playing it and then making the next show
having a brain that got formulated in such environments has made it difficult for me to operate in
slower environments that are more of a marathon than a 3-6 month sprint
things i've learnt
{
sometimes showing up is better than not showing up at all because you're not at 100%
}
}
i have trouble pretending to do work because when waiting on blockers
}
Things learnt from current job about myself
{
I attach my personal value to my code and
coming from an art background your art is you
and sometimes when im not 100% proud of a change i've made i take it very badly
or when the code is ugly but +
}
What my current job taught me
{
reading alot of code
{
historically i didn't need to read alot of code because all the code i would work on was mine and i knew how it worked
a couple weeks into my current job i came to find out that i'd never be spending 10 hours a day coding anymore
but rather most my time would be spent going through alot of old legacy code
reading it, understanding it, and then making 10 line changes based on my understanding
this was quite the bummer at first and i'd like to get to a job where i actually write code
implement things from nothing etc
but it gave me alot of confidence in entering an unkown codebase and getting
intuition and feel for how it was written, understanding cryptic conventions the devs established
and writting code as a part of it
}
things about myself
{
i take my code personally
{
given my art background im unhappy in life when my coding is suffering or when i feel like i cant
excersize good practices in code or good architecture, it hurts when i have to patch in fast
but im trying to get better at being able to do it given the circcumstance calls for it
}
i struggle with showing up at 80%
{
i have high expectations of myself and in my current job
most people show up at 50% or even lower, its an old company thats a mamoth at this point
things get down slowly
i found that it was a struggle for me to operate in such an environment and i had to learn alot of patience
and its also a battle to keep your interest high for coding and not let the environment drag you down with it
but what i learnt is that sometimes things are a marathon and it's ok to not be at 100%, sometimes showing up is the most important thing
}
i struggle asking for help and i shouldnt
{
}
}
compared to my peers i have a patience for understanding multiple levels of nested complexity in a legacy codebase
{
}
im able to learn given the time and resources even when the tech stack isn't of perticular interest to me
{
prior to entering the job i had zero experience with oracles sql, docker containers kubernetes environments and jenkins deployment pipeleines
and with
// place picture of lucid chart
}
}
Things im not comfortable with
{
knowing when half assing is ok when something needs to get pushed quickly
im the kind of person that prefers to get a full understanding of a problem before
}
What im bad at
{
conforming code to business requirements:
rushing without having an understanding of the problem
trying to patch in to modules really fast to push
i struggle with not knowing, and not knowing how to find out:
my manager at my current job has been stripped from code
first couple of months where good because i was working alongside michalis
then one day as we were decyphering the make system he pushed him away from me
since then i sturggle to ask for help on anything
and then when given it it makes me feel terrible
when this blur gets created in my head i freeze and panic
the simple answer is just ask someone yet sometimes
im to ego blinded to do that
i feel like i will shame my boss and others
why are you here ?
what did we hire you for if you don't know this obscure piece of
internal tribal knowledge
}
}
}