Hi, welcome to my corner on the internet!

This site is a place for me to keep my own writting, a place for me to be a citizen of the web. Jammie Tanna and his article Why I Have a Website and You Should Too , was a big inspiration and really resonated with me.

I hope you can learn something from me as I have learned from many of the citizens of the web.

Table of Contents

• TL;DR : me in 1 minute
• About me : me in 10 minutes
  • Background and education : short story of my life
  • Professional Journey : overview of my experiences and my resume
  • Manual of Me : working preferences, motivations and needs, so we can all work better together
  • Skills and Expertise : technical and soft skills
  • Certifications : yes, I like certifications
  • Goals : work and personal related goals

TL;DR

I’m Jay Morelli, a devoted software engineer who finds joy in the art of craftsmanship. Specializing in Go, my favorite programming language, I’m currently working at Siemens in the Industrial Edge, where I have the opportunity to contribute to architectural decisions and thrive in a dynamic project team.

Besides work, you’ll catch me fine-tuning my configurations, such as my NeoVim and terminal setup. I also love learning and sharing my insights, which is part of the reason why I created this website. Outside the digital world, I enjoy playing board games with my fiancée and doing outdoor activities like surfing, running, or cycling.

For me, passion is the driving force that transforms the entire process into an enjoyable journey.

About me

Background and education

Origin 🏁

I’m a non-traditional Brazilian hailing from the vibrant country but defying stereotypes. While I may not share the typical Brazilian enthusiasm for football, funk, or carnival, my personality, often described as loud, aligns with the spirited nature of many Brazilians—as my fiancée loves to point out.

My educational journey took unexpected turns. In high school, I was a bit of a rebel, constantly landing my poor mom in meetings with the school principal. Unsure of my path, I initially pursued production engineering but quickly realized it wasn’t my calling after just two weeks of classes.

Beyond Brazil 🚀

Seeking a change, I left Brazil for various reasons—never truly feeling at home and fresh from a breakup. With an European passport in hand, I set off for Australia, the surfer’s paradise.

Australia Adventures 🏄

My time in Australia was a whirlwind of surfing and diverse jobs, from dishwasher and kitchen hand to strawberry farmer and even working on a crab boat. Amidst the adventure, a desire to keep going and surf fueled my pursuits.

The Irish Interlude ☘️

I moved to Ireland with my Irish girlfriend at the time. Embracing the role of a barista, life was sweet with ample surf, nature, and coffee. Yet, I had an itch for something more significant. Quickly my interest in software engineering began to blossom.

The Software Engineering Journey 👨‍💻

I started with the classic trio, JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. The initial struggles with concepts like closures and recursion gradually transformed into a deep passion. One of my best memories of that time was when I created a simple quiz application, I couldn’t believe that I created something like that. By far one my favorite aspects of programming is this quick feedback, you can quickly see the work that you have done and I find this feeling to be very rewarding.

My curiosity to understand the core of operating systems, the internet, data structures, and algorithms led me study computer science in Portugal.

Portugal 🏠

In Portugal, I evolved into a dedicated student, sitting at the front, conquering math, and making my mom proud as one of the top students in the class. Today, Algarve is my home, where I live with my incredible fiancée, the most wonderful woman in the world!

Our dream is to settle down near the ocean on a small farm along the picturesque west coast. Life has taken me on a unique journey, and I’m thrilled to continue growing personally and professionally in this beautiful corner of the world.

Professional Journey

This section offers a concise glimpse into my professional journey, providing a brief overview of my contributions to various companies and sharing insights on each experience.

For a more detailed and comprehensive exploration of my professional background, please visit my dedicated resume .

Atos IT

Fresh out of university, I chose to kickstart my career at Atos. The newly established Hub in Algarve, coupled with a compelling training program, made it a logical starting point.

At Atos, I not only had the privilege of engaging in a dynamic learning environment but also benefited from robust support for certifications. In a short timeframe, I earned three certifications—Azure Fundamentals, OCI Associate, and OCI Architect Associate. Additionally, I had the opportunity to lead a small team of trainees, an experience for which I am profoundly grateful, showcasing the trust placed in me.

Colt Technology Services

As a contractor for Colt Technology Services, I immersed myself in the SD-WAN project. With a genuine interest in networking, I found the project to be captivating. The energy within the team was great, and I met great people that I still keep contact. However, my desire to transition into working with Go became undeniable. The prospect of escaping Java stack traces and the sluggish startup times of Spring Boot was too enticing to resist.

Siemens Digital Industry

Presently, my professional journey unfolds at Siemens, where I contribute to the Industrial Edge project. In this role, I’ve actively shaped processes, contributed to developer and project documentation, and internal libraries. Working within a collaborative and supportive team at Siemens has been a source of great satisfaction. Recently, my best friend joined me in my team, adding an extra layer of fulfillment to my professional life.

My passion lies in crafting tools and libraries for developers. At Siemens, I’ve had the privilege of working on a parsing library utilizing ANTLR and another library integral to the core of our project’s communication system. Every day is an opportunity to innovate and contribute to a cutting-edge project, and I couldn’t be happier with the journey so far.

Manual of Me

This section is inspired by the Manual of Me , and aims to to be a guide for colleagues in how to best work with me.

If I came with a warning label it would say ...

Go is the best programming language and NeoVim is the best editor.

My working hours

• Monday to Friday: 9:00 to 18:00 UCT+00

Structure of my day

My peak productivity time is in the morning, making it ideal for deep-focus tasks. Preferably, let’s schedule longer meetings post-lunch to maintain a steady workflow. Early standup meetings between 09:15 and 10:00 are optimal, allowing me to dive into problem-solving without interruptions.

I kickstart my day at around 07:00, dedicating this time to studies and personal projects. Depending on the workload, I might begin work before 09:00, but I always reserve time for personal growth.

I work best when ...

• I am in deep focus with minimal distraction
• I appreciate organization but value pragmatism and effective solutions over theoretical considerations
• I am part of a supportive and like-minded team

My preferred channels of communication are ...

In order:

1. Instant messaging
   • I appreciate an asynchronous approach
   • Please indicate the urgency of your message
   • Provide context, especially in asynchronous chats (refer to nohello for more info)
2. Voice/Video chat
   • Best for complex problem-solving and debugging
   • Synchronous approach is required
3. Emails
   • Useful for CC’ing relevant individuals.

I add value to a team by ...

• Focusing on developer documentation to accelerate onboarding
• Improving code quality through adherence to guidelines and best practices
• Staying motivated and motivating the team as a whole
• Actively participating in discussions and proposing ideas
• Prioritizing performance improvements in terms of memory allocation and overall application enhancement

Feedback is best given when ...

• Format: Written for easy reference and sharing with my manager
• Frequency: Regular microfeedback for ongoing adjustments
• Tone: Honest feedback acknowledging imperfections

My personality type is ...

What motivates me to come to work is ...

• Solving complex problems
• Delivering value to customers
• Recognition for my work
• Assisting others
• Working with exciting technologies

Some other things you should know more about me ...

• I love creating software and tools for developers
• I thrive when busy—whether with work, personal projects, or continuous learning
• Confidence is key—I’m not shy about expressing my opinions in team discussions
• The terminal is my home, where I spend a significant portion of my time
• Immersed in the Vim environment, I’ve tailored a collection of shortcuts to optimize my workflow as a keyboard-centric user. Additionally, I leverage a tiling window manager to further streamline my experience.

Tea or coffee ?

Coffee ☕

I considered myself a coffee nerd.

• I have worked as a barista
• I have a v60, espresso machine, aeropress and a french press at home
• I have a pretty expensive hand grinder
• I love flat whites and a good v60 pour over

Beer or wine ?

This one’s a tough call:

• Beer 🍺: Weissbier and IPA - I still need to delve more in the world of beer
• Wine 🍷: Herdade do Sobroso Grande Reserva is a personal favorite
• Cocktail 🥃: Negroni

Skills and Expertise

Go is my go-to programming language. It’s where I put most of my effort and attention to really understand how it works.

Beyond that, I consider myself a well-rounded software engineer with knowledge across diverse areas:

Daily Engagements

In my day-to-day I work with:

Past Collaborations

In the course of my career, I’ve gained experience with various technologies, including:

• RabbitMQ
• MongoDB
• Java and the Spring Ecosystem
• Azure
• AWS
• Angular
• NodeJS
• Rancher
• REST
• SOAP

Soft Skills

I really believe that my soft skills set me apart from the conventional software developer

My strengths:

• Communication
• Willingness to Learn
• Learning agility
• Empathy
• Growth Mindset
• Confidence
• Persistence
• Organization
• Initiative
• Coaching and mentoring

I recognize the importance of continual growth and I’m actively working on:

• Writing: Starting a blog to improve my written communication skills
• Delegation: Acknowledging the need to delegate tasks rather than taking on everything
• Public Speaking: Continuously seeking opportunities for improvement in public speaking

Interests

I decided to keep my interests at my /now page as it feels more fitting, and these interests tend to evolve more frequently.

Certifications

While certifications can be a somewhat controversial topic, I personally find them rewarding. It might sound cliché, but for me, it’s all about the journey. Pursuing a certification provides a clear goal, serving as motivation to engage in focused study sessions. Successfully passing the exam brings a sense of accomplishment. Of course, the value of certifications is enhanced when supported by the company, especially considering their potential cost.

Currently, I hold the following certifications:

Goals

Work-Related

Personal Life