One of many many recurring characters in tv collection is the corporate ‘lifer’. An extended-term worker who will get snug with the established order. They do their job on autopilot, embrace the routine and coast by means of till they retire. Hans Lambermont, our Senior Programs Architect, couldn’t be farther from that cliché — what has stored him at Shapeways for over 15 years isn’t routine, it’s evolution.
“For the assorted years I’ve labored right here, quite a bit has modified over time, which is what principally has stored me right here,” he says. “From startup to grow-up, shifting workplaces, constructing groups within the US, migrating infrastructure by means of six totally different information facilities, shifting to the cloud, then shifting out once more. I like that. I like change.”
The invisible hand
As Senior Programs Architect, Hans is liable for the infrastructure that retains every thing working. This may be one thing of a thankless job, as a result of if you’re pretty much as good as Hans is, no person notices your work. “Infrastructure is one thing that’s sometimes not seen in any respect. It’s solely seen as soon as it breaks. However when it does break, every thing that relies on it simply stops. So it’s a must to plan like every thing that may break will break.”
It’s not nearly patching up issues however extra about constructing resilience. “If I’ve a number of servers that may do precisely the identical factor, and one in every of them breaks, the opposite one ought to be capable to take the complete load. That’s good. No person notices something even broke. That could be a win.”
Hans’ many years of expertise present themselves in delicate methods. “We’ve had fiber cuts to the buildings a number of occasions. So now, after I see development occurring close to the place the fiber cables lie, I get anxious… I’ve seen it occur. However that’s why we’ve got failover plans, backup strains, routing protocols. It’s important to be prepared.”
Readiness and resilience
That long-term considering is important now greater than ever. Hans performed a vital function within the restart of Shapeways on the finish of 2024, balancing the complicated technical infrastructure with cost-efficiency and development in thoughts. “We would have liked to reconfigure our cloud providing, shifting extra in-house however retaining the uptime and stability everybody expects. That was a profitable undertaking and that’s what we’re working on as we speak.”
Complexity is typically inevitable, however the place potential Hans prefers the minimalist strategy. “Whenever you’re growing programs that cater to a number of totally different necessities, you find yourself including layers upon layers of complexity in a short time,” he explains. “After which, if there’s an issue, it’s very tough to search out the place it resides. So I ask, ‘is that layer actually wanted’? Reducing complexity makes it simpler to diagnose and repair issues — and to forestall them from occurring once more.”
And as Shapeways seems to scale, Hans’ function turns into much more central. “We’re at present harmonizing the infrastructure throughout the totally different elements of the enterprise; scaling-up when wanted, scaling again once we don’t. That saves price however maintains resilience.”
Failing to organize means getting ready to fail
“You at all times have to plan for development. Should you can deal with your present load, are you able to deal with double that? Ten occasions that? With each scaling step, you want totally different options and it could actually get expensive shortly. It’s a problem to search out the steadiness of resilience and value viability.”
Perfection is at all times simply over the horizon, however over time you may get fairly near it. Hans’ expertise in The Netherlands has given him an training in find out how to do issues correctly. “Shapeways’ manufacturing facility in Eindhoven was the gold customary when it comes to operations. Within the early years, individuals from the corporate’s different websites would come right here to find out how we do issues.”
That stability, backed by technical maturity, is what underpins the corporate’s future. “Technical reliability usually can’t be seen. It’s work that occurs behind the scenes. However the individuals right here — the group, the instruments, the practices — are stable.”
Curiosity and cosmology
Maybe unsurprisingly, Hans’ ardour for the large image — actually— doesn’t cease when he goes house. He’s written customized Linux drivers for his astrophotography interest, constructed his personal climate station and automatic an observatory roof that opens and closes based mostly on cloud cowl. “It’s a enjoyable problem. I’ve been working it for some time now. Some objects are simply two small dots in a star area, but when you recognize what you’re taking a look at, like a gravitationally break up quasar, it’s fascinating.”
So what sort of particular person is greatest suited to the herculean job of protecting programs up and stopping issues earlier than they occur?
“Curious individuals. People who find themselves decided to repair one thing as much as their very own requirements. Every little thing we run runs on Linux. We’ve used cutting-edge infrastructure: ZFS on Linux, EBGP routing, Kubernetes, Flux, Terraform… we’re not afraid to alter. Change is fixed. Count on it.”
And what makes a fantastic day for Hans?“A very good day is that if I discovered the reason for a problem and was in a position to repair it, or if I noticed that some preventative measure truly prevented an even bigger drawback from occurring. That’s good.” You may observe together with the Shapeways Staff Highlight collection to search out out extra concerning the group behind the scenes.