Name:
Nokola (Nikola Mihaylov)

Title/Product:
SDET (Software Design Engineer in Test) II, Expression Blend

What inspires you?
People who are really passionate about something they do and dreams. The greatest products and achievements are not made for money, they come from the internal drive that everyone possesses. It’s inspiring to see a person who is very keen about what they do to the point of getting crazy about it, regardless of their skill and ability. The best achievements I’ve seen are because people are so interested in what they do, that they don’t think about the end result at all. I believe emotions and effort are the key to success in everything I do.

How did you choose to work on this team with this product?
I really like the team, it gives me a comfortable feeling of being at home.

What’s your favorite feature? Why?
Ease of use. Compared to other products I worked with, Expression is one of the easiest. As any product, it can always get better.

How long have you worked on Expression?
Almost 2 years, 6 years on Visual Studio WPF/Silverlight designer.

What does your typical workday look like?
There’s really no typical workday here: which is one of the things I like. Another way to put it: there’s always something different and new to do.

How do you like to spend your time outside of work?
I practice martial arts (Kenpo, Aikido, and I went to 3 Wing Chun classes which were great), “play” piano, and write apps for Windows Phone 7.

Anything else you'd like to share with the community?
Please contact me and tell me what your interests are. I like to know people passionate about what they do.