Software Engineer @Apple | CNCF Governing Board | Previously @Rancher_Labs and CNCF TOC | All things infrastructure

Mountain View, California
Joined April 2010
Alena Prokharchyk retweeted
I think many of us working in tech tend to forget that the reason software engineering vs other engineering fields pays (a lot!) more, is a lot more flexible (WFH/remote), and has better perks: Because this field changes much faster than other engineering fields. The premium is because fewer people are able/willing to pick up new technologies, methodologies so quickly. But the field had ~10-20 years of stability, and so lots of folks forgot this is why a premium exists. And that AI is just another tech wave: software engineers who pick it up and master it will generally fare better; those not will struggle a lot more.
273
532
82
6,980
296,925
Alena Prokharchyk retweeted
Underrated life advice: Keep a list of the people who believed in you early. The teacher who pushed you. The boss who took a chance. The friend who told you to go for it. Every now and then, reach out. Update them. And tell them just how much you appreciate what they did for you.
216
1,322
79
9,868
237,359
Alena Prokharchyk retweeted
Being 45 is such a strange experience. One minute, you want to make more money, get ridiculously fit, reinvent your entire life, and become the healthiest version of yourself. The next minute, you want to disappear into the mountains for three weeks, turn your phone off, avoid everyone, and remember what peace feels like. You want adventure, but you also want your own bed. You want to be productive, but you also want to cancel every plan you’ve made. You want to build wealth, travel the world, and accomplish big things, but you also consider 8:30 p.m. a perfectly reasonable bedtime. And honestly? A mug of hot chocolate, a cozy blanket, and absolutely nobody asking you for anything sounds like the ultimate luxury. Is this what getting older feels like, or have I just reached the age where peace and quiet are the real definition of success? 😂
209
211
44
3,779
914,019
Alena Prokharchyk retweeted
It's so easy to build but somehow none of us has time to focus on anything. This is a dream for anyone with ADHD, a hell for everyone else.
19
15
1
261
15,050
Alena Prokharchyk retweeted
we will do the same for #kubecon #cloudnativecon NA next month xitter.cf/CloudNativeFdn/status/…
We still want to find a way to bring the community together. If you planned to be in California for the Grace Hopper Celebration, I invite you to join us this year for GitHub Universe, Oct 28-29. 🌉 We've set aside 75 complimentary passes for folks with cancelled registrations. While this doesn't replace the conference and Universe has far fewer attendees than GHC, my hope is that it does give folks an opportunity to connect with each other. 📷 DM the GitHub team on LinkedIn or email me at [email protected] (first come first serve).
3
8
1,280
Alena Prokharchyk retweeted
If you had a ticket to Grace Hopper and have not cancelled your plans to go to San Francisco, go to @github's LinkedIn right now if you'd like to attend GitHub Universe for free ❤️
5
33
172
12,279
Alena Prokharchyk retweeted
The older I get, the more I realize that the single greatest challenge for any ambitious person is eliminating the guilt associated with free time and rest.
265
678
50
9,042
212,639
Alena Prokharchyk retweeted
Let's talk a little more about Margaret Hamilton because she deserves it In 1961, Margaret Hamilton was tackling massive systems, having previously wrangled room-sized computers that blared like a foghorn whenever they crashed. Her fix wasn’t just to patch the bug. Everytime there was a crash, she took a Polaroid of the programmer who wrote it, and a note on the mistake. That way, if it ever happened again, they wouldn't be starting from scratch. They could note patterns and the last person who triaged that failure could help. This is a critical aspect of what she gave us. She didn’t stop at fixing errors. She studied their patterns so she could see them coming. She called them “the enemy,” and she meant it. Initially, when she was working on failure modes, higher-ups were errors wouldn't happen she actually named her program “Forget It.” But failures did happen. And her mindset, and discipline sent men to the Moon. Her Apollo software was built to expect the unexpected, and on Apollo 11 it recognized an overload mid-landing and kept the critical tasks running. Every postmortem, every bug tracker, every “let’s make sure this never happens again” carries a little of her in it. Thank you, and rest in peace, Margaret Hamilton 🚀
15
67
7
478
14,397
Alena Prokharchyk retweeted
My biggest piece of advice for someone looking to expand their influence at work is to detach your sense of self worth from your work. I have grown so much by actively seeking out criticism of my work and my points of view. Surround yourself with people you know will challenge your work candidly and you will grow faster than you can imagine.
3
10
1
104
8,167
Alena Prokharchyk retweeted
The secret to getting off of calls you don't want to be on is to hang up in the middle of your own sentence. Only a maniac would hang up on themselves, so you must have gotten disconnected.
305
3,476
396
49,249
875,679
Alena Prokharchyk retweeted
I’m in love with this sentence: “There is no secret trick. You have to feel the discomfort and still move forward.”
42
1,256
25
9,080
127,775
Alena Prokharchyk retweeted
Happy iPhone day to all who celebrate!
4
8
101
2,649
Alena Prokharchyk retweeted
You can be tired, but you'll never be as tired as an indoor cat who's slept for 18 hours, eaten three meals, looked out the window for five minutes, and decided it's time for another nap.
10
18
1
303
2,696
Apricots season. The squirrels approve 🐿️🍑
2
126
Alena Prokharchyk retweeted
When i say i want to live in peace thats i mean
4
188
7
903
30,163
And similar position is also open in London, UK jobs.apple.com/en-us/details…
The Darwin Server / Core OS team I work with at Apple is hiring in Cupertino, CA. Looking for strong experience with UNIX/Linux systems and building OS infrastructure for cloud computing. Great team, interesting work. DM me if interested. jobs.apple.com/en-us/details…
1
1,324
Alena Prokharchyk retweeted
Underrated life advice: Make yourself easy to root for. Be kind. Be reliable. Celebrate other people’s wins. Work hard without complaining. Carry good energy into rooms. You'll be shocked by how many doors open for you by making life better for others.
170
3,520
76
23,153
512,254
The Darwin Server / Core OS team I work with at Apple is hiring in Cupertino, CA. Looking for strong experience with UNIX/Linux systems and building OS infrastructure for cloud computing. Great team, interesting work. DM me if interested. jobs.apple.com/en-us/details…
11
2
56
10,729