Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland

I built the first iteration of RTL+'s search functionality for the web platform 2 years ago.
Now I work full stack with the search team to constantly improve the way RTL+ users find the content they want.
Search covers different media types, owned by different teams and federated subgraphs, and consumed by different clients, from web to native clients to smart TVs and Magenta TV.

Software Developer

Ping Pong Labs GmbH

- automatization of frontend build.  and deployment
- establishing code review culture. in the frontend
- building dashboard to communicate core KPIs. to stakeholders

Frontend Engineer

Jina AI

-  working in public on tooling that makes neural search more accessible to anyone
-  building dashboards
-  transforming a project towards. idiomatic Typescript

(80% of my code/work during that time is  publicly available on Github)

Software Engineer

MoBerries

MoBerries hired several Typescript and Fullstack developers to build a Typescript/NestJS application to replace the current Django backend written in Python with a Typescript GraphQL Api.
Unfortunately, the first phase of the pandemic forced MoBerries to cancel the project and continue using the existing application. This meant letting go of all the newly hired developers.
I'm still grateful for the great time I had at Moberries and continue to recommend the platform.

Full Stack Engineer

IPlytics GmbH

Developing IP analytics products using primarily React, Redux and D3.
Transitioning the main codebase from JavaScript to Typescript.

Small Improvements

Developing features for a market leading HR performance app using Java, React, Spring and D3

I work on making simple easy.

Because I love to iterate quickly and use feedback to build things that provide more value I became a software engineer after graduating in mechanical engineering.

WARNING: contains spice! 🌶️🌶️🌶️

I am Karl - I am autistic… neurodivergent… neurospicy.

Today is World Autism Awareness Day - celebrated once a year. 

Last year I learnt that I am autistic. The first couple of months were incredibly challenging, throwing into question so many aspects of my life.  

However, as I delved more into it by speaking to other neurodivergent people, reading, and listening to podcasts, I was reassured that being autistic is not catastrophic.

Whilst there are still many more unresolved questions than ones answered, it has helped me to better understand myself. Being autistic does not define who I am wholly, it makes up a part of who I am, though it influences in a critical way how I perceive, interact with, and react to the world and people around me. 

There is no cure or medication for being autistic because our brains are wired differently - a key distinction from some other neurodivergences and mental health conditions. 

That means we have to find other ways to manage, to self-regulate. Autistic people are highly attuned to what is going on in their bodies and whilst it can be difficult for us to articulate what we need, when other people show empathy and a willingness to understand, it goes such a long way to help us. 

Neurospicy is another term for being neurodivergent. It is not used by all neurodivergent people. Some people dislike the word and consider it a denegation of the challenges we face, making light of them, skirting around the technical terminology - call a spade a spade. 

But for it offers another way to describe our differences to neurotypical people. Using the term ‘neurospicy’ is in no way intended to make light of the serious effects that being autistic (or other forms of neurodivergence) has on us. 

It is a tongue-in-cheek word and offers an opportunity to be able to laugh at ourselves, which is not always easy when thought-spirals and catastophising are common occurrences.

I am still early on in my journey of being autistic - exploring terminology and the associations with each of those forms part of that journey.  

They say that variety is the spice of life. Being neurospicy is a form of diversity, a form of variety in an otherwise neurotypical world. So why not embrace some spiciness in our lives! 

Image description: Karl recreates his photo from last year where he opened up publicly about being autistic. He stands smirking at the camera against a white background. He wears a black t-shirt with the word neurospicy written on it. 

#ActuallyAutistic #autistic #autism #awareness #AutismAwareness #neurodiversity #neurodivergent #neurospicy #AutismAwarenessDay #EDI #DiversityInclusion  

P.S. Language is constantly evolving, definitions and connotations are expanded and changed. Words are rejected, words are reappropriated, and words are reclaimed. Always be mindful of using certain words and ask if it is the correct / preferred term that someone wishes to use to identify themselves. 

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