Meet Tihomir Tonov

Welcome to another installment of our Life at AMPECO series, where we showcase the talented individuals who drive our company’s success. Today, we’re excited to dive into the heart of our technical engineering department, featuring Tihomir, fondly known as Tisho.

With over a decade of experience in backend development, Tisho brings a wealth of knowledge to our engineering team. His journey from services through entrepreneurship to product development led him to AMPECO, where he is creating innovative technical solutions for our platform.

But there’s more to Tisho than his engineering expertise. An avid sports enthusiast, he’s conquering ultramarathons and mountain runs and even finished the Vitosha 100 competition. His passion for endurance sports mirrors his dedication to his work at AMPECO.

Join us as we explore Tisho’s professional insights, his journey at AMPECO so far, and his approach to the complex engineering challenges in the dynamic world of EV charging solutions.

What path led you to AMPECO?

I wasn’t looking for a job when I got the opportunity to join AMPECO. At that time, I had a stable job and was satisfied. However, a friend of mine, who was one of the co-founders of a project I was involved in, introduced me to a company developing an exciting and innovative product using the Laravel framework. That exact company happened to be AMPECO. 

What motivated me to join AMPECO was the passion for the product that the co-founders have. Their enthusiasm, vision, and professionalism convinced me to jump aboard, and this is a decision I will always consider the right one. As one of the first employees to join the company, I had the privilege of witnessing AMPECO’s growth both as a product and as an organization. I remain grateful for that experience to this day.

What’s the thing about your role that ignites your power?

I have been with AMPECO for a long time, which has allowed me to be involved in a significant portion of AMPECO’s product development. Currently, our developer teams specialize in specific aspects of the product, but this was not the case three years ago. My experience then enabled me to gain in-depth knowledge of the features we are developing. As a result, I can assist colleagues who may be stuck on a task due to a lack of understanding of a specific feature.

What does your typical workday look like?

It depends on the day, but usually, it begins with a standard daily meeting where we discuss our progress and any issues that have come up. We collaborate as a team to address these obstacles. Afterward, we tackle small operational tasks, like code reviews, planning meetings, or other ad-hoc work that came up, which I help my team with. Ideally, we focus on specific features in the afternoon. As a practice, we dedicate Fridays to fixing bugs and concentrate on developing new releases on Mondays.

As a team leader, I hold monthly one-on-one meetings with colleagues and monthly team meetings and participate in the hiring process. Our team’s primary responsibility is developing and maintaining roaming features that allow our system to connect to others and ensure effective communication between the platform and the charging points. This involves configuring the charging points and processing their messages to initiate sessions.

What are the go-to skills to work at one of the world’s leading EV charging software companies? 

Effective communication skills are crucial for explaining the problems you are working on in a way that everyone can understand. This is especially important when the code is highly complex, as you’ll need to describe it clearly to your teammates so they can assist you effectively.

As a team member, regardless of your specific group, it is essential to remain humble and recognize that there is always more to learn. Being able to learn quickly is crucial. 

Occasionally, you may need to dive deeply into a particular topic, which is something that not all web developers do. For example, a developer with experience in distributed systems or integration with third-party systems would bring significant value to our team, as these skills and knowledge align with our day-to-day work.

How does your journey at AMPECO contribute to your personal and professional growth? 

I’m excited to work with my favorite framework and to have the opportunity to use its latest versions here at AMPECO, where updates occur almost immediately. We stay informed about the newest tools, work with various AI models, and strive to keep up with the latest trends and best practices to prepare for multiple use cases.

The company’s growth has been closely aligned with my personal and professional development, significantly benefiting my career. I have developed various management skills, learned how to build and lead teams, and enhanced the onboarding process for our teams at AMPECO. 

What’s one thing you do that is important to you?

I aim to support my colleagues in a way that enhances the quality of service we provide to our clients. We collaborate closely with our product team to achieve this goal. Through teamwork, we are developing a solution that integrates coding capabilities with business requirements. However, I must admit that I genuinely enjoy writing code—it’s still one of my favorite activities today.

When developing new features, we focus on improving our clients’ business processes and delivering high-quality service. This client-centered approach is deeply embedded in our company culture and has been crucial in advancing my skills.

Describe AMPECO in 3 words.

Challenging, dynamic, and up-to-date. 

What do you like the most about your team and the people here?

I work with a team of professionals at AMPECO, and I learn new things from my colleagues every day. I have appreciated this since I started here. Communicating with both my own team and others always presents an opportunity to gain new knowledge. I also value the friendly atmosphere and the can-do attitude. We come together, discuss ideas, and then get the work done.

What would you tell a friend who was considering working in AMPECO?

It’s a personal question, but one of our team champions, Dimitar Dishev, joined us after hearing my stories about how great AMPECO is. After learning about the company, he decided to apply. Three years later, we are working closely together to develop the platform. He was attracted to the idea that this is a place where you can challenge yourself, so if you have high aspirations, this is the right environment for you. 

What’s your advice for someone wanting to join our team?

This advice is specifically for individuals joining our engineering teams. We encourage you to use an electric vehicle (EV) and try charging at one of the big CPOs in Bulgaria that use our software. Afterward, take a look at the backend system and review your charging session and the communication between our system and your charge point. This would help you a lot in doing your job. You’ve come to the right place if this aligns with your interests.