Lilith Carpenter joined the DebtBook team in July 2022 as a Senior Software Engineer and the first engineer on our new team. She has been programming software since childhood and has been active in the Open Source software community for many years. Lilith has always loved solving problems with complex systems and has gained a knack for not getting lost while tracking down the root cause of difficult issues. At DebtBook, Lilith helps the team track down the scaling challenges caused by DebtBook’s phenomenal growth rate while also taking the lead on new customer-facing features that bring direct value.
Continue reading for a Q&A with our Senior Software Engineer!
Q: Tell us about your role here at DebtBook.
A: I spend a lot of time thinking about what we will need in the future and keeping an eye on everything currently moving through our engineering pipeline. I also review a lot of code other engineers have written, contribute to decisions being made, and provide context + mentorship. Finally, in the time I have left, I write code to solve high-priority problems and implement product features.
Q: What attracted you to DebtBook?
A: Patrick (Director of Engineering) and Erik (Co-founder & Chief Product Officer). I was the first member of a new engineering team so they were the two people I talked to the most in my interview process. Their dedication to the team, focus on empathy, and excitement for the company were contagious. I came away from my conversations with no doubt that I wanted to work at DebtBook.
Q: Tell us about the hobby project you're most proud of
A: My partner and I spend a lot of time in the pre-17th century living history group Society for Creative Anachronism. I help the local kingdom with technology resources and also do a lot of volunteer work helping with various aspects of the community. I’m learning how to make/repair my own clothing and a ton about pre-17th-century history! I have no plans currently to don armor and fight as many do in the SCA.
This photo below shows me walking up to receive an award for service to the kingdom, called Order of the Torse.
Q: What did you want to be when you grew up?
A: I wanted to be a robotics engineer! I was obsessed with robots and how you could program them to do things in the real world. As a tween, I started learning to program (on my own, we didn’t have boot camps back then!) and ended up falling in love with it and deciding that I could do without the robots part.
Q: What’s your favorite thing about being a full-stack software engineer?
A: In the proper role, software engineering is never boring. None of the problems we work on as software engineers are “solved”, we as an industry are still in our infancy and there is still so much new ground to tread. Creativity and ingenuity are required in order to thrive, and I love the constantly changing chaos of the ecosystem.
Q: Is there a book, podcast, or other learning tool you recommend to engineering professionals?
A: I highly recommend reading Radical Candor by Kim Scott. It is primarily a management book, not an engineering one, but learning the kind of pressures your manager is under really helps you empathize with and better understand your leadership team! The book also has some excellent advice on how to improve your relationship with your manager and colleagues as an individual contributor.
At DebtBook, we dream big, move fast, and bring joy to everything we do. We are looking for talented teammates who share our passion for challenging the status quo, innovating in all we do, and wanting to make a difference. We are growing fast, but our people aren’t just a number — everybody has the opportunity to shape our culture and the future of the company. Click below to learn more about the DebtBook culture and find open positions.