A Day in a Life
“Your future is created by what you do today, not tomorrow”
Itay Galea, a software developer at Otonomo, loves his early morning runs, office ping-pong tournaments and the opportunity to have a voice in development decisions, but makes sure to get back home just in time to get the kids ready for bed
ID
Name: Itay Galea
Position: Software Developer
Company: Otonomo, a rapidly growing startup, soon to go public, which provides a leading vehicle data platform and marketplace
Family: Married to Gal + 2 kids, Yali (3.5 years old) & Goni (4 months old), living in Ramat Gan
Itay Galea. Photo: Courtesy
My Daily Routine
Good Morning!
5:00
It's still dark outside when I wake up for a 12k run in the park (3 days a week) as part of my training for my first marathon.
7:30
I get back home to take a shower and prepare my son, Yali for kindergarten.
8:00
Dropping off Yali at his kindergarten after a long discussion we have about his imaginary world and life in general.
8:30
Drinking morning coffee with my wife who is on maternity leave from her product role at Taboola, and have the chance to get some smiles from my 4-month-old daughter, Goni.
Let’s get to work
9:00
I drive to the office at this time to avoid traffic and arrive just in time for breakfast with my Otonomo friends – after a morning run I never give up a decent breakfast.
After breakfast, it’s time for the most complicated task of the day: Decide what to order for lunch. Having so many options make it harder to pick – and somehow, we always feel that we could have ordered something better.
9:30
First thing, I review my tasks and follow up with my co-workers. Working at Otonomo, I enjoy starting my day not only because of my great colleagues, but also because it is exciting to be a part of a company that has an important mission: collecting data from car users to reduce traffic congestion and prevent car accidents and to provide drivers with better services.
Our daily team meeting
11:00
We get aligned on each other's tasks and progress, to see if anyone needs help in solving any problems or unblocking bottlenecks.
My team is responsible for the platform which is used by external users and is the face of Otonomo. Half of the team is responsible for making things look pretty and my half is responsible to ensure that the platform runs smoothly.
Otonomo team meeting. Photo: Courtesy Lunch time!
12:30
We usually order in and eat together in the kitchen. We finish off our lunch break with coffee and a ping-pong tournament. I sometimes think that the best Ping Pong players in the country are hiding in my workplace.
Getting things done
13:30
Time to work independently and with my coworkers on my and their tasks. My day is divided between coding and meetings with product and other development teams. The company culture at Otonomo enables me to be involved in the development of our product, have a voice when development decisions are being done and get a full picture of our product and where its going.
Feature review meeting
16:00
Another team presents a feature they developed, and we provide them with meaningful feedback.
Otonomo Sports
18:00
During the afternoon, we have different sports activities in Otonomo led by professional coaches. I of course never miss out on the running team.
Honey, I’m home
19:30
I get back home just in time to get the kids ready for bed - This includes bath time, reading Yali, my 3-year-old son, his favorite books: the Encyclopedia of the Nature and The Gruffalo. Good night.
Relaxing time
20:30
After the kids are asleep, my wife Gal and I have some time to catch up, hear stories of each other’s day and eat dinner in front of Netflix.
Me, Myself and I
21:30
I finally have some time for myself. I use it to review Computer Science online professional courses (I have an endless list of courses to complete, hope to finish it all before retiring). Besides that, I use this time to catch up on interesting news and articles on the Internet and to work on pictures I recently took. Now, when we finally see the end of Covid-19, I hope to get back to my favorite hobby - planning our next trip abroad.
Last thing before getting to bed
23:00
Playing Xbox with my friends. Gaming has been one of my favorite hobbies. There aren't too many things that make me feel younger and happier than a good time on a “Call of duty” session.
Itay Galea reading a bedtime story. Photo: Courtesy
After Hours
A quote: “Your future is created by what you do today, not tomorrow.”
Android or Iphone: Android
Preferred work style: Hybrid. Today I actually work from the office almost every day, but I like to have the option to work from home twice a week.
Getting to work by: Car.
Free time: Still looking for it. Let me know if you find it. I really enjoy photography, traveling, playing Xbox, reading books and watching basketball.
Netflix show: Ozark. Because it’s impossible not to be impressed by the ability of the main character to solve any life threatening issue.
When I grew up I wanted to be: A pilot. Later on I dreamed of living on an isolated farm. I ended up living in a big city and working in hi-tech.
Where did you serve in the IDF: In the military I served in IDF’s Armored Corps and I’m still in reserve duty.
How did I get into tech: I studied industrial engineering in Ben Gurion University and become a software developer following an opportunity I had to practice software development during my first position as a BI developer.
