Rob Phillips: Software Engineer Working On Productive Happiness

When you think of the software industry, you probably imagine a typical Silicon Valley or startup hub office where a person like a software engineer or a developer spend hundreds of hours and drink gallons of caffeinated beverages to create innovations. 

Although it might seem as if those professionals don’t have time for anything else, that’s just not the case with Rob Phillips from robphillips.me.

This curious individual who decided to embrace life and enjoy it to the fullest is a stellar strategist and software engineer who has worked with some of the best companies in the industry. What’s even more interesting is that he spent most of his career working remotely around the world. 

Yes, you’ve read it well – R.E.M.O.T.E.L.Y.

Here’s what we’ve learned about Rob.

Services and expertise

Rob is a highly prolific professional with many projects and products. As he mentioned in one of his LinkedIn posts, he has worked remotely around the world for seven of the last 10 years now. His example couldn’t be a better argument for people being equally or, very likely, more productive while working outside of the office. He’s travelled to more than 27 countries in the world and this hasn’t stopped him from working on great projects and delivering equally impressive results.

On his website, Rob has profiled himself as a strategist, experience designer, software engineer, and mechanical engineer. But we dare you to take a look at the Current curiosities section, where he speaks about his interests and experiences. He pointed out that culinary science, education, foreign languages, and genetics and gene therapy are in his spotlight. Although he truly seems like a person who likes learning new things and the personal and professional evolution that comes as a result of it.

As an essential part of all effective portfolio websites, there’s a section with links leading to Rob’s professional network profiles. One can get an even better insight into Rob’s expertise by looking at the Past products website section. There, Rob describes the software products and the responsibilities and/or roles he had on each project.

Online presence

The importance of online presence for a professional who wants to work remotely like Rob can’t be emphasized enough.

He’s definitely created a brand out of his approach to work, and work-life relationship in general. 

The website layout is a single column/scroll layout. As visitors scroll through, the sections or website categories seem to build on one another in terms of information delivery. This is certainly a very efficient way of telling the story about you and your expertise and experience.

Another very important segment paramount for building brand trust is the testimonials of people you’ve worked with or References. All the great feedback Rob’s received from his teammates and employers speaks tons about his professionalism and approach to work. This simply couldn’t be a better way of reinforcing your professional image, or brand identity if you will.

What also speaks about Rob’s awareness of the importance of online presence is the links to professional and social networks. Not only are people able to see some of his projects, but also invited to reach out to Rob.

Lastly, portfolio websites include past and ongoing projects with details on the position, responsibilities, and comments on the final results. Rob does exactly the same and in that way fortifies his experience and relevance.

A more personal side of this software engineer

Something that allows people to get to know Rob on a more personal level is the Travelling and Photography sections. Website visitors can get a glimpse of his experiences and accomplishments as a World Traveller “Working on productive happiness.” From swimming with sea lions in the Galapagos Islands to driving over 2,700 miles through New Zealand while living in a campervan and finding the love of his life in Montréal, Canada. Those experiences enable the visitors to go past the digital image and see Rob as a real and awesome individual.

Speaking of awesome, Rob is a genuine supporter and advocate of gender equality and equity and the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Also, he works with #BuiltByGirls and mentors women or minorities in tech, inexperienced, or people without college degrees. As he puts it, “Education is a fundamental human right” and seals it with a quote by Toni Morrison, “…Your real job is that if you are free, you need to free somebody else. If you have some power, then your job is to empower somebody else.”

Fantastic!

Final thoughts

Professionals like Rob Phillips are a perfect example of how to approach work and life while staying productive and happy at the same time. He’s been an inspiration to many young and amazing people and his coworkers. We can only hope that his example reaches people who need to hear that it’s possible to have a fulfilling life even if you’re working in such a competitive industry.

Rob, if you’re reading this, keep up the amazing work man!