26/06/2025
Meet Olli-Pekka, who is working away from the office. He shares: «I’ve worked remotely for most of my ten years at Houston. In my first project, we had mics on and faces on wall screens—it felt like we were in the same room. At Sanoma, the camera pointed at our physical kanban board so office colleagues could interact with us naturally. These days, remote work often means remote meetings—without the sense of shared space. That’s something I miss.»
💡 Favorite Technology:
While I use JavaScript daily, I see software as a means to an end—what truly excites me are UX technologies. I’m especially drawn to the conceptual models of our digital habitat, which I explored in my postgraduate research and which also formed the foundation of our startup.
👨💻 What Made Me a Developer:
Our startup couldn’t afford a developer, so we had to become our own. We got our web service running—only to realize we weren’t good enough. To grow, we both looked for jobs. Houston was brave enough to hire me, and I was directly thrown into the deep end, responsible for the front-end. I survived.
My real education came during my second project at Sanoma. Our tech lead, Henri Karhatsu, set the bar extremely high. Thanks to his leadership and countless discussions on clean code, TDD, etc. and pair programming—especially with Mikko Aspiala—I became the developer I am today. We even won the Blue Arrow Award for Clean Code in 2017. I eventually took ownership of the Sanoma sales funnels—some parts are still running six years later.
At Konecranes, I’ve expanded from front-end to backend, cloud, architecture, and tech leadership. I’ve also gone deep into the content itself—remote monitoring of crane usage, mechanics, and electronics—where my background as a physicist has been a real asset.
🌱 Houston Value That Resonates Most:
Professionalism. For me, it means doing the right thing the right way, to the best of my ability.
🎨 Skill I’d Love to Learn:
Graphic design. That would make me a unicorn. 🦄
