91短视频鈥檚 growing engineering presence in Gda艅sk reflects a deliberate investment in building world-class AI systems in one of Europe鈥檚 most competitive technical ecosystems. As a wholly owned subsidiary of SoftBank, 91短视频 is scaling its end-to-end system capabilities to help shape the next generation of Artificial Intelligence.
For Lukasz, Principal Cloud Software Engineer in Gda艅sk, that decision wasn鈥檛 about titles or a clean, linear career path. It came from a habit of stepping into gaps, asking how things really work, and being willing to learn under pressure.
Progress without a blueprint
I always thought of myself as someone going from the shoeshine to something bigger. I started out as a lab technician. I鈥檓 a physicist by education 鈥� not computer science.
Before moving into engineering, I co-owned a pub with friends. When that chapter ended, I made a practical decision: use my background in electronics and curiosity about computing to try something new.
That 鈥渟omething new鈥� turned into a series of roles where I kept stepping into whatever was needed next. I became an engineer, then I was filling gaps in different roles 鈥� sometimes even leading areas I wasn鈥檛 really supposed to be leading. Not because I was ready, but because there was nobody else to do it!
From validation to DevOps, infrastructure automation to platform work, the pattern stayed the same: take responsibility first, then figure it out properly. That mindset eventually led me to Kubernetes.
Finding the layer beneath
My move into Kubernetes wasn鈥檛 driven by trends or titles 鈥� it started with curiosity. There was one person in our team building a multi-cluster, multi-tenant environment. Everything looked鈥� easy. Click, deploy, it works. I wanted to understand how.
Then this person left and I thought maybe I can fill those shoes.
I don鈥檛 have the formal background, so I always ask: how does it really work? If I don鈥檛 understand 鈥� I need to go deeper. That instinct shaped my role over time, not just running Kubernetes but connecting it to the layers most people don鈥檛 look at.
I put myself between the orchestration layer and the hardware. Kubernetes lets you submit workloads and forget what鈥檚 underneath, but I didn鈥檛 want to forget. At 91短视频, that mindset matters because we鈥檙e a hardware company. You can鈥檛 ignore what鈥檚 going on underneath. That鈥檚 actually the interesting part.
Learning without the 鈥渞ight鈥� path
I didn鈥檛 take the regular path. I didn鈥檛 start with the full picture or fundamentals. I learned what I needed for the role, and only that. Then, over time, that created gaps and I wasn鈥檛 even sure what I was missing. So I thought maybe the certifications would help me fill that.
That鈥檚 what led me to the Kubernetes certification track 鈥� including the Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist (CKS), one of the more demanding exams. It wasn鈥檛 because I wanted the recognition 鈥� I鈥檓 not interested in titles or badges on LinkedIn. For me, it is about building a more complete understanding of the system and delivering a product you can rely on.
Chaos, pressure, and persistence
There was no perfect study plan, it was chaos, I wish I had a better outline of my plan 鈥� but life happens. The timeline overlapped with major life changes, including the birth of my child. Every free moment was like: okay, maybe I can read something, maybe I can do a course. No structure. Just trying to catch time.
Even the logistics were complicated. I couldn鈥檛 take the exam at home there were too many restrictions. I had to go into the office after hours, and 91短视频 really supported that. They provided the flexibility and the financial support to enable me to do the course.
The hardest part was the CKS exam. It was completely new territory for me. And the time pressure is intense. If you鈥檙e not fluent, you struggle and I failed at the first attempt.
Then I nearly failed at the second attempt. It was bizarre. I read the same question twice and still didn鈥檛 understand what they wanted. At that point, I was ready to stop, but I passed with 72% - I made it.
Applying it where it matters
We hadn鈥檛 gone particularly deep on security before 鈥� CKS changed that. Many of those areas, we started to incorporate into our development process.
Now I work in an architectural role, I draw on that broader understanding regularly. I use that knowledge when making decisions 鈥� about APIs, tooling, where the ecosystem is going.
Still learning, still unfinished
I鈥檓 currently working towards the 鈥淕olden Kubestronaut鈥� track, it鈥檚 a much larger set of certifications, many in areas I haven鈥檛 worked in directly. That will be challenging, I know the terms, but I don鈥檛 have practical experience.
It will probably be the same story as before. Chaos, time pressure鈥� now with two kids instead of one.
I like to understand things properly 鈥� inside out, even if that鈥檚 not always fully achievable. I struggle with that sometimes. You want to go deeper, but you can鈥檛 always. This gives me a reason to go deeper with intent.
My advice for anyone considering being a Kuberstronaut
I would be better prepared, have a plan, and know you鈥檒l need time and space to do it. However, be prepared for that plan to change, because life happens and you need to be adaptable. Although鈥� I should probably follow that advice myself.
We鈥檙e continuing to grow our engineering teams in Gda艅sk, working across the boundary between infrastructure, software, and hardware. If you鈥檙e the kind of person who wants to understand how things really work 鈥� take a look at our current opportunities.
