From Customer Success Engineer to Software Engineer: My One-Year Journey at Hashnode

"The journey of a thousand miles often begins with a single step into the unknown." - Lao Tzu

It's been an incredible year today since I joined Hashnode as a Customer Success Engineer (CSE). Little did I know that this role would pave the way for an exciting opportunity to expand my skills and take on the role of a Software Engineer (SWE) as well.

Today, as I celebrate my first anniversary as a CSE and reflect on the incredible two months and one day I've spent as an SWE at Hashnode, I am excited to share the journey of my transition and the remarkable features and products I've had the privilege to collaborate on and ship so far.

How It All Began

I had my first encounter with Hashnode back in August 2020, right after I completed my front-end developer training at TIIDELab coding BootCamp. It was love at first sight, and I immediately immersed myself in this amazing platform.

Since then, I have poured my heart and soul into my Hashnode personal blog, writing over 90 articles and having 158 drafts to date.

Click here to view my blog stats

The response from the community has been incredible, with over 240k views on my blog. It's also worth mentioning that Hashnode was where I earned my first $$$ as a freelance technical writer through the monthly coffee program.

Click here to view my Hashnode blog's analytics summary

Hashnode has not only been a platform for sharing my knowledge and experiences but has also opened up incredible opportunities for growth and collaboration. The journey so far has been nothing short of amazing.

Starting as Hashnode Web3 Blog Writer (contract)

In 2022, I had the honor of receiving an invitation from Andrei to join Hashnode as a web3 technical writer contractor. It marked the beginning of my official collaboration with the Hashnode team, and I couldn't have been more thrilled.

During my time as a web3 technical writer, I had the opportunity to author 14 engaging and informative articles for the Hashnode web3 blog. If you're interested, you can find all of these articles by visiting web3.hashnode.com.

Being a part of the Hashnode web3 blog allowed me to dive deep into the exciting world of web3 technologies and share my knowledge with the community. It was an enriching experience that further fueled my passion for writing, building, and exploring the ever-evolving web3 landscape.

Transitioning to a Customer Success Engineer Position (contract)

After a few months into the web3 technical writing contract, I received an offer to join Hashnode as a Customer Success Engineer on a contract basis.

Initially, I had to do extensive Google research to understand the role, and I must admit that I was unsure about what Fazle Rahman saw in me. However, I embraced the opportunity with enthusiasm as I wanted to contribute to the growth of Hashnode and be part of a team dedicated to building an exceptional platform for both writers and readers.

On July 13, 2022, I embarked on my journey as a Customer Success Engineer (CSE) at Hashnode. While I aspired to continue pursuing a career as a software engineer, I embraced the opportunity with determination and a commitment to learn and grow.

Despite the initial doubts and confusion, I never considered giving up because I firmly believed that it was all part of the process, and Hashnode provided an exceptional environment to thrive.

My Responsibility as a Customer Success Engineer

As a Customer Success Engineer at Hashnode, my primary responsibility is to ensure the success of our valued customers, including both writers and readers.

I achieve this through various customer support channels, including providing assistance via product documentation, engaging in live chat conversations on Intercom, addressing queries through emails, offering support on social media platforms, and actively participating in community interactions on Discord.

Helping the dev team to help me help customers faster

Collaborating closely with all departments at Hashnode, particularly the development team, is a crucial aspect of my role as a Customer Success Engineer. As someone with a background in software engineering, I possess the skills to efficiently debug and escalate issues to the developers when a customer encounters a bug on our platform.

By actively debugging issues and providing detailed bug ticket documentation before involving the development team, I contribute to a smoother and faster resolution process. This approach streamlines communication and aids developers in addressing the reported issues promptly.

I'm thrilled that the development team has found this collaborative approach beneficial, as it allows us to efficiently address customer concerns and deliver prompt resolutions.

Furthermore, I had the opportunity to share my experiences with debugging as a Customer Success Engineer at Hashnode during the internal Hashnode Feb Writeaton.

It was an exciting event, and I was honored to be recognized for my contribution with an AirPod Pro 2 prize.

Click here to view the AirPod Pro 2

Overall, my role as an intermediary between our valued customers at Hashnode and our development team allows me to facilitate effective communication and streamline the issue resolution process, ultimately enhancing the overall customer experience.

Transitioning to a Software Engineer Role (full-time)

While working as a Customer Success Engineer, I had my first opportunity to take on a coding task assigned by our CTO. This task involved exporting Hashnode support documentation from Intercom and converting it to markdown format for training Rix.chat.

In addition to my CSE responsibilities, I also dedicated time to working on personal side projects inspired by the remarkable work of colleagues such as Hassan and Steven Tey, as well as observing the engineering team's impressive product releases and features.

During this period, I launched two projects: InvoiceEase, an Invoice management system, and LearnEase, an AI-powered learning platform. These projects caught the attention of my CTO, Sandeep Panda who saw the potential to combine my coding skills with my existing role.

From there, everything fell into place. I have always been inspired by our engineering team, witnessing their insightful internal discussions, exceptional expertise, and unwavering ownership over the products and features they create.

The onboarding process was incredibly smooth 🥰, as I already knew everyone and who to reach out to for specific needs. It truly felt like a natural transition, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the development of Hashnode as both a Customer Success Engineer and a Software Engineer.

Cool things I've Shipped

It's been an amazing two-month and one-day journey as a Software Engineer at Hashnode, where I've had the privilege of working closely with the co-founders and diving headfirst into the world of coding.

Here's one of my favorite aspects of the culture at Hashnode.

Everyone is a hustler!

Trait: You can't wait to show the world what you are working on. You want to talk about it publicly.

Some of the features and projects I'm privileged to work on (shipped) include the following:

New Header Design

I had the privilege of working on the new header along with Pritam Paul and Lakshya Thakur in our continuous pursuit of improving user experience and simplifying navigation on Hashnode.

Before

Now

Revamped Table of Content

I also had the opportunity to work on a feature that addresses one of the most common concerns raised by our valued readers: the Table of Contents.

We recognized the need to optimize this feature to enhance user experience, and I'm thrilled to have worked on the redesigned Table of Contents!

Previously, the Table of Contents occupied a significant amount of space and remained fixed at the top of the page as readers scrolled through an article.

Click here to view the old table of content design

Taking user feedback to heart, we embarked on a mission to reimagine this essential navigation tool. Big shoutout to Pritam Paul for the design.

Changelog System

One of the remarkable products I've worked on is the Changelog System. This tool empowers our internal product team to share and manage crucial updates, improvements, feature releases, and bug fixes with our incredible community.

With the Changelog System in place, we've taken collaboration and transparency with our community to a whole new level. No longer will you have to wonder what exciting developments are happening behind the scenes on Hashnode.

Our dedicated product team will keep you in the loop through the Changelog System, ensuring that you're always up to date with the latest enhancements and releases.

But that's not all.

Changelog Widget

To make this information easily accessible, the changelog comes with a sleek widget on the right sidebar of the Hashnode feed page. This ensures that you never miss a beat and can explore the incredible progress we're making as a platform.

I had a great time working and learning from both of our co-founders in building this product. Check out our first changelog issue here.

Rix.chat

Rix is one of the exciting AI products by Hashnode. It has 3 search modes - Web Search Mode, Quick Mode, and Code Writer mode.

Each mode is designed for a different purpose: finding new info, relying on existing knowledge, or helping write code These capabilities make Rix a useful AI companion for developers to answer questions, provide examples, and search for information.

Thread Deletion Feature

I had the privilege to work on one of the most requested features on Rix.chat - the ability to delete threads. This feature allows users to easily remove entire threads, providing more control over their conversations and privacy.

Hackathon Landing Pages

One of the exciting features I shipped was the hackathon landing pages on Hashnode. As part of the Hashnode Hackathon team, I had the privilege to work on designing the landing pages for our community hackathons.

These pages showcase the product and business hosting the hackathon, and serve as a comprehensive platform, providing guidance, ideas, rules, and regulations for participants to ensure a seamless and rewarding hackathon experience.

1Password Hackathon

Big shout out to Pritam Paul for the 1Password hackathon landing page design.

AWS Amplify 2023 Hackathon

Big shout out to Joshua 'Navi and Pritam Paul for the AWS Amplify 2023 hackathon landing page design.

Amazing feedback from one of the AWSCloud teams on the AWS Amplify 2023 Hackathon landing page.

What Working at Hashnode Looks Like:

• Amazing culture and vibes (You guys are incredible) 🙌

• Excellent teamwork and collaboration 💪

• Helpful and supportive colleagues, always ready to assist 👥

• Everyone is a builder, taking ownership of their work 👷‍♀️

• Opportunities to grow and develop professionally 📈

• Remote work with a flexible schedule to suit your needs 🌍

• Unlimited days off to recharge and enjoy life 🏖

We're currently hiring folks in engineering, growth, and design to join our team. If you are passionate about making an impact, we'd love to hear from you!

You can apply here.

Looking Ahead

As I reflect on my journey at Hashnode, I can't help but feel a sense of excitement for what lies ahead. The experience of building, collaborating, and contributing to amazing projects has only fueled my passion for growth and innovation.

With an incredible team by my side, I am confident that we will continue to create remarkable things and shape the future of Hashnode. The possibilities are endless, and I can't wait to see what we will achieve together.

The best is yet to come! 🚀