Are You Growing as an Engineer—or Just Closing Tickets?

The Question That Never Appears in the Sprint

Some weeks, you complete ten tickets, reduce the backlog, and join every daily stand-up with an impressive list of accomplishments. From the outside, everything suggests that you are growing. Yet, at the end of the sprint, an uncomfortable question may remain: Am I becoming a better engineer, or have I simply learned to work faster?

The difference is not always reflected in Jira, pull request counts, or logged hours. Growth in software engineering means developing judgment, understanding problems more deeply, and improving the quality of the decisions you make before writing a single line of code.

Completing More Tickets Does Not Always Mean Moving Forward

Tickets are necessary. They organize work, distribute responsibilities, and turn product needs into concrete actions. The problem begins when they become the only measure of an engineer’s contribution.

You can complete a large number of tasks without understanding the system, questioning decisions, or participating in problem definition. You can also close fewer tickets while eliminating a recurring source of failure, improving an architecture, or helping the team make a decision that prevents months of rework.

The Shift May Look Like This

Before: You receive a predefined solution and implement it.
After: You investigate the problem and propose alternatives.
Before: You fix the same type of issue repeatedly.
After: You identify and eliminate the root cause.
Before: You optimize only your own delivery.
After: You improve the entire team’s ability to deliver.

Sign 1: You Are Asking Better Questions

A growing engineer does not necessarily have every answer. They have better questions. Before beginning a task, they ask who needs the functionality, what behavior is expected, which constraints exist, and what might happen when the system scales.

As you grow, you stop asking only, “How should I implement this?” and begin asking, “Why are we building this?”, “What risk are we accepting?” and “Is there a simpler solution?” That transition shows that you are moving from executing instructions to exercising technical judgment.

Sign 2: You Understand the Impact, Not Just the Code

Software development creates value when it solves real problems. An API is not simply a collection of endpoints. It may be the infrastructure that allows someone to access healthcare, complete a payment, manage their finances, or find a professional opportunity.

Growth means understanding the connection between code, product, and user. When you understand the desired outcome, you can make better decisions about performance, accessibility, security, maintainability, and user experience. Your code stops being an isolated deliverable and becomes an intentional part of the product.

Sign 3: You Think in Systems and Consequences

Speed may make you efficient, but systems thinking makes you dependable. A more mature engineer considers how a change may affect other layers of the application, which dependencies it introduces, and what its operational cost could be six months from now.

Technical maturity also requires recognizing trade-offs. There is no perfect architecture and no technology that is right for every context. There is only a decision that is appropriate for a specific problem, supported by clear assumptions and a thoughtful understanding of its consequences.

Growing as an Engineer in the Age of AI

This distinction has become even more important in an environment where producing code is increasingly fast. AI tools can accelerate implementation, documentation, testing, and debugging, but they do not automatically provide product understanding, architectural judgment, or accountability.

Producing more code does not guarantee that teams are building better systems. The real advantage appears when engineers use technology to strengthen their capabilities: reducing repetitive work, testing assumptions faster, improving feedback loops, and dedicating more attention to the decisions that require human context.

Community Accelerates the Growth Tickets Cannot Measure

Nobody becomes an exceptional engineer entirely on their own. Pair programming, code reviews, mentoring, and architecture conversations reveal blind spots that rarely become visible when the only goal is completing a task.

A developer may remember for years the person who taught them to investigate an incident without looking for someone to blame, justify a technical decision, or write code review feedback with empathy. That kind of learning strengthens a developer community and creates a technology culture in which knowledge is not accumulated by a few people. It circulates.

Lessons That Demonstrate Real Growth

Explain a decision without hiding behind technical jargon.
Receive feedback without turning the conversation into a personal defense.
Review code in search of clarity, not superiority.
Document knowledge to reduce dependency on specific individuals.
Share context before presenting conclusions.

Technical Leadership Begins Before the Title

Technical leadership does not begin when someone receives the title of Tech Lead. It begins when a person improves the quality of team conversations, shares relevant information, and helps others move forward without trying to control every decision.

It also appears when someone acknowledges that they do not know something, asks for support early, or protects the team from a seemingly fast solution that could create unnecessary technical debt. Leadership is not proving that you are the smartest person in the meeting. It is increasing the collective capability of the team.

The Strength of LATAM Talent in Global Technology

LATAM talent is participating in a global technology industry that continues to expand rapidly. Across the region, engineers are contributing to open-source ecosystems, developing global platforms, scaling infrastructure, and solving complex problems for organizations around the world.

This momentum did not appear overnight. The continued growth of developer communities in countries such as Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Mexico, Costa Rica, Chile, Peru, and Guatemala demonstrates that software development in Latin America is not a peripheral trend. It is becoming an increasingly important force within the global technology economy.

Nearshore Should Not Mean Working From the Periphery

For years, part of the conversation around nearshore software development focused primarily on cost efficiencies, compatible time zones, and operational convenience. While these factors remain relevant, they do not fully explain the value that Latin American engineers bring to international products.

Global teams do not simply need professionals who are available during convenient working hours. They need engineers who can understand complex contexts, communicate clearly, challenge assumptions, adapt quickly, and take ownership of outcomes. That is where the creativity, resilience, and continuous learning demonstrated by LATAM talent become a strategic advantage.

How to Measure Growth Without Relying on the Backlog

To determine whether you are growing, observe the problems you can now address, the conversations in which you participate, and the amount of context you need to make a responsible decision. Consider whether your work reduces uncertainty, makes other people more effective, and improves the long-term sustainability of the system.

A valuable practice is to review your progress every quarter. Do not measure only the technologies you learned or the tickets you completed. Ask yourself which decisions you can make today that you would have delegated six months ago, which mistakes you have stopped repeating, and how many people you helped develop a new skill.

Technical Growth Checklist

Do I understand the business behind the product more clearly?
Can I explain the trade-offs behind my decisions?
Do I identify risks before they become incidents?
Do I help other developers work more effectively?
Am I solving increasingly ambiguous problems?
Does my work leave the system in a better condition?

Building a Culture Where Engineers Can Grow

At Mismo, we believe a career in engineering should not become an endless sequence of tasks. Growth happens when engineers from different countries can share experiences, collaborate with global teams, and contribute to products whose impact extends far beyond their own region.

In a culture built around genuine collaboration, developers feel valued not only for what they deliver, but also for the questions they ask, the knowledge they share, and the way they help others grow. That is the kind of community we continue to strengthen: close, diverse, technically ambitious, and deeply human.

We Are Building What Comes Next

The future of engineering will not necessarily belong to those who generate the most lines of code or close the most tickets. It will belong to those who can transform technology into responsible solutions, understand complex systems, collaborate across differences, and continue learning even as tools and frameworks change.

We are a generation of developers across Latin America building the future from different cities, cultures, and experiences. Growth means recognizing that power, sharing it with others, and using every project not only to deliver software, but to become the engineers the global technology industry needs.

Careers Blog, Engineering

LATAM Tech Talent: The Home Office as a Personal OS

A New Question for Those Who Build Software

Every developer knows the feeling: opening the editor, looking at a seemingly small task, and realizing there is a product decision behind it, a person waiting for a solution, and a system that must keep running even when no one is watching. In software engineering, the work has never been just about writing code; it is also about thinking clearly, sustaining quality under pressure, and learning faster than change itself.

For LATAM talent, that question carries an additional layer: how do we build global technology from Costa Rica, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Peru, Guatemala, or any corner of our region without losing our identity, community, or sense of purpose?

The Value of Software Development Beyond Code

From Shipping Tickets to Designing Impact

A closed ticket may look like a small unit of work, but in reality, it can be an improvement that reduces friction for thousands of users, an integration that prevents operational errors, or an architectural decision that allows a product to scale without breaking.

The difference between “doing software” and practicing software engineering lies in intention. It is not about moving tasks from one column to another; it is about understanding trade-offs, anticipating failure, protecting the user experience, and building solutions that can survive the next sprint.

The Quiet Pride of Being a Developer

There is a very specific kind of pride in this craft: solving something no one else could see, refactoring a critical part of the system without making noise, leaving a codebase better than we found it, and knowing that quality is also a form of respect.

That is why the home office cannot be reduced to having a comfortable chair or a good internet connection. For a developer, the remote workspace is a personal operating system where focus, energy, communication, documentation, learning, and healthy boundaries all run together.

The Home Office as a Personal Operating System

A personal operating system is not a rigid routine. It is a conscious way of designing the day to think better: when to do deep work, when to collaborate, when to review pull requests, when to ask for help, and when to disconnect so we can come back with more clarity.

Remote work was once perceived as distance. Today, when designed well, it can become a technical advantage: fewer unnecessary interruptions, more autonomy, clearer documentation, more intentional conversations, and a more mature relationship with time.

Three lessons consistently show up in strong remote teams: autonomy needs context, flexibility needs agreements, and trust needs visibility. Without these three elements, the home office can become isolation. With them, it becomes sustainable performance.

The Strength of LATAM Talent and Its Global Impact

The global conversation around nearshore software development is no longer only about cost or time zone alignment. Increasingly, it is about technical quality, resilience, creativity, learning agility, and cultural proximity with teams building complex products for international markets.

CBRE noted in its 2025 Scoring Tech Talent report that Latin America’s tech talent has become increasingly focused on software development and innovation, and that the region’s tech workforce has grown significantly over the past five years. GitHub also reported in its 2025 Octoverse that more than six developers from LATAM were joining the platform every minute.

That growth matters because software development in Latin America is no longer a peripheral alternative. It is becoming part of the operating system of global companies that need agile teams, real-time communication, and technical judgment close to product decisions.

A recent study on global software development found that nearshore models can support overall project success, quality, timeline performance, lower management effort, and fewer communication issues, especially in agile or highly collaborative projects.

Community, Collaboration, and Continuous Learning

No One Grows Alone in a Strong Codebase

A developer community is built through small moments: a pair programming session where someone explains a decision with patience, a code review that teaches without humiliating, mentorship that unlocks confidence, or an honest conversation about technical debt before it turns into cultural debt.

Human technical leadership understands that excellence is not imposed through authority. It is cultivated by creating environments where asking questions is not seen as weakness, receiving feedback does not feel like a threat, and sharing knowledge is part of the work, not an extra task.

In 2025, Stack Overflow reported more than 49,000 responses from developers across 177 countries in its Developer Survey, with clear signs of a profession in transition: 84% of respondents use or plan to use AI tools, while 66% feel frustrated with “almost right” AI solutions, reminding us that learning is still more important than outsourcing judgment.

Mismo Culture: A Real Community Built for Global Impact

In a technology culture like Mismo’s, remote work is not understood as people sitting separately in front of screens. It is about building distributed teams with real cohesion, shared clarity, and human closeness that crosses countries, accents, and professional journeys.

That translates into technical and human support, spaces for learning, continuous feedback, collaboration among developers across LATAM, and one powerful belief: people do not only need challenging projects; they also need to feel valued, heard, and part of something larger than their backlog.

Building the Future Also Means Building Community

The home office is not just a desk because the future of technical work is not defined by where we code, but by the quality of the personal, cultural, and collaborative systems we design to think, create, and grow better. We are a generation of developers in LATAM building the future from our region, with technical rigor, community, continuous learning, and the certainty that global impact can also begin at home.

Careers Blog, Engineering

The Best Developers Don’t Just Write Code—They Learn How to Take Care of Themselves

Beyond Code: The Challenge Redefining Modern Software Engineering

For years, the tech industry celebrated a narrative that seemed unquestionable: the best engineers were those who were always available, responded to messages at any hour, and could sustain intense workloads for extended periods of time. It was a culture that equated commitment with sacrifice and productivity with long working hours.

For a while, that formula appeared to work. Products grew, startups scaled, companies accelerated innovation, and engineering teams consistently delivered increasingly ambitious goals. Yet behind those results, a reality emerged that no technology organization can afford to ignore today: the burnout of the people who make innovation possible.

More engineering leaders, CTOs, and technology executives are realizing that the real challenge is no longer just building better products. The challenge is building engineering teams capable of sustaining excellence over the long term without sacrificing well-being, creativity, or motivation.

Conversations around mental health and workplace well-being are no longer topics reserved for Human Resources. Today, they are part of business strategy, innovation capacity, and the foundation of high-performing engineering organizations.

The True Value of Software Engineering

When we think about software engineering, we often focus on complex architectures, artificial intelligence, scalable platforms, automation, and emerging technologies. Yet the true value of this profession goes far beyond the tools we use every day.

Engineering exists to solve real-world problems. Behind every application, platform, or system are people working to simplify processes, improve experiences, and create meaningful impact. Every line of code represents an opportunity to build something that did not exist before.

That is why a software developer’s contribution cannot be measured solely by the number of features delivered or the speed at which tickets are closed. Their impact is also reflected in their ability to collaborate, learn, share knowledge, and contribute to the collective growth of an engineering team.

When engineers find purpose in what they build, the quality of their work changes. Innovation stops being a task and becomes a natural outcome of being connected to a larger mission.

Well-Being as a Competitive Advantage

For decades, technology companies measured success primarily through speed and efficiency. Metrics such as Lead Time, Deployment Frequency, Cycle Time, and delivery velocity remain essential indicators of engineering performance.

However, the most mature organizations are introducing a new variable into the conversation: talent sustainability.

They understand that no product roadmap can be executed successfully if the people responsible for delivering it are exhausted, disengaged, or experiencing chronic stress.

Well-being does not mean lowering expectations or reducing accountability. It means creating the conditions that allow people to perform at a high level for years—not just for a few months.

A well-rested engineer makes better decisions, identifies risks more effectively, communicates more clearly, and brings more creative solutions to business challenges.

In an increasingly competitive market, caring for engineering teams is no longer a complementary initiative. It has become a strategic advantage that directly impacts productivity, retention, innovation, and long-term business outcomes.

Remote Work: An Extraordinary Opportunity with New Challenges

The global expansion of remote work has permanently transformed how software engineering teams are built.

Today, talented professionals can collaborate with companies around the world without leaving their cities, families, or communities behind.

For tech talent in Latin America, this shift has created unprecedented opportunities. Software engineers from Colombia, Costa Rica, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Peru, Guatemala, and many other countries are contributing to global products, working alongside international teams, and helping build technology used by millions of people.

At the same time, this new model has introduced challenges that did not previously exist at the same scale.

The line between work and personal life has become increasingly blurred. Meetings span multiple time zones. Notifications seem endless. And for many professionals, the office now exists in the same space where they are expected to rest and recharge.

That is why successful remote engineering teams depend on more than collaboration tools and productivity platforms. They require healthy habits, sustainable boundaries, and organizational cultures that genuinely respect the well-being of their people.

LATAM Talent Is Redefining Global Technology

Over the last few years, the growth of nearshore software development has transformed how global companies view technology talent across Latin America.

What was once considered an operational alternative has become a strategic advantage for organizations seeking highly skilled, culturally aligned, and collaborative engineering teams.

Global companies have discovered something that those of us in the region have known for years: Latin America is home to exceptional technology talent.

Engineers across the region bring strong technical foundations, adaptability, critical thinking, and an extraordinary commitment to continuous learning.

Yet the true strength of LATAM talent extends beyond technical expertise.

Resilience, creativity in solving complex challenges, and the ability to thrive in multicultural environments have positioned Latin America as one of the most important technology hubs in the world.

Today, thousands of software developers, AI engineers, architects, and technical leaders across the region contribute to artificial intelligence initiatives, SaaS platforms, fintech solutions, healthtech products, and mission-critical enterprise systems.

The conversation is no longer about whether Latin America can compete globally.

The reality is that it already does.

Community as a Catalyst for Professional Growth

The strongest engineering careers are rarely built in isolation.

Behind every professional who reaches a new technical level is usually a network of people who contributed to that growth along the way.

Pair programming sessions, code reviews, mentorship relationships, informal technical discussions, and knowledge-sharing spaces create an impact that extends far beyond solving immediate problems.

They strengthen learning cultures and accelerate professional development.

The best engineering organizations understand that knowledge should never be concentrated in a handful of experts. Instead, they create environments where sharing experiences and insights is a natural part of everyday work.

When learning flows freely, the entire organization becomes stronger.

The real competitive advantage of a developer community is not simply its technical expertise. It is its collective ability to grow, adapt, and evolve alongside an industry that never stops changing.

Human-Centered Technical Leadership

Technology evolves rapidly, but the foundations of great leadership remain deeply human.

The best technical leaders are not only those who understand complex architectures or stay ahead of industry trends.

They are the ones who know how to listen, build trust, and create environments where people can grow with confidence.

They understand that behind every sprint, release, roadmap, and project are human beings with aspirations, challenges, and personal goals.

The most successful engineering teams often share one common characteristic: leaders who genuinely care about the growth of their people.

They provide context, encourage collaboration, remove obstacles, and help individuals discover opportunities to evolve both professionally and personally.

When people feel heard, valued, and supported, their commitment to the team and its outcomes increases dramatically.

Trust becomes one of the most powerful tools for driving innovation.

What We’re Learning at Mismo

At Mismo, we have the privilege of working alongside talented software engineers throughout Latin America who collaborate every day with innovative global companies.

Through that experience, we have learned that the most successful teams are not always the ones with the largest budgets or the most advanced technologies.

The teams that create the greatest impact often share a culture rooted in collaboration, continuous learning, and respect for people.

They are environments where technical growth and personal growth happen in parallel.

We believe that building a strong technology community means much more than connecting professionals with career opportunities.

It means creating spaces where developers can exchange knowledge, develop new skills, feel heard, and become part of something larger than a single project.

That vision has allowed us to build meaningful relationships across the region while proving that world-class software development can coexist with the human connection that defines our community.

The Future Belongs to Those Who Build Sustainable Technology

The next decade will bring extraordinary advances in artificial intelligence, automation, AI engineering, and new approaches to software development.

Yet even in a future defined by rapid technological acceleration, one element will remain impossible to replace: people.

Creativity, judgment, empathy, and the ability to solve complex problems continue to be deeply human capabilities.

These are the qualities that transform technology into solutions that create real impact.

Perhaps the most important question for technology leaders, software development companies, and engineering professionals is no longer simply how to build better products.

The real question is how to build better environments for the people who create them.

Because the future of software engineering will not be determined solely by new tools, frameworks, or technologies.

It will depend on our ability to build stronger communities, more human-centered cultures, and more sustainable careers.

And in that future, LATAM talent will play a critical role.

We are a generation of software developers, engineers, and technology leaders proving that technical excellence and well-being can advance together.

We are building global products, driving innovation, strengthening distributed engineering teams, and shaping a future where sustainable success is not an exception—it is the standard.

Careers Blog, Employee Spotlight, Talent Spotlight

Argentinian Talent in Action: How Federico Lemaire Drives High-Impact Frontend Solutions at Mismo

Mismo thrives on the strength of its exceptional team. We provide top-tier remote software development teams that seamlessly integrate with companies worldwide, driving exceptional results. Many organizations have partnered with Mismo to augment their development capabilities and achieve their technology goals.

At the heart of these successful teams are the talented individuals who make Mismo what it is. We’re committed to celebrating our remarkable employees and their invaluable contributions to our company culture. Our employee spotlights showcase the genuine relationships we’ve forged with team members and clients, highlighting their dedication and the positive impact they have on our collaborative environment.

Meet: Federido Lemaire

Front-End Developer

Country: Argentina

Tell us a little about yourself: Hi! My name is Federico Lemaire, but everyone calls me Fede. I’m a software developer from Buenos Aires, Argentina, with experience building modern web applications using React, Next.js, TypeScript, and Redux.
Over the past few years, I’ve worked on complex platforms where performance, scalability, and user experience have been key. I enjoy solving problems, improving processes, and collaborating with cross-functional teams to deliver high-quality products.
I value clear communication, ownership, and continuous learning. I’m always looking for better ways to build clean, efficient solutions that create meaningful impact for both users and the business.
Outside of work, I enjoy cycling, exploring technology, and spending time with friends and family.
I’m excited about the opportunity to contribute, grow professionally, and be part of meaningful and challenging projects.

What initially attracted you to engineering and how have you found inspiration in this career? What initially attracted me to engineering was the combination of creativity and problem-solving. I’ve always been curious about how things work, and engineering gave me a way to turn that curiosity into practical solutions people can actually use.
As I progressed in my career, I found inspiration in the impact technology can have on everyday life. Building tools that improve processes, save time, or simplify complex tasks is incredibly rewarding. I especially enjoy working on products where performance, scalability, and user experience truly matter.
I’m also inspired by collaboration. Working with talented people from different disciplines challenges me to think differently and continuously improve my skills. The constant evolution of technology keeps the field exciting and motivates me to keep learning. For me, engineering is not just about writing code—it’s about solving meaningful problems and creating solutions that make a real difference.

What innovation or technical advancement have you been a part of that you consider to have made a milestone in your engineering field? One milestone I’m especially proud of was contributing to the development and modernization of a complex task management and assignment platform used to coordinate large-scale field operations.
The system initially faced performance bottlenecks, limited scalability, and inefficient workflows that impacted daily operations. I played a key role in redesigning critical parts of the frontend architecture, improving state management, optimizing data flows between the client and backend services, and enhancing the overall user experience.
One of the most impactful improvements was restructuring how large datasets were processed and visualized. This significantly reduced load times and made task planning more efficient for operators. These changes helped the platform scale more reliably and improved operational efficiency for teams using it every day.
Being part of this transformation showed me how thoughtful engineering decisions can directly influence business performance and user productivity. It reinforced my interest in building scalable systems that solve real operational challenges.

What made you choose Mismo? What led me to choose Mismo was the opportunity to work on challenging international projects while being part of a team that truly values engineering quality and professional growth.
From the beginning, I was drawn to Mismo’s culture of ownership, collaboration, and technical excellence. The company’s focus on building high-impact solutions for global clients aligned perfectly with my desire to work on meaningful products that require both strong technical skills and teamwork.
I also value how Mismo supports continuous learning and encourages engineers to take initiative and grow in their careers. Being part of a company that combines professionalism with a supportive, people-first environment was a key factor in my decision.
For me, Mismo represents a place where I can continue evolving as an engineer while contributing to projects that make a real difference.

How would you describe the work environment at Mismo? I would describe the work environment at Mismo as collaborative, supportive, and professional. There is a strong culture of teamwork, where people are always willing to help, share knowledge, and work together to solve challenges.
Communication is clear and respectful, making it easy to coordinate across different teams and projects. At the same time, there is a strong sense of ownership and responsibility, with everyone trusted to manage their tasks and contribute proactively.
I also value the balance between professionalism and a friendly atmosphere. It creates a comfortable environment where you can stay focused, grow as an engineer, and feel supported by both peers and leadership.

What learning and development opportunities have you had at Mismo and how have you utilized these opportunities to grow as a professional? At Mismo, I’ve had the opportunity to continuously grow through hands-on experience in complex international projects, collaboration with senior engineers, and exposure to modern technologies and best practices.
Working on challenging products has allowed me to strengthen my technical skills, particularly in frontend architecture, state management, performance optimization, and scalable application design. I’ve also improved my ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams, communicate effectively with stakeholders, and take ownership of key features from design to deployment.
In addition, being part of a high-standard, professional engineering environment has helped me adopt better development practices, write cleaner and more maintainable code, and approach problems with a more strategic mindset.
I’ve taken full advantage of these opportunities by actively seeking feedback, learning from experienced teammates, and continuously looking for ways to improve both technically and professionally.

What aspects of working at Mismo’s engineering team make you proud and motivate you in your daily tasks? What makes me most proud of being part of Mismo’s engineering team is the strong commitment to quality and the collaborative mindset shared across the team. Everyone takes ownership of their work, with a genuine focus on delivering reliable, scalable, and well-designed solutions.
I’m also motivated by the level of talent and professionalism within the team. Working alongside skilled engineers who are always willing to share knowledge creates an environment where continuous learning feels natural and ongoing.
Another aspect I value is the trust and autonomy we are given. This empowers me to take initiative, propose improvements, and approach challenges with a problem-solving mindset rather than simply executing tasks.
Being part of a team that values both technical excellence and collaboration motivates me every day to keep improving and contribute meaningfully to each project.

How do you believe the company and engineering can positively impact the world, people’s lives, and make a difference in their respective industries? Well-designed digital products can transform how industries operate by making processes more efficient, reducing errors, and enabling organizations to focus on what truly matters: delivering value to people. Engineering plays a key role in building scalable, reliable systems that support these improvements at a global level.
Beyond efficiency, technology can also empower individuals. Whether through better access to services, clearer information, or more intuitive tools, thoughtful engineering helps reduce complexity and makes innovation accessible to a wider audience.
Being part of teams that prioritize quality, responsibility, and user-centered solutions means contributing to products that not only solve technical challenges but also create meaningful and lasting impact within their industries.

What Mismo policies or practices have helped you improve your work-life balance? Mismo’s flexible work policies have been key to improving my work-life balance. The trust-based approach and focus on results, rather than rigid schedules, allow me to organize my workday efficiently while maintaining personal commitments.
The flexibility of remote work has also made a significant difference, helping me reduce commuting time and better manage my daily routine. It enables me to stay productive while dedicating time to rest, family, and personal activities.
Additionally, the team’s supportive culture and clear communication help prevent unnecessary stress, making it easier to plan work effectively and maintain a healthy balance between professional responsibilities and personal life.
Overall, Mismo fosters an environment where productivity and well-being go hand in hand.

What inspiring advice would you give to someone considering a career in engineering or looking to join a company like Mismo? My advice would be to stay curious and never stop learning. Engineering is a constantly evolving field, and the willingness to adapt and grow is one of the most valuable skills you can develop.
Focus on building strong problem-solving abilities rather than just learning tools or technologies. Technologies change, but the ability to think critically and design effective solutions will always set you apart.
I would also encourage seeking environments that challenge you and surrounding yourself with talented, collaborative people. Working within a team where knowledge is shared and ownership is encouraged accelerates both professional and personal growth.
Finally, remember that engineering is not only about writing code—it’s about creating solutions that make people’s lives easier and businesses more efficient. Keeping that purpose in mind makes the career far more meaningful and rewarding.
What tools or technologies do you use most frequently in your daily work as an engineer at Mismo? In my daily work, I primarily use modern frontend technologies such as React and TypeScript to build scalable, maintainable user interfaces, along with state management solutions to handle complex data flows.
I also rely on tools like Git for version control and collaborative development, as well as platforms such as Jira and Confluence for task management, documentation, and team coordination.
For API integration and testing, I use tools like Postman and browser developer tools to debug and optimize data exchanges between frontend and backend services.
Additionally, I work in agile environments, following continuous integration workflows, code reviews, and collaborative development practices to ensure high-quality, reliable software delivery.

Employer Blog

How to Hire Great Engineers in the Age of LLMs

A practical playbook for modern engineering leaders

Not long ago, hiring an engineer was relatively predictable.

You gave candidates a take-home project.
You reviewed their repository.
You looked for clean architecture, thoughtful test coverage, and signs that they could work independently.

That process worked because writing production-quality code required time, repetition, and experience. The output itself was the signal.

Today, that signal is broken.

A well-prompted AI agent can complete what used to be a two-week take-home assignment in minutes. Boilerplate is instant. Scaffolding is automatic. Even complex integrations can be generated on demand.

So the hiring question has fundamentally changed.

It is no longer:

“Can this person write good code?”

It is now:

“Can this person think clearly, make good decisions, and deliver real outcomes in an AI-native environment?”

That shift is forcing every CTO, VP of Engineering, and founder to redesign how they evaluate talent.

The Big Shift: Code Output Is No Longer the Primary Signal

In the pre-LLM world, reviewing code told you almost everything you needed to know. The structure of a project reflected how someone thought. The way they handled edge cases showed their experience. Their test strategy revealed their maturity.

Now two candidates can submit nearly identical solutions.

One deeply understands the system they built.
The other simply accepted what an AI generated.

If you evaluate only the output, you cannot tell the difference.

That is why the strongest engineering organizations have moved their interviews away from static artifacts and toward dynamic observation. They are no longer trying to measure how fast someone types or how much syntax they remember. They are trying to understand how someone:

breaks down an ambiguous problem
collaborates with AI tools
validates correctness
makes trade-offs under time pressure
communicates their reasoning

In other words, the process has become more important than the product.

What High-Performing Hiring Processes Look Like Now

Live, progressive build sessions reveal real capability

One of the most effective modern interview formats is a short live session that begins with a deceptively simple task and gradually introduces real-world complexity.

At first, the problem is trivial. A strong candidate can solve it in one prompt.

But then new constraints appear:

performance requirements
data consistency issues
integration challenges
evolving product needs

This forces candidates to move beyond generation into engineering.

In this environment, you are not judging whether they “get to the final answer.” You are watching how they:

decide what to build first
use AI to accelerate without losing control
recover when something breaks
explain their own code

That is exactly what the job requires.

AI-integrated architecture interviews test real job readiness

Traditional system design interviews often test theoretical knowledge. Modern teams are replacing them with practical discussions that center on building features that actually use LLMs.

Instead of asking someone to “design a scalable chat app,” leading companies are asking:

“How would you design a document processing workflow that uses an LLM to extract structured data?”

This immediately reveals whether a candidate understands:

how LLMs behave in production
how to manage latency and cost
when to use structured outputs
how to evaluate reliability
how to design fallbacks

It also shows how they handle feedback. In real engineering environments, ideas are challenged constantly. The ability to defend, adapt, and refine a plan is far more valuable than reciting patterns.

AI interaction transcripts show how engineers actually think

One of the most interesting new evaluation tools is asking candidates to submit their AI session history along with their code.

This shifts the focus from:

“What did you build?”
to
“How did you build it?”

When you read a transcript, you can see:

whether they decompose problems into logical steps
how specific and intentional their prompts are
how quickly they detect incorrect output
whether they blindly accept or actively shape results

Two repositories can look identical.
Two thought processes rarely are.

This has become one of the highest-signal evaluation methods in AI-native teams.

Real work trials still work, but the success metrics have changed

Paid work trials remain the most reliable predictor of success because they simulate the real environment: your codebase, your communication style, your product constraints.

However, what you measure during that trial is different now.

You are not counting lines of code. You are observing:

how quickly someone produces production-quality pull requests
whether they follow your existing patterns without being told
the quality of the questions they ask
their ability to operate autonomously in an async team
how clearly they communicate progress and blockers

This is particularly important for distributed teams, where delivery speed and clarity matter more than interview performance.

The Skills That Matter Most in AI-Native Engineers

Fundamentals still determine who actually benefits from AI

There is a misconception that AI reduces the need for strong engineering foundations.

In reality, it magnifies the difference.

Strong engineers use AI to move faster because they know what “correct” looks like. They can detect subtle bugs, challenge inefficient solutions, and refactor generated code into something production-ready.

Weak engineers become dependent on AI without understanding what it produces. They generate more code, but deliver less value.

The simplest way to test this is to ask a candidate to walk through their own implementation line by line. If they truly understand it, their explanations will be precise and confident. If they do not, the gaps appear immediately.

Tooling fluency is the new productivity multiplier

Great engineers have always cared deeply about their tools. That has not changed. What has changed is how visible this is.

You can now observe:

how they structure prompts
how they iterate on outputs
how they combine multiple tools
how they validate results

The best candidates are intentional. They do not treat AI as magic. They treat it as a system they control.

This translates directly into day-to-day productivity.

Builder energy is the fastest screening filter

In a 30-minute conversation, one question eliminates the majority of candidates:

“What have you built recently using AI in a real environment?”

People who are excited about their craft will have an immediate, detailed answer. They will talk about trade-offs, failures, iterations, and learnings.

People who are not will speak in generalities.

In a market where resumes are increasingly similar, genuine builder behavior is one of the strongest differentiators.

Why You Should Not Ban AI in Interviews

Some organizations respond to this shift by trying to remove AI from the interview process.

This is a mistake.

That approach evaluates a world that no longer exists.

Your engineers will use AI every day on the job. The goal of the interview is not to test whether they can work without it. The goal is to test whether they can use it intelligently.

The future belongs to engineers who produce better outcomes because of AI, not in spite of it.

What This Means for Global Hiring and LATAM Teams

As AI reduces the importance of manual coding speed, the global talent pool becomes dramatically more competitive.

Time zone alignment, communication skills, ownership mentality, and delivery consistency now matter more than ever.

This is one of the reasons companies hiring in Latin America are seeing outsized results.

Engineers in the region are often:

deeply experienced in remote collaboration
comfortable working in async environments
focused on shipping real product rather than optimizing for interview performance

When your hiring process evaluates thinking, execution, and real-world delivery, these strengths become obvious.

A Modern AI-Native Hiring Framework

A hiring process that consistently produces high-quality outcomes typically includes:

A short builder screen that looks for real projects and depth of explanation.
A system design discussion centered on an actual LLM-powered feature.
A live build session where AI is allowed and the workflow is observed.
A paid work trial that measures real delivery inside your environment.

This structure aligns the interview with the job itself, which is the most reliable way to make strong hiring decisions.

Your Hiring Process Is Now Your Competitive Advantage

Every company has access to the same models.

Every engineer has access to the same tools.

The differentiator is no longer the technology.

It is your ability to identify and attract the people who use that technology best.

Organizations that redesign their hiring around thinking, tool fluency, and real delivery will consistently hire from the top tier of global talent.

Those that continue to evaluate for a pre-AI world will struggle, no matter how strong their brand is.

How Mismo Helps Companies Hire AI-Ready Engineers

At Mismo, we help companies hire engineers in Latin America who are already operating in this new reality.

They are not just strong coders. They are:

fluent in modern AI workflows
experienced in real-time collaboration with US teams
focused on shipping production outcomes

If you are rethinking your hiring strategy for the LLM era, we can help you design a process that identifies the right talent and integrates them quickly into your team.

Careers Blog, Talent Spotlight, Women in STEM

Daniela Zito: Shaping Futures in LATAM Nearshore Tech

Meet: Daniela Zito

Technical Sourcer

Country: Colombia

My name is Daniela. I am 28 years old, and I am Colombian and Italian. I have a twin sister, and I love my family—they mean everything to me. I moved to Italy, and I truly feel it has been a unique opportunity that has helped me grow significantly, both personally and professionally. I love ajiaco and spending time with the people I care about, but I also really enjoy sleeping and watching movies. I absolutely love dogs, and one of my biggest motivations in life is being able to help others.

What initially attracted you to engineering and how have you found inspiration in this career? Although I am not an engineer, I work closely with the engineering and IT world as an IT Recruiter. What initially attracted me to this field was the opportunity to connect talented people with roles where they can truly grow and feel valued. I have always been passionate about Human Resources, and I love being able to help individuals find a workplace where they feel motivated, supported, and happy.
I strongly believe that when people work in a company with a healthy environment and a strong organizational culture, they achieve better results and also experience greater stability and well-being in their personal lives. That belief inspires me every day in my career and motivates me to keep making a positive impact through my work.

What innovation or technical advancement have you been a part of that you consider to have made a milestone in your engineering field? One milestone I consider important in my field is contributing to more human-centered and data-driven recruitment processes. I have been involved in using modern recruitment tools and platforms to identify talent more efficiently, reduce bias, and improve the candidate experience.
By working closely with engineering teams, I have helped bridge the gap between technical needs and human potential, ensuring that companies hire not only based on technical skills, but also on cultural fit and long-term growth. I believe this approach has a meaningful impact, as building strong, motivated teams is essential for successful and sustainable engineering outcomes.

What made you choose Mismo? What made me choose Mismo was, above all, the incredible team of people behind it. Beyond the benefits, Mismo truly values and understands us as human beings. From the very beginning, they have made me feel supported, heard, and part of a family rather than just an employee.
Knowing that I am not alone, and that even during challenging moments—both personal and professional—I can always count on the team, has made a huge difference for me. Mismo believes in its people, and that trust and sense of belonging are what motivate me to continue growing and giving my best every day.

How would you describe the work environment at Mismo? The work environment at Mismo is supportive, warm, and genuinely human. It is a place where people are valued not only for their work, but also for who they are as individuals. There is a strong sense of teamwork, trust, and belonging, which makes everyone feel like part of a family.
Mismo fosters an environment where open communication, empathy, and understanding are truly present.

What learning and development opportunities have you had at Mismo and how have you utilized these opportunities to grow as a professional? At Mismo, I have had the opportunity to grow primarily through hands-on experience, collaboration with different teams, and continuous learning in a dynamic environment. Working closely with diverse stakeholders has allowed me to strengthen my communication skills, adaptability, and understanding of the IT and recruitment landscape.
I have taken advantage of feedback, daily challenges, and exposure to different processes to continue improving my professional skills and to become more resilient, organized, and proactive in my role.

What is your personal vision of a future where gender equity is a reality in all organizations, including Mismo? My personal vision of a future with true gender equity is one where opportunities, recognition, and growth are based solely on talent, performance, and values—never on gender. In this future, women feel safe, supported, and confident to express themselves, grow professionally, and aspire to leadership roles without barriers or bias.
At Mismo, I envision a continued commitment to fostering these values, ensuring that everyone has equal access to development opportunities and feels empowered to reach their full potential.
What aspects of working at Mismo’s engineering team make you proud and motivate you in your daily tasks? What makes me most proud of working alongside Mismo’s engineering team is the human quality behind the technical excellence. The team is not only highly skilled, but also collaborative, respectful, and open to working together toward shared goals. As an IT Recruiter, it motivates me to know that I am helping build teams where people feel supported, valued, and empowered to do their best work.
Knowing that my work contributes to connecting talented individuals with a team that truly cares about its people is what keeps me motivated and proud to be part of Mismo.
How do you believe the company and engineering can positively impact the world, people’s lives, and make a difference in their respective industries? I believe the company and its engineering teams can make a positive impact by building technology with purpose, improving efficiency, and creating solutions that truly benefit people’s lives. By fostering a strong, human-centered culture, Mismo can continue to drive innovation while setting an example of how companies can succeed by valuing both technical excellence and people.
What Mismo policies or practices have helped you improve your work-life balance? Mismo has helped me improve my work-life balance by respecting working hours and promoting healthy boundaries. The company encourages efficiency during the workday and does not promote overtime, which allows employees to disconnect and rest properly. Additionally, the benefits and recognition practices make you feel valued, which contributes to a more balanced and sustainable work experience.
What inspiring advice would you give to someone considering a career in engineering or looking to join a company like Mismo? Choose a path and a company that not only challenges you technically, but also values you as a person. Look for environments where learning, collaboration, and a healthy culture are just as important as results, because that’s where real growth happens.
What tools or technologies do you use most frequently in your daily work at Mismo? In my role as an IT Recruiter, I mainly use LinkedIn Recruiter and LinkedIn to source and connect with talent, as well as Mismo’s internal platform and databases. I also work frequently with the client database, which supports our recruiting process and helps ensure alignment with client needs.

Careers Blog, Engineering, Find Remote Work

Technical Autonomy Is Not Freedom: It’s Structured Responsibility

Most engineers have, at some point, heard the promise of “total autonomy”—that appealing idea of making decisions without friction, bureaucracy, or endless approval layers, as if technical freedom were the ultimate destination of every software engineering career.

In remote and distributed teams, especially within the software development ecosystem in Latin America, that promise often blends with professional pride, access to global projects, and the feeling that world-class technology is being built from LATAM.

Yet over time, a question emerges that many developers rarely voice out loud: is what we call autonomy truly technical empowerment, or is it simply being left alone to make critical decisions without context, without support, and without a clear structure to sustain their impact?

Software Development as Professional Identity, Not Just Execution

Software engineering has never been just about writing code that works. It is about taking responsibility for decisions that affect real users, business models, entire teams, and the long-term evolution of systems.

Every architectural choice, every library selected, and every technical trade-off accepted carries consequences that extend far beyond a single sprint or release.

That is why autonomy, when offered without shared criteria, without a clear technical vision, and without accessible leadership, stops being a growth opportunity and quietly becomes a risk—for both the product and the engineer.

Pride in being a developer does not come solely from technical mastery, but from understanding the impact of what we build and knowing that our decisions align with a broader purpose.

In that sense, autonomy without structure does not strengthen professional identity—it erodes it, by forcing individuals to carry alone responsibilities that should be collective.

LATAM Talent, Global Impact, and the Real Weight of Decision-Making

LATAM talent has become a cornerstone of nearshore software development, not only because of technical skill, but due to resilience, cultural adaptability, and a strong capacity for continuous learning.

Engineers from Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, and across the region now lead critical systems for global companies, directly impacting millions of users and high-stakes business decisions.

This growth has elevated the role of the Latin American developer—but it has also increased the complexity of the decisions expected from them.

The greater the global impact, the greater the need for clear technical structures. Not every decision should rest on a single individual, no matter how senior they are.

This is where many organizations confuse autonomy with abandonment—delegating decisions without providing context, without defining standards, and without creating real spaces for technical discussion.

For experienced engineers, demanding autonomy also means demanding clarity: living roadmaps, shared architectural principles, and technical leadership that stays present instead of disappearing.

Community, Structure, and Responsible Autonomy in Remote Teams

Real autonomy exists when engineers can decide with complete information, visible technical agreements, and the confidence that they are not isolated in their decisions.

Organizational abandonment shows up when there are no review spaces, when decisions go undocumented, and when failures are only discovered in production—too late.

In remote teams, this distinction becomes even more critical, because distance amplifies both healthy culture and unhealthy practices.

That is why developer community is not a romantic ideal—it is a technical necessity to sustain quality and learning.

Practices like deep code reviews, intentional pair programming, and active mentorship turn individual decisions into shared knowledge.

In a healthy engineering culture, autonomy is not measured by how many decisions you make alone, but by how many you can sustain, explain, and evolve alongside other engineers.

Structure does not limit creativity; it protects it—by enabling experimentation without compromising system stability or team health.

Mismo: Supported Autonomy, Purpose-Driven Engineering

At Mismo, autonomy is understood as a responsible practice—one where engineers have room to decide, but are never left alone with critical decisions.

The culture encourages real collaboration across countries, human-centered technical leadership, and environments where asking questions is a sign of professional maturity, not weakness.

Distributed teams do not operate as silos, but as knowledge networks strengthened through communication, continuous learning, and trust.

This approach allows LATAM talent to create global impact without sacrificing identity, growth, or technical quality.

More than executing tasks, engineers participate in the evolution of products, architectures, and sustainable ways of working.

Here, autonomy is not sold as absolute freedom, but as shared responsibility—supported by living processes and present people.

Building the Future with Conscious Autonomy

The real challenge for modern engineering is not choosing between autonomy and control, but designing cultures where responsibility is distributed and visible.

As developers in Latin America, we have a historic opportunity to prove that our talent does more than execute—it leads with judgment, technical ethics, and a strong sense of community.

Mature autonomy is not the absence of structure; it is a commitment to decisions that endure over time.

We are a generation of LATAM engineers building the future—not through improvisation, but through conscious autonomy, real collaboration, and the pride of creating technology with purpose.

Careers Blog, Talent Spotlight

From LATAM to Global Scale: Oswaldo Sánchez at Mismo

Meet: Oswaldo Sánchez

Team Lead / FrontEnd Engineer

Country: Honduras

I’m a developer from Honduras. I have two children, enjoy soccer and video games, and love learning new things while exploring new tools and technologies.

What initially attracted you to engineering and how have you found inspiration in this career? I remember being in school when a computer teacher showed us how to create web pages using Microsoft Word. In that moment, I was amazed to realize that I could create things other people could actually use. That experience is what initially drew me to engineering.

What innovation or technical advancement have you been a part of that you consider to have made a milestone in your engineering field? I have led and collaborated with multiple teams, consistently delivering strong results. One of the most significant projects I worked on was the creation and full automation of a ferry transportation company. We built the entire end-to-end booking framework—from online ticket sales to mobile applications for Android and iOS, through to boarding processes, reporting systems, agency management, and more.
It was a large-scale initiative that required careful architectural planning, the integration of multiple platforms, and close collaboration across different teams. This experience marked a major milestone in my engineering career. Today, this implementation generates more than one million USD annually.

What made you choose Mismo? I liked the opportunity, the tech stack I would be working with, and the benefits they offered, such as PTO. The salary was also competitive, so overall it felt like a great fit for me.

How would you describe the work environment at Mismo? I would say the work environment at Mismo is very good. The hiring process is smooth, and there are amazing people here. Overall, it’s a fun, friendly, and trusting environment that makes work enjoyable every day.

What learning and development opportunities have you had at Mismo and how have you utilized these opportunities to grow as a professional? Thanks to our work with the client, even though we dedicate a significant amount of time to their needs, we still have space to continue learning and growing.

What aspects of working at Mismo’s engineering team make you proud and motivate you in your daily tasks? I feel proud knowing that I’m working for an important company where the work I do is seen by millions of people and has a real financial impact. Knowing that my contributions matter and create value motivates me every day to keep improving and giving my best.

How do you believe the company and engineering can positively impact the world, people’s lives, and make a difference in their respective industries? By automating complex processes and creating tools that simplify daily tasks, engineering can improve people’s lives and help industries operate more efficiently, making a meaningful impact.

What Mismo policies or practices have helped you improve your work-life balance? PTO is important, and having a birthday off is also a great benefit.

What inspiring advice would you give to someone considering a career in engineering or looking to join a company like Mismo? Don’t be afraid—trust your abilities. Engineering is a field where continuous learning and curiosity open up amazing opportunities.

What tools or technologies do you use most frequently in your daily work as an engineer at Mismo? I use AI tools extensively, including Cursor and GitHub Copilot. I also rely on Sublime Text for quick notes, Sticky Notes for task reminders, and Docker as part of my daily development workflow.

Careers Blog, Engineering, Leadership

Human-Centered Technical Leadership: Guiding with Empathy and Vision

Leading with Purpose in a World Built on Code

In software engineering, we often assume leadership is defined by architecture diagrams, clean pull requests, or the elegance of a well-designed system. But leadership begins much earlier—at the moment we choose to uplift others, listen before directing, and build with intention.

Developers in Latin America understand this deeply. We write code that powers global products while navigating unique challenges—resource constraints, shifting markets, remote collaboration—and still delivering quality, resilience, and creativity every single day. Leading from LATAM means believing that our work matters beyond technical output; it shapes how the world experiences technology.

Engineering is more than instructions executed by a machine. It is solving real problems, caring about the humans behind the use cases, and standing proudly behind what we build. And in that space between logic and empathy is where true technical leadership emerges.

The Power of LATAM Talent—and Why Community Shapes Better Engineers

The rise of nearshore software development is not a coincidence. Companies worldwide increasingly rely on software development in Latin America because LATAM engineers bring something beyond technical excellence: adaptability, curiosity, cultural intelligence, and the ability to collaborate across boundaries.

This is what sets talent in LATAM apart. We learn fast. We embrace complexity. We turn constraints into innovation. And we believe deeply in community—because most of us grew up advancing through mentorship, shared knowledge, and collective growth rather than individual competition.

Great technical leaders don’t lead from superiority; they lead from proximity. They review code with kindness, mentor without ego, and foster an environment where pair programming, open conversations, and thoughtful decisions become part of the culture. They understand that an engineer’s growth curve is shaped not only by skill but by belonging.

Every day across LATAM, we see senior engineers explaining architectural trade-offs with patience, juniors asking brave questions, and distributed teams building trust even without a shared office. This human element—this commitment to community—is what transforms good engineering into meaningful engineering.

Mismo and the Future We Build Together

At Mismo, this philosophy is part of our DNA. Our developer community spans Costa Rica, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Guatemala, and more—yet collaboration feels natural, almost as if we were all sitting around the same whiteboard. That sense of unity is intentional: it’s built on empathy, open communication, and genuine respect for both the craft and the people behind it.

Mismo’s culture empowers engineers not only to deliver exceptional work, but to grow as individuals and leaders. Here, learning is continuous, contributions are celebrated, and diverse perspectives are treated as a strategic advantage rather than a checkbox. It’s a place where developers feel heard, supported, and proud of the impact they make.

As the world continues to turn toward LATAM for high-performing engineering teams, the opportunity ahead is enormous. We are more than contributors—we are innovators, architects, mentors, and leaders shaping global technology from our corner of the world.

The future belongs to those who lead with both vision and empathy. And across Latin America, we are proving that human-centered technical leadership isn’t just possible—it’s already happening.

We are a generation of developers building the future from LATAM.
Let’s keep learning, collaborating, and lifting each other higher.