Meet Our Developer Advocate, Anders Eknert!
As part of our regular highlighting members of the Styra team, we can’t wait for you to meet our Developer Advocate, Anders Eknert!
In this Q&A, Anders shares why he thinks Open Policy Agent (OPA) is awesome, what he loves about working with the Open Source community and what he would do with a time machine.
Tell us a little about yourself/background?
I joined Styra about a year and a half ago as a developer advocate. Before joining Styra, I worked for a company that used Open Policy Agent (OPA) for authorization, cloud infrastructure and Kubernetes admission control. We chose OPA because we needed a way to handle authorization in a complex, diverse environment, where so many different types of teams, people and technologies were involved in our efforts. As we became more invested in OPA, we started to look for help managing it at scale. That is when we found Styra and became among the first European-based customers. Through that process, I got to know a lot of the people at Styra, so when the time came for a career change, it was easy for me to ask to join Team Styra.
My previous position had been working as an internal developer advocate. The organization had developers across the globe, so we needed someone who could communicate directions and guidelines, and about how tools like OPA could help unify our efforts — and of course, other tools as well. I have enjoyed taking on a more external role at Styra that allows me to engage with the entire Open Source community and support many diverse use cases.
What team are you on and what does your day-to-day look like?
I work on the Open Source team which focuses on the continued development of OPA and supporting the OPA community. A lot of my day-to-day tasks include creating good documentation, writing blogs and participating in community meet-ups. One thing I love about my job is that I get to do a little bit of everything. No such thing as a boring day at work since there is always something new to be working on!
Why do you think OPA is awesome?
When I worked in the Identity and Access Management (IAM) space, there was a standard way to handle authentication, and it worked across programming languages and platforms. When I moved over to the Authorization space, though, I found that there weren’t nearly as many standards. OPA is awesome because it solves this problem by providing a standardized way of handling authorization, or even any type of policy, across programming languages and platforms.
What do you enjoy most about working as a Developer Advocate?
Every day is different! I enjoy working closely with users and meeting a lot of new people (online or IRL). I love coding and am a hacker at heart. Having that so tightly integrated into my work is amazing.
What are 3 words you would use to describe Styra?
Intelligent, Fun and Welcoming.
Would you rather fight 100 duck-sized horses or one horse-sized duck?
I would fight one horse-sized duck. I would know where my opponent is that way. With 100 duck-sized horses, it would be hard to keep track of them all. Plus, they would be coming from all sides! It is also very funny to imagine a big, weird-looking duck.
If you had a time machine, would you travel to the future or back to the past?
I would go to the future. It would be more exciting to learn what is ahead of us. We have a good idea of what has happened in the past, but the future is completely unknown. On the other hand, visiting the future could potentially be depressing. Now that I have thought about it, I would decline the offer and stay in the present.
What is one food that you cannot resist?
Spaghetti Bolognese. The food of choice for kids, I know, but just so good.
What is the one thing you can’t live without?
My family. I know that is kind of a cheesy answer, haha!
Interested in working at a fast-growing startup or with open source technologies 🧑💻? We’re hiring! Check out our open positions today.