Xavier Fernández

Meet Xavi Fernández, our new Infrastructure Team Leader at Techsoulogy. With two decades of experience in cloud and on-premise systems, Xavi brings a sharp focus on aligning technology with business impact. His journey into the programmatic world was unexpected, but his passion for building resilient, scalable systems and mentoring teams made the leap a natural fit. In this interview, he shares insights on leadership, favorite tools, and how he keeps learning—on and off the clock.

Question: How did you get into the programmatic industry?

It was completely fortuitous. I’ve been in the tech world for 20 years, especially in the on-premise and cloud infrastructure sector. I was looking for a new challenge for my career, and this time I wanted to enter a vertical sector that wasn’t just tech. I met Tony, he presented me with the challenge, I learned about the sector… and I decided to jump on board.

Q: What is the best part of being an Infrastructure Team Leader?

A: Today, technology is key to any business, and a good application of it in everyday life can bring many benefits. From the infrastructure side, I aim to align myself as closely as possible with the business and apply everything I’ve learned to translate it into benefits for the team and the technology.

Q: Could you list some tips for becoming a good Infrastructure Team Leader? What are the essential skills needed in your job?

A: Being a good Infrastructure Team Leader goes beyond just technical expertise. Here are some tips or skills that I feel like important points for success:

• Lead by example: Your team will mirror your mindset.
• Balance hands-on vs delegation.
• Communicate clearly to the team AND to the company.
• Think in systems, not just components – Infrastructure isn’t just about servers or pipelines—it’s about resilience, scalability, cost, security, and observability all working together. Big picture and 360º vision is key
• Mentor constantly:  Invest in the people around you. 
• Stay curious and adaptable.

Q: How do you organize your day? What tools do you use, and which are your favorite?

A: I start my day very early—usually by checking how the current cycle is progressing and reviewing Grafana to get a quick feel for the system’s health. It’s my way of staying connected to the pulse of the platform.
During the day, I dedicate focused time to team meetings, project coordination, or unblocking others. Once meetings are over, I dive deep into my own cycle tasks—whether it’s reviewing code, optimizing infrastructure, or improving automation.
At night, I like to take at least 5 minutes to reflect on what was accomplished. It helps me close the loop and prepare mentally for the next day.
In terms of tools:

• Linear is where we organize everything—tasks, priorities, and alignment with business needs.
  
• Grafana is one of my favorite tools. I keep an eye on it regularly, not just for incidents, but to stay proactive and spot patterns early.
  
• Slack is our main channel for internal communication, while Telegram is used to receive urgent alerts after hours, keeping me responsive without being overwhelmed.
  
• I also work with Cursor (a fork of VS Code) where I’ve used AI as a coding assistant for years. It’s a game-changer—boosts productivity, provides a second set of eyes, and lets me iterate faster while maintaining quality.

Q: Do you have any idea how many emails you send per day?

A: Nowadays, in Tappx,  very few, since all conversations are in Slack. Maybe 1 or 2 emails per Day.

Q: What is the app you use the most in your daily life?

A: Difficult to decide one… If I see statistics, I see:

•  YouTube: Nowadays, it is my television. I watch podcasts or interesting videos to learn things.

• News apps (sports or general newspapers).
• Medium: For reading interesting tech articles.

Q: What is the first thing you do when you get home and disconnect from work?

A: Well, for me, it is hard to disconnect from work since I like technology and use it to continue my training at home. Anyway, my two children take up a lot of my time.
And if I still have time, doing and watching sports or playing music with my guitars are other passions for me.

Q: What would you do if you win the lottery?

A:

Q: Tell us a fun fact about yourself