On Engineering Success Podcast, we had a fascinating conversation with Alper, Head of Platform Engineering at Choco, a food-tech startup based in Berlin. Alper’s journey from Amsterdam to Berlin, and from freelance game development to leading platform engineering, is filled with valuable insights into leadership, developer experience, cost optimization, and the delicate balance between personal and professional life.

‍Alper, what brought you from Amsterdam to Berlin? What differences have you noticed between the tech scenes in the two cities?
‍I moved to Berlin from Amsterdam when there wasn’t much happening in the Amsterdam tech scene. Berlin offered a much more vibrant and affordable place to be, with a deep talent pool for technology roles. In Amsterdam, companies have to be global from day one because the market is too small. In contrast, Germany’s industrial backbone creates a different ecosystem, with local and international startups coexisting.

‍You’ve worked in both remote and in-office environments. What’s your take on how in-person collaboration impacts team dynamics?
Working in person allows for spontaneous conversations and relationship-building that remote work struggles to replicate. It’s not just about productivity; it’s about creating rapport. When you’re in the office, you can have broader, more organic discussions that often reveal important information. While remote work requires more effort to bridge gaps, in-office setups naturally encourage these interactions.
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‍What has surprised you as you’ve moved from role to role in your career? What leadership lessons did you learn along the way?  
I wouldn’t call it climbing the ladder—it’s more about staying fresh and figuring out what’s next. I started in freelance game development, moved into backend and iOS engineering, and eventually stepped into leadership roles. Leadership isn’t just about being a manager; it’s about showing initiative and driving things forward. Even in non-management roles, I found opportunities to lead, and that’s something I encourage in my team as well. You don't need to be in a formal leadership position to have an impact.

‍Platform engineering seems to be a big focus for you at Choco. Can you explain what that involves and how you manage the team?
Platform engineering is a support function for software engineering. Our job is to ensure developers have the tools, processes, and infrastructure to deliver at velocity while keeping systems reliable and cost-efficient. It’s less about reinventing the wheel and more about making things simple and scalable. We also focus on keeping costs down by moving away from proprietary services like AWS Lambda to more commodity-based services.

‍How do you define and optimize developer experience in your role?
Developer experience means keeping things as simple and standardized as possible. Overcomplicating frameworks or processes creates friction, which slows down teams. Our goal is to make the development pipeline straightforward, ensuring that developers can build and deploy without jumping through unnecessary hoops. The more streamlined the process, the better the velocity.

What metrics are most important to you when measuring success in platform engineering?For us, metrics like pipeline speed, reliability, and uptime are crucial. These tell us whether our infrastructure supports the business goals effectively. Cost optimization is another big focus—companies are increasingly cost-sensitive, and we’ve shifted away from expensive, proprietary services toward more affordable, scalable solutions. Our job is to ensure that teams can operate efficiently without breaking the bank.

‍How does the conversation about metrics change as you move up the leadership chain?
The higher you go in leadership, the more abstract the conversation becomes. At the executive level, it’s about principles—velocity, reliability, and cost-efficiency. My CEO cares about how quickly we can deliver, but he’s not involved in the details of individual GitHub actions. The focus is on the big picture, and it’s my job to translate that into actionable priorities for my team.

‍As a parent and a leader, how do you balance your professional and personal responsibilities?
Becoming a parent while stepping into a leadership role taught me a lot about emotional regulation and prioritization. Both roles require a lot of emotional labor—being present, listening, and making sure people feel heard. It’s about putting others first, whether it’s your kids or your team. After a long day at work, my kids also demand a lot from me, and I’ve found that the skills I use in one area help in the other.

‍What’s next for platform engineering, and how do you future-proof your work?
Future-proofing means keeping things simple and scalable. You don’t want to burden yourself with unnecessary complexity because whatever you build now, you’ll have to maintain for years to come. Cost optimization and platform engineering go hand in hand—we’re constantly looking for ways to do more with less, whether it’s through smarter infrastructure choices or improving developer workflows.