Mews R&D Check-In

Markéta Willis: Stop calling it a personal brand

— A Mews R&D Check-In on career transitions, visibility in tech, and why soft skills matter more than ever In this episode, Jan Meissner sits down with Markéta Willis, our Software Engineer and content creator, to explore her shift from languages into IT, and what she learned along the way. They discuss how breaking into tech is not just about learning to code, but managing the mental and emotional challenges that come with a complete career change. What started as sharing her journey online quickly evolved into a more intentional approach to building visibility. The conversation also dives into how expectations for engineers are changing. With AI making coding more accessible, companies now look beyond hard skills—valuing communication, presence, and the ability to represent ideas clearly. They wrap up with practical insights on creating content, thinking long-term about your digital footprint, and why stepping outside your comfort zone, whether online or on stage, is key to growing your career. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Music by Music Unlimited from Pixabay To learn more about Mews R&D team, check out our: * website [https://developers.mews.com/] * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/mewsrnd] * Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/mewsrnd/]

Alex Ratman: I’ll drive a bus once our observability is top-level

— A Mews R&D Check-In on the evolution of frontend observability, migrating complex data platforms, and building a culture of engineering proactivity. In this episode, our host sits down with Alex Ratman, Senior Software Engineer at Mews and a self-proclaimed observability enthusiast. Alex shares the story of how a performance gap on the customer side led his team to build the first true observability solution for frontend engineering at Mews—moving from being "blind" to having eyes on every interaction. The conversation goes deep into the "Why" behind the massive migration from New Relic to Coralogix. Alex explains the three-pronged decision: solving the cost problem, closing data gaps that large-scale platforms often miss, and finding a partner that offers the support needed to teach developers a whole new discipline. They also discuss the human side of tech: The Frontend Observability Kindergarten. Alex breaks down why he started a "kindergarten" to teach the basics, his tips for running a successful engineering guild, and how his team uses AI (and Coralogix' MCP server) to create POCs that give engineers hints on where to start an investigation. To learn more about Mews R&D team, check out our: * website [https://developers.mews.com/] * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/mewsrnd] * Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/mewsrnd/]

Sofía Santos: Service design is more than just workshops

— A Mews R&D Check-In on service design, organizational systems, and the art of intentional discovery at scale. In this episode, our host Jan Meissner sits down with Sofía Santos, Staff Service Designer in the Growth Tribe at Mews. Sofía shares her unique perspective on what it means to design for the entire customer journey—from the first interaction with a brand to the complex onboarding and support systems that keep a product running. The conversation explores how a service designer's way of thinking bleeds into everyday life, including Sofía's habit of prototyping her own kitchen to optimize human interaction with space. She unpacks the common misconceptions of the role, explaining why the real value of a service designer lies not in the "sticky notes" of a workshop, but in the deep discovery, visual mapping of pain points, and strategic alignment that happens behind the scenes. They dive into the challenges of designing for a massive ecosystem, the importance of "signals" in mapping a vision for 2026, and how to balance structured experimentation with a sense of playfulness. Sofía also shares how she leverages AI as a "critical thought partner" to stress-test ideas and build high-fidelity narratives for future-state journeys. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Music by Music Unlimited from Pixabay To learn more about Mews R&D team, check out our: * website [https://developers.mews.com/] * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/mewsrnd] * Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/mewsrnd/]

Rui Oliveira: This is the road to a centralized identity

— A Mews R&D MiniPodcast on product thinking, platform complexity, and building a unified experience at scale In this episode, our host Jan Meissner sits down with Rui Oliveira, Senior Product Manager in Mews Platform Enablement Tribe. Rui shares his unconventional path into product—from studying electrical engineering and building betting automations at his university, to shaping product across industries like e-commerce, agriculture, manufacturing, and now hospitality at Mews. The conversation dives into what it really means to build products for both internal and external users, and why these groups require different ways of gathering feedback and understanding their needs. Rui also unpacks the surprising complexity of hotel operations, the long journey behind our long-awaited granular permissions project, and how improving user roles and access control ties directly into reducing phishing risks across the industry. They discuss the challenge of integrating acquired products into a seamless ecosystem, why consistent identity and permissions matter across the suite, and how all of this feeds into the vision for the M-Suite: one login, one identity, and one unified experience for every customer and team. Check Rui's recent blog post on granular permissions [https://developers.mews.com/granular-permissions-in-mews/]. To learn more about Mews R&D team, check out our: * website [https://developers.mews.com/] * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/mewsrnd] * Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/mewsrnd/]

Jiří Vinárek: AI is powerful—but only if your data is

— A Mews R&D MiniPodcast on data, AI realities, and the rise of semantic intelligence In this episode, our host Jan Meissner sits down with Jiří Vinárek, our Staff Data Scientist, to demystify the world of data. What’s the real difference between data engineers, analysts, and scientists? How do these roles work together to transform raw information into powerful insights? And why does good data feel a bit like high-octane fuel for AI? Jiří shares his journey from studying math and physics at university to becoming one of the earliest data people at Mews—building dashboards, prediction models, and even a CO₂-monitoring pet project back when the whole company fit in one room. He breaks down what AI can do, what it really can’t, and why understanding models (and your data) matters far more than pressing “generate.” They dive into the hype versus reality of GenAI, why arguing with an LLM is pointless, and how emerging concepts like semantic layers and agentic AI will shape the next wave of hospitality tech. Along the way, Jiří reflects on teaching beginners through Czechitas, the surprising joy of relearning fundamentals, and why diverse backgrounds strengthen product teams. To learn more about Mews R&D team, check out our: * website [https://developers.mews.com/] * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/mewsrnd] * Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/mewsrnd/]