Short Bio | Shaakunthala
Hi, my name is Sameera Shaakunthala. (You can also call me Shaaku 😊)
I’m a Sri Lankan information technology professional.
Currently I live and work in The Netherlands.
I grew up in Ambalangoda - a coastal city in Sri Lanka.
I hold a Bachelor’s Degree in Information and Communication Technology, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Information Security from University of Colombo School of Computing.
I work in the capacity of a JIRA Specialist/ Business Analyst in a globally renowned organization relating to automobile industry.
I built an exciting career from nothing, to the level of a subject matter expert of JIRA.
I have previously worked with teams in Sri Lanka, United States and India.
I have 7+ years of total work experience, most relating to Atlassian JIRA.
I am a Toastmaster and I was a former Vice President Public Relations of Fusion Toastmasters Club, as well as a voluntary mentor.
My hobbies are watching science experiments on YouTube, reading, listening to music and motorcycling.
I have a passion for problem solving, debugging and mentoring people while self-learning.
My wishlist may be found here. ☺️
What I can do for you
I am capable of helping you in the following areas, however, at this moment I am not looking for any freelancing opportunities. I just got a new job and currently not looking for a change as well.
Thanks for checking in.
Though I may not be looking for a job, I’m certainly looking for opportunities to help small businesses as a freelance technology resource person. I can,
Provide all-round expertise for implementing JIRA, Confluence, Bitbucket (Stash), Crowd, and the rest of Atlassian tools in your small business organization.
Guide your Agile teams to get the maximum out of JIRA and the Atlassian stack.
Train JIRA Administrators.
Troubleshoot your JIRA and help make it perform better.
Undertake small automation projects (JIRA and other).
FAQ
Are you girl or boy? Uncle 😂😂! Just because of the spelling of my name people confuse the gender. In some personal names in Sinhala, gender is determined by accent and which is why I have put a double-A.
Can you code? Yes. I usually code Java, Groovy, JavaScript, and Python these days. I have experience with Perl, SQL and PL/SQL as well. I learned BASIC programming by myself when I was 16... using my neighbor’s old Atari 800XL... in 2000s!
Can you hack? Sometimes — only when my mind is free. However, definition of hacking means “Playful Cleverness”; not just breaking into someone’s computer.
What are some of your passions? Learning new stuff, mentoring a team with a ‘servant leader’ mindset, and making the ‘impossible’ happen. Other than professional desires, I’m a petrolhead biker.
What kind of expertise do you have?
I’m a self-learned JIRA administrator and more. I have experience with customizing JIRA in an out, serious troubleshooting, automating some of JIRA administration tasks (that involves a bit of hacking), and a bit of add-on (plugin) development.
I’m also experienced with other tools in Atlassian stack, but the main concentration is JIRA.
I also have experience with setting up MySQL and Oracle Databases, PL/SQL programming as well. I know a bit of database troubleshooting too.
I help (provide tooling consultation to) Agile teams and the enterprise to make best use of JIRA depending on how they work as a team and interact with the outside.
Overall, I’m a balanced technology-aware and business process-aware person.
Where’s your portfolio? I can share my résumé privately upon request. It contains a summary of my project work. Also, you can check out the links up there to understand my work history and some of my open source contributions.
Are you a blogger?
Yes I am! Once I a very active blogger mostly writing my own learning adventures in technology and a bit of personal stuff. Unfortunately I don’t find a lot of time for blogging like I had during 2008 - 2010.
Links to my sites are up there.
What are some of your extra-curricular activities? I’ve contributed as a visiting lecturer at University of Colombo School of Computing (as subject matter expert of JIRA).
Windows or Linux? Linux. Ubuntu-only user since 2008.
iOS or Android? Android. I love diversity.
What languages do you speak? Native Sinhala, near-native English and elementary Tamil. Currently learning Dutch.
What are some miscellaneous but important things? I have some trouble with color vision - explains why this site is black and white. (Despite the fact I’ve got some graphic design skills with GIMP) I’m a teetotaler. I refrain from consuming alcoholic drinks, so please do not insist when I refuse a drink.
Let’s talk!
So, what do you think? If I can be of any help with something, just say Hello and I’ll get in touch.
If you wish to arrange a phone call please request mobile phone number by email. International calling is possible with IDD, WhatsApp or Signal Messenger.
