Getting to know Ahmed Mohammed from the Compatibility team
October 11, 2019
You have bought a theme but, after installing WPML, you suddenly discover there are conflicts. You turn to the Support Forum for help. Your problem is provided with a workaround. Is the matter now closed? For us, it isn´t!
Here at OnTheGoSystems, we not only want to handle any conflicts with products quickly and efficiently but we also want to make sure themes work seamlessly with WPML without requiring any workaround. This may mean that the issue is brought to the attention of our Compatibility team.
Many times the theme or plugin author has already submitted a request to make the product compatible with WPML or Toolset and the team is already working on it. Sometimes, if the theme or plugin is new, the Team will reach out to the theme author to offer their services in order for you, the end customer, to have a product that is completely compatible with WPML and/or Toolset.
Let’s meet Ahmed Mohammed from Cairo, Egypt who is very experienced in working with theme and plugin authors wanting to make their products compatible with WPML and/or Toolset. Whenever an issue is reported, Ahmed performs a series of tests to provide a fix so that you will always be pleased and satisfied with your purchases.
Ahmed lives in Cairo, Egypt, only 30 minutes from the famous Giza Pyramids, with his wife Alaa and their little boy. Just a few days ago they learned there will be a new addition to their growing family!
He’s crazy about football. His favorite team is Real Madrid worldwide and locally, Al Ahly. He plays football once a week but he admits, “I’́m not the best player but it’s good to take part in some sports every now and then.”
Besides playing football on weekends, the family often drives 90 minutes to Ahmed’s mom’s house to spend the rest of the weekend there.
What were you doing before joining OTGS, Ahmed?
I graduated from the Faculty of Computers and Information Science (now known as Computers and AI) in 2013. I like tech, and right now I’m learning about “machine learning” or artificial intelligence – teaching a machine to do things without programming it. It’s the trend now and I find it interesting.
While I was studying and after graduating, I worked as a WordPress freelancer, building and maintaining websites for clients. I was working on oDesk, which later became Upwork, and Fiverr – online marketplaces for freelancers and at the same time, I was training to become a Network Engineer. I had already applied to many companies here in Egypt, but, without going into details, the bureaucracy I met with back in those days made me decide to look for a WordPress job online. Although there were several options, I decided to apply only to OnTheGoSystems for the position of WPML Supporter.
4 days later I received an email from our COO and I was interviewed by the CEO. On July 4th, 2014, I started my new job as a WPML supporter.
Describe your job
I make themes and plugins compatible with WPML. Some products may have conflicts when they are installed with WPML, so my job is to test them and resolve the conflicts. If this line of work interests you, you need to be quick to learn how different themes and plugins work. Often you’ll find you will need to check the documentation and watch the available videos in order to test correctly.
Which teams or employees do you work closely with?
The nature of our work in the Compatibility team involves getting in touch with many people both inside and outside the company. Inside the company, I work closely with the Support team, the Marketing team and the WPML Development team.
The Compatibility team has quite a few challenges because you find each team outside of ours has its own requirements and workflow, which may be different from ours. With patience and a give-and-take spirit, we can work together successfully.
Outside the company, I work closely with many authors to maintain the compatibility between their products and WPML. To name a few – Avada, the most popular theme on Themeforest, Enfold, Elementor and many more. Dealing with these big names in the industry, getting their feedback and seeing their responses to my emails, I am constantly learning and gaining insight into their way of thinking, thus improving my own skills.
Describe a typical working day
I start my day checking my emails and responding to authors so they are not kept waiting too long. Then I check the status of the support tickets escalated to compatibility. The goal is to resolve the escalated tickets as quickly as possible because there are clients waiting.
Are there other opportunities open to you while working at OTGS?
Definitely! I’m the organizer of the WordPress Cairo meetup group. Our goal here is to organize WordCamp MENA (Middle East and North Africa).
Mohamed Khafaja (one of my team peers) is an organizer too and we organize an event every month. At these events, we appreciate any feedback we get about WPML and Toolset because it may help us to improve the quality of our work.
Are you building your own website and want it to become multilingual using WPML? We hope the inside story of how Ahmed and the rest of the Compatibility team are working for you will convince you it is the right choice!
Or perhaps you are the author of a theme or plugin not yet compatible with WPML? Would you like to apply to our GoGlobal program and have your theme/plugin certified and announced to clients by the Compatibility Team? Ahmed will be only too happy to work with you.
Come Work With Us
Are you interested in working with a globally distributed team that encourages growth and advancement? Are you ready to harness the power of technology for a better future?