Wenbin Li

Wenbin's work involves understanding the project's requirements, identifying gaps in the existing infrastructure, and helping design and implement the changes needed to support CanDIAPL's workflows. She came to the project already familiar with the landscape, having worked at the Canadian Astronomy Data Centre on CANFAR DevOps and as a cloud engineer on SKA-related work. She later joined CanDIAPL as part of the effort to bring its services and workflows into the CANFAR environment.

 

What excites Wenbin most is the opportunity to help turn research requirements into infrastructure that can be used reliably by a broader scientific community. She also enjoys how the project brings together software development, cloud infrastructure, and scientific computing in one place. A typical week for her is a mix of development, testing, technical discussions, and learning how different parts of the existing systems fit together - reviewing requirements, investigating the CANFAR and CanDIAPL infrastructure, working on deployment and integration tasks, and discussing design decisions with the team.

 

Her favourite part of the job is solving problems that sit between software and infrastructure, while working closely with the team. She enjoys figuring out how different systems connect, learning the reasoning and design principles behind technical decisions, and turning that understanding into practical, maintainable solutions.

 

Outside of work, Wenbin spends a lot of time watching shows and going for walks, especially through gardens or along the lake. “Friends” remains her all-time favourite show. And people might be surprised to learn that she sometimes opens the fridge just to take a look, before bed or during a work break, even when she isn't planning to eat anything.

 

Wenbin's advice for anyone starting out in the field: don't sit for too long! It's easy to lose track of time when you're focused on your screen, so remember to get up, stretch, and take a short walk every now and then.