_At ClickHouse, we believe that Culture is above all being shaped and nurtured by our colleagues. It’s the way that we interact, work with each other, communicate and help each other learn along the way. Instead of stating what we think our culture should be in principle, we prefer to share our team members’ views and direct experiences of what it’s really like to work at ClickHouse: positives and challenges included._

_In a series of spotlights, some of our team members kindly share what matters to them and how they find working at ClickHouse._

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This month, we’ve had the opportunity to chat with Niek Lok, Commercial Account Executive- EMEA, based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. We’re very grateful to Niek for all the work he does with users of ClickHouse and clients, as well as his uniquely positive contributions to the team and culture in the company.

One of the themes that comes up in Niek’s post is the honesty that he finds in the people in his team. This is an incredibly important topic because as we grow, we want to keep our ability to share honest views, agree or disagree with each other and explain why. The diversity of thought that comes with this honesty is something that’s precious to us. It’s both respectful and helps us innovate to bounce ideas off each other in a transparent way.

>Most of my colleagues are distributed all over the world which, in my opinion, is great. I like the combination myself to work hybrid, but everyone can make a decision on this for themselves.

My name is Niek, I am 29 years old and I live in Haarlem. At ClickHouse I work in the Go To Market team focussing on Sales. We are in the early stages of building the company out and I like this a lot. My work is a combination of helping users get the most out of ClickHouse, collecting feedback to create services that the users want/need, and working closely together on blogposts, meetups, and much more. What I love about my team and ClickHouse is the honesty, compassion, and care that we have for each other. We help each other grow and work closely together. In addition, you can be yourself. Most of my colleagues are distributed all over the world which, in my opinion, is great. I like the combination myself to work hybrid, but everyone can make a decision on this for themselves. 
 
Outside of ClickHouse, I have a passion for food, challenging myself with sports (trying out bouldering now), self-development (books, coaching courses), and nature. The last one is very general but I am a dad of 15ish plants, grow silverbeet on my terrace, and to relax I like walks in forests, on beaches etc. I also find it important to do my part against the high rate of loneliness and depression among younger people. That is why I volunteer from time to time at a healthcare organization focussing on children/young adults with autism and providing a listening ear to men/women that feel lost or lonely. 

![niek_mountains.png](/uploads/niek_mountains_054e6b4d67.png)

This month, we’ve had the opportunity to chat with Niek Lok, Commercial Account Executive- EMEA, based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. We’re very grateful to Niek for all the work he does with users of ClickHouse and clients, as well as his uniquely positi

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ClickHouse Spotlight: Niek Lok

_At ClickHouse, we believe that Culture is above all being shaped and nurtured by our colleagues. It’s the way that we interact, work with each other, communicate and help each other learn along the way. Instead of stating what we think our culture should be in principle, we prefer to share our team members’ views and direct experiences of what it’s really like to work at ClickHouse: positives and challenges included._

_In a series of spotlights, some of our team members kindly share what matters to them and how they find working at ClickHouse._

This month, we’ve had the opportunity to chat with San Tran, Application Security Engineer based in Australia. We’re very grateful to San for all his contributions and collaboration with the team on security topics, as well as his creativity and flexibility in making the difference in timezone work for him, his family and colleagues! 

We’re also delighted that 2 months into his role as a Detection and Incident Response Security Engineer, San agreed to pursue career growth by changing his job title and focus to Application Security. We can’t wait to see his career continuing to grow with ClickHouse.

One of the themes that comes up in San’s post is an extremely important part of team work: how to make our contribution as helpful as possible to others and not be a “blocker”. The way that San thinks of his area of work and his proactive efforts to make it resonate with the team is a great example of how we can empower others through our own work. 

>When I work with others or asked to provide advice on security topics, I often go the extra mile in doing research or experimenting in my local lab to make sure I fully understand the problem statement and the options we have. By giving clear explanations about vulnerabilities & risks through threat modeling and the different solutions to address these issues, It changes the narrative that is often being misunderstood from "This is what you must do" to "Let's discuss and find the best approach to solve this problem".

***

## What do you do at CH and how do you like to work with others across a distributed team?
 
I'm an Application Security Engineer at ClickHouse and I love sharing my passion about security with others. My daily tasks can vary due to the nature of my work, sometimes I am involved in big async discussions over github issues, slack, google doc about product features and security, other times, I would put my head down and focus on deploying or building security tools to protect our organisation. Being one of the only two people in the company who live in a completely different timezone from the rest has its challenges at first but with the way we work at ClickHouse, I have always felt included. Most important meetings are recorded and can easily be watched at my own convenience and the flexible working hours mean I can spend more time with my kids when they are back from school or on holiday and get more work done after they go to bed early in the night. Working at ClickHouse is not about 9 to 5, it is about having a good work life balance, managing your own time and getting sh** done.

## What do you do outside of ClickHouse: any passions or hobbies?

Being a dad of two young boys, I enjoy spending most of my time with them when I'm not working. It is fun to watch my kid learning to program on embedded devices, doing fun science experiments or going for a bush walk. In other words, parenting is my hobby at the moment and I absolutely enjoy it. 

## What do you care most about when working with other team members?

First and foremost, I don't want to be a blocker. Depending on the organisation and the people you work with, Security can be a tough topic. Luckily for me, everyone at ClickHouse takes security very seriously and it doesn't take any effort to convince them how to make things more secure. It's not the "We can't do that" mentality I often saw in the past but rather "How can we make it better".  Of course, there will be time when the Security team pulls the plug and stops bad security practices but I have yet to do it at ClickHouse.
 
When I work with others or asked to provide advice on security topics, I often go the extra mile in doing research or experimenting in my local lab to make sure I fully understand the problem statement and the options we have. By giving clear explanations about vulnerabilities & risks through threat modeling and the different solutions to address these issues, It changes the narrative that is often being misunderstood from "This is what you must do" to "Let's discuss and find the best approach to solve this problem".

## What makes CH a special place to be, in your opinion?

The people, the blameless culture, the flexible working hours - It makes me feel like we are just one big family. Those are 100% true but being someone working in tech, I'm most attracted to the technology - the more I learn about ClickHouse itself, the more I find it fascinating and wonderful. We are also working on some cool challenges that you don't get to experience anywhere else unless major big tech companies like FAANG. I'm proud to work alongside many seasoned developers who spent many years building cloud-scale products.

## Every job or company also has challenges: what are your challenges at ClickHouse right now?

Technology evolves so rapidly and what you learn today will become obsolete in just a few months. Given that security covers everything from the bits being stored on disk or the neighbouring bits (side channel attack, i'm looking at you), the network infrastructure to the javascript running in users' browser, It is always a challenge when I join any company to get myself up to speed with everything going on and every bit of technology being used. This is even more so when my work is in application security engineering, where deep knowledge of our system is the key to solve these problems now and in the future.

## Any photos you want to share?

This is picture of me and my boys ;) 

![san_tran.png](/uploads/san_tran_b87280fc30.png)



This month, we’ve had the opportunity to chat with San Tran, Application Security Engineer based in Australia. 

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ClickHouse Spotlight: San Tran

_At ClickHouse, we believe that Culture is above all being shaped and nurtured by our colleagues. It’s the way that we interact, work with each other, communicate and help each other learn along the way. Instead of stating what we think our culture should be in principle, we prefer to share our team members’ views and direct experiences of what it’s really like to work at ClickHouse: positives and challenges included._ 

_In a series of spotlights, some of our team members kindly share what matters to them and how they find working at ClickHouse._

This month, we’ve had the chance to chat with Claire Lucas, our Director of Global Business Strategy & Operations, based in the US, Colorado. We’re very grateful to Claire for all the work that she does in making operations smooth for our team members. 

One of the themes that comes up in Claire’s experience at ClickHouse is using language as a powerful tool, particularly the importance of speaking with intention and clarifying when needed. With  team members in 11 countries (soon to be 12) and most of us having different native languages, Claire’s point definitely resonates. It’s a journey we’re on, with lots of learning along the way.

>Language is such a powerful tool from how we speak to ourselves and with our colleagues and our users. When we're trying to accomplish a goal, it's important we speak with intention... 

***

## What do you do at ClickHouse and how do you like to work with others across a distributed team?
I am responsible for our global business strategy and operations at ClickHouse. I learn a lot from 1x1s meetings with my colleagues because it's where new ideas surface. 

## What do you do outside of CH: any passions or hobbies?
I am passionate about wellness so in my free time I teach yoga and provide nutrition coaching at my city recreation centers. It's important to me to make tools like yoga, breathwork, and nutrition accessible to everyone in my community. 
 
## What do you care most about when working with other team members?
Language is such a powerful tool from how we speak to ourselves and with our colleagues and our users. When we're trying to accomplish a goal, it's important we speak with intention and clarify when something doesn't make sense or can be translated differently.  Asking questions, setting clear definitions, and being deliberate with our word choices is something that means a lot to me and is a reason we're successful at ClickHouse. 
 
## What makes CH a special place to be, in your opinion?
I love being surrounded by thoughtful people and at ClickHouse, everyone brings a high level of intelligence to their work. ClickHouse, the technology, is brilliantly engineered and it's because the team thought through every detail and questioned norms. 
 
## Any photos you want to share?
Here's a couple photos of me hiking with my dog in Colorado 

![ClaireLucas_Hiking.png](/uploads/Claire_Lucas_Hiking_329adc1d96.png)
![ClaireLucas_Yoga.png](/uploads/Claire_Lucas_Yoga_474543b7a1.png)


This month, we’ve had the chance to chat with Claire Lucas, our Director of Global Business Strategy & Operations, based in the US, Colorado.

Marina Farthouat

Blog posts by Marina Farthouat

ClickHouse Spotlight: Niek Lok

ClickHouse Spotlight: San Tran

ClickHouse Spotlight: Claire Lucas