Meet the Magnopians: Bailin
This week, we sit down with Sarah Bailin (just Bailin to her friends), Associate Technical Program Manager at Magnopus.
What do you do at Magnopus?
I’m an associate technical program manager for the Cloud Hosted Services team. At its core, it means I translate a “this is what we want” request into a “this is what we can do and when” response.
What made you decide to pursue a career in this field?
I studied computer science and film in school, with lofty dreams of working in VFX. I applied to be a pipeline engineer at Industrial Light and Magic right out of school and was told I was 100% not qualified for that job, but they were starting a mixed reality division and needed some production assistants. They asked if I wanted to be a part of it, so I moved to San Francisco the next month. I fell in love with the engineering involved and decided these were my people. I love how fast this industry moves and am constantly amazed at how far we push the boundaries of known entertainment in every single project.
What’s your favorite thing to do when you’re not working?
I stress bake. It’s like stress-eating, but messier. My prize possession is a 3rd hand KitchenAid I got for $25. I also watch trashy movies with my foster dog(s) and sleep. I recently joined a softball league, but I expect to be expelled as soon as they realize how not athletic I am.
What is one app, or software, you couldn’t do your job without?
Umm. Does spell check count? I can’t spell. I also can’t do math, so I guess I have to say the entire Google Suite.
What has been your proudest moment while working at Magnopus?
Working on Expo Dubai Xplorer, our cross-reality experience for the World Expo, was no doubt the hardest two years of my career, but also the most rewarding. I had the opportunity to go to the World Expo with some of my team in December 2021. Standing in the physical version of the digital world I’d traveled so many times… it was unreal. I understood for the first time how monumental and meaningful our work was/is. We didn’t just create a world - we recreated it down to the cracks in the concrete at my feet, and we didn’t stop there. I was walking back to the hotel one night with David Dalzell, our Technical Artist product owner. At one point he stopped at the Mobility Pavilion and said “this looks exactly like a render I did a year ago. Damn, I’m good.” That about sums it up. Plus, I got to ride a camel.
What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned in your career?
Two things. First, when you have a nice thought, say it. No one ever felt worse when they heard they were doing a good job. A compliment can be the difference between a dumpster-fire day and just a stove-fire day.
Second, I would rather miss a deadline than burn out a team member. As project managers, it’s our job to plan and prepare so that no one has to do more than their fair share. If someone is doing too much, it’s our job to find another way. I’m not saying we have to be perfect, because even the best engineer has buggy code, but as long as I keep trying, that’s enough. No one should have to suffer because of something I could control.
