Welcome to In the Driver's Seat, the Social Driver Q&A series with members of our incredible team. 

Jesse Dufresne, a highly skilled Webflow Developer and Designer, has been with Social Driver through several major Webflow launches. Jesse was drawn to Social Driver's people-centric culture, which encourages creativity and authenticity. The remarkable company culture and the warm, inclusive atmosphere of the team quickly captivated him. Read on to learn more about Jesse, his role, Social Driver, and explore how the company's culture has made all the difference. 

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Name: Jesse Dufresne

Title: Webflow Developer & Designer

Location: Seattle, WA

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What do you do at Social Driver?

I do a lot of website development, working closely with the design team while they're designing websites. I make sure they’re designing something that will transfer well to Webflow, the no-code site builder we use. And then, as soon as the designs are done, I build out the pages in Webflow. 

Why do you like working in Webflow? 

Yeah, so for a little bit of background, I got a degree in computer science, and I did an internship, which was straight-up web development. And I was like, "I don’t want to sit and type code all day for the rest of my life." There's part of code that is cool and flexible. But coding environments can be pretty complex and hard for me to understand. So then I decided to move into the design sphere of tech, and I took a UI, UX course.

Then I found Webflow after taking that course, and it is the combination of the two worlds of design and development because it's very design-oriented but still a very technical platform at the same time. It writes code for you, so I’m not stuck staring at lines of code all day, but at the same time, I can still write code to unblock any limitations I may run into. What I like most about it is that it serves as both design and development. 

What do people usually come to you for help with?

If it's a designer, they usually come to me for help with a certain functionality, which they might be designing. So let's say if there's a feed of resources, a designer might come to me and say, "Hey, can we filter it? Like, is this functionality possible?" Just to make sure that it's possible before they put it into the designs and present it to the client. And then a few of the designers have also been learning Webflow and doing small Webflow projects. So, if they ever have Webflow questions, usually, I'm the person they reach out to.

Do you consider yourself an expert about any single thing related to your role?

It's a boring answer, but no. I'm always looking forward to what I don't know. And what my path forward is and what I can learn. So I do have a lot of knowledge and skills, but I think at the same time, I haven’t really ever considered myself an expert at one thing because there's always more to learn.

That's very Social Driver of you… Ask Questions Even if You Think You Know the Answer, as in one of the company values.

Yeah

Speaking of, what have been the highlights of your time at Social Driver thus far?

As far as actual work goes, working on the enterprise-level websites we've built has been awesome. Projects that big, you can't do by yourself as a freelancer. It's a unique opportunity to work on those kinds of projects, which is really fun. 

And then, on the not-so-much-work side, just spending time with the design team is fun. Every Monday and Friday, we meet and talk about any cool new tools we've seen or learned or whatever. We are able to have a lot of meaningful conversations, which I appreciate.

In December, we all got to hang out at the office together in Bellingham. It was nice to meet everyone in person for the first time.

What's one project you worked on? Could it be recent, could it be in the past that you really loved working on, and why?

It would be this one Webflow Enterprise project because it's been an ongoing project, and it feels like more of a partnership where we get to keep working with them and iterating on the site. From the beginning of the project, I worked closely with Hannah (Senior Designer). Having a part in the design and ideation from the very beginning was cool, and creating this thing from scratch with Hannah was a really fun process.

What is something that you read, listen to, or watch to make you feel inspired and motivated?

I like digital art, for one—people who make 3D art. I'm really into futuristic, Cyberpunky kind of vibes. So, any kind of art in that realm, as well as movies, like Tron and Star Wars. Very much inspired by a lot of sci-fi and fantasy. I haven't been doing a whole ton of reading. I need to read more. Dune is one of the books I have enjoyed most though. 

Anything else you want to add about your role, Social Driver, and all that?

I think it's awesome that I get to do what I love for my career. I feel like the general consensus in the world right now is "I hate my job," and I'm over here in the corner like, "I love my job." It's very nice, and I'm grateful.