My First Week Diving into AI-First Development in Berlin

Okay, deep breaths. It’s been a whirlwind, honestly. I’m a software developer, fresh off the plane to Berlin – really, to Kreuzberg – and I’ve landed a role at this company working on some pretty exciting stuff. The whole “AI-First” approach is a bit mind-blowing, but in a good way. It’s completely different from how things were done back home.

The Initial Meeting & The AI Buzz

It started with a call, like “Hallo! Ich habe mir die Stellenbeschreibung genau durchgelesen und finde das Projekt sehr spannend.” – which roughly translates to “Hello! I’ve read the job description and I find the project very exciting.” It was with a guy named Mark, and he was really enthusiastic about the team. Then he said, “Ja, das stimmt, der AI-First Ansatz ist wirklich ein Alleinstellungsmerkmal,” meaning “Yes, that’s right, the AI-First approach is really a unique selling point.” I didn’t fully grasp everything he was saying at the time, but the emphasis on AI was clear.

I asked, “Haben Sie schon Fragen zum Job oder zum Team?” – “Do you have any questions about the job or the team?” and he asked me if I had any, and of course, I did! I was immediately curious about the “AI-Kultur,” “AI-Kultur – das ist für uns super wichtig.” (“the AI culture – that’s super important for us”). Apparently, they aren’t just going to use the AI tools; they want to change the way they think about things, how they work, and generally make everything more efficient.

Copilot and Cursor: Getting My Bearings

So, they’ve actually started using tools like Copilot and Cursor. They explained that Copilot is mainly used for “Brainstorming und zur Generierung von Code-Schnipseln” – “brainstorming and generating code snippets.” It’s a bit like having a super helpful (though sometimes slightly weird) colleague throwing out ideas and little chunks of code. I used it to help me write some basic Java functions – it sped things up, but I definitely had to double-check everything.

Cursor, they said, “hilft uns, die Qualität des Codes zu verbessern, indem es uns Fehler und Verbesserungspotenziale aufzeigt.” (“helps us improve the quality of the code by showing us errors and potential improvements”). It flagged up some issues I hadn’t noticed, which was really useful, especially because I’m still getting used to the coding standards here.

The Fine Print (and the Balance)

But, they stressed, “Aber natürlich müssen wir die Ergebnisse immer kritisch prüfen und anpassen.” (“But of course, we must always critically review and adapt the results”). No magic solutions! It’s not like these tools just spit out perfect code. There’s no rigid rulebook; they’re trying to find a balance.

They also talked about remote work. “Es gibt keine starren Regeln, was Remote-Arbeit angeht.” (“There are no strict rules about remote work”). They’re aiming for a mix of working from home – “Homeoffice” – and coming into the office for team meetings. “Wir versuchen, eine Balance zwischen Homeoffice und Präsenz zu finden, um den persönlichen Kontakt zu pflegen” – “We’re trying to find a balance between working from home and being present to foster personal contact.” Honestly, that felt really good.

Team Building & The Importance of “Gemeinsam”

And it’s not just about work. They organise these “Teamevents,” “um den Zusammenhalt zu stärken” – “to strengthen team cohesion.” Last week, we went to a Turkish restaurant in Neukölln – “Wir gingen in ein türkisches Restaurant in Neukölln,” – it was brilliant, and I met some of the other team members properly. It really helped me feel like I was part of things.

I’ve been sharing the link to the job description too: [Read More – it’s really detailed and gave me a much better understanding of the project goals.

Small Misunderstandings & Lessons Learned

I made a couple of little mistakes this week – mostly just with the German! I accidentally said “Ich bin Amerikaner” (I am American) instead of “Ich bin ein Ausländer” (I am a foreigner), and Mark gently corrected me. He explained that “Ausländer” is a much more general term, and it’s good to be mindful of that. It’s these little moments that highlight how different things are.

Next Steps: Learning More

I’m really excited to keep learning about the AI-First approach and to contribute to the team. I’m already trying to learn more German phrases – things like “Wie geht es Ihnen?” (How are you?) and “Entschuldigung, sprechen Sie Englisch?” (Excuse me, do you speak English?). It’s a challenge, of course, but it’s also incredibly rewarding. And who knows, maybe one day I’ll be fluent enough to just chat with Mark about our code without needing a translator!