“What is my job about”- Engineering Manager Mobile
Tell us a little bit about yourself. Why and how did you get interested in the tech field?
I’m a very curious person, I’ve always been interested in how things work and why they work in a particular way. I like to notice patterns and to find out why things evolved the way they did. This inquisitiveness led me to studying natural sciences in school and, eventually, into programming.
The prospect of working as a developer promised daily exercise for my problem-solving skills, so I jumped into it as a career. I was mostly looking forward to working with software but learned quite early on that nothing great can be achieved without collaboration. Nowadays I enjoy communication as much as the technical challenges I face each day.
What’s your role in Spark now and how did it develop?
I joined Spark as a mobile developer to build white-label dating applications. Eventually, I was given more responsibility as an engineering manager to lead the development of both Android and iOS apps for seven brands in Spark’s portfolio.
What are the daily challenges you face?
As my team works with two big projects, I need to make sure that everybody is connected and aligned. Keeping communication steady and fast is a necessity for my teammates to work as efficiently as possible. It also ensures collaboration with backend teams and stakeholders is smooth and stable.
What inspires you?
Watching how different people work together. It all starts with bringing a group of smart people into one (virtual) room and seeing how they generate ideas on how to achieve a goal.
To see those ideas in the product – all the small details you’ve carefully thought through together – alive and ready for use, it’s magic!
What are your tips for being successful in your career?
No progress is possible without failure, so build a fail-safe environment for your teammates to prosper and grow. That means encouraging transparency, communication, and collaboration.
Everyone in the team should know the reasons and expected results of what we’re doing. Everyone should feel safe to ask questions, big or small (my favorite question is “should we really do this now?”).
What’s more, everyone should get the best possible answer. That’s why listening to your teammates and colleagues is crucial for a good collaboration.
