Each one of our pet-loving employees has a different story to tell and a reason for joining, but we’re all united by our love for animals. In fact, we went ahead and asked some real-life team members exactly what it’s like to work here at Team Trusted.
Meet Nikki, one of our key Software Engineers! Rather than simply summarize what she does, we also thought we’d ask her to tell you herself. Without further ado, here is Nikki’s Day in the Life of a Software Engineer at TrustedHousesitters.
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Before joining us at the end of 2021, Nikki used to be a food technologist but was drawn to the flexibility and challenge of web development. After completing a coding course, Nikki was able to begin her career as a Developer. These days, she plays a vital role in making sure the TrustedHousesitters tech stays as innovative (and runs as smoothly as possible) for our members.
So, what does a typical day look like for her?
“I'll usually start work between 8 and 9:30 depending on the day. We always have stand-up at 12:30 as we have people on our team in different time zones. This helps structure my day, I'll work until stand-up either on my own or pairing and then grab lunch straight after. Any team meetings we have will be in the afternoon, so after lunch will be either more dev work or a mixture of development and meetings. I find changing my environment helps me stay focussed so I will quite often go to a coworking space or cafe to work from.”
"It also helps that I believe that the product I work on is beneficial to the world!"
Her ability to be flexible with where and when she works has been a highlight of working at TrustedHousesitters. Not only has it been a benefit for her well-being, it has made her feel appreciated within the team.
“I feel like I can work in the way I want to and have support to do this. In terms of well-being, I feel like I am cared about and that I'm not just a small cog in a big machine… THS is a big enough company to have the benefits that come with that, but small enough that I feel valued. It also helps that I believe that the product I work on is beneficial to the world!”
Similarly, our focus on diversity and gender balance was also a pull factor for her:
“The gender balance is much better than previous engineering teams I’ve worked in. Eilidh, our Engineering Manager is one of the reasons I took the job. It’s inspiring to have a female senior engineer to look up to within the team.”
"I love how involved I can get in the decision-making process."
Teamwork and collaboration are a core part of Nikki’s day to day, despite being a fully remote role:
“I love how involved I can get in the decision-making process. We work as an agile team so when we set our OKRs we work as a team to decide how we will approach these. When a ticket gets created, we refine it together and it is not unusual for the scope to change after refinement based on discussions about effort vs impact. We’ve recently been doing a lot of work to replace older parts of the codebase, which I find satisfying. Because we are updating the design at the same time, we are making the development experience better for ourselves as well as improving the experience for our users.”
Joining a remote-first business comes with many perks - such as the freedom to work from where you want and the comfort of being at home. Of course, it can take some time to get used to. So, how did Nikki manage the transition from office life to working from home (WFH)?
“I'm quite a social person and live on my own so initially I found it quite difficult, however, I have found ways to make it work! I make sure to have activities planned in the evenings - I play a lot of netball and, as already mentioned, I'm a “foodie”, so I love to meet friends for dinner. WFH means I'm able to do these things more often as I'm not as tired from a day in the office. WFH also opens up so many opportunities, as you can work from anywhere! As with most things, there are pros and cons but overall I'd say it is a pro for sure.”
Nikki, any final words for anyone who’s thinking of joining Team Trusted?
“Like all companies, THS isn't perfect(!) but we’re striving to improve all the time, that we are doing great things for pets and people, and that THS is a welcoming place to work.”
Thank you, Nikki! Well, I don’t know about you, but I certainly feel like checking out our careers page after reading that. See what roles are currently open and all the lovely benefits we offer here. Hopefully, we’ll be seeing you very soon!
