Meet Irina, the the newest member of our Internal Product team. She joined just over a month ago and has already made a big impact on how we organise and manage customer support interactions.
Tell us about what you do here?
I work on the internal tools as a part of the Internal Product team. We make sure the team functions smoothly “behind the scenes” and provide a “second line of support” for our customers.
How did you find yourself in the world of coding?
I was a teenager when I first got into programming. When I was 13, I wrote a game with a friend in which you had to squash a cockroach on a tile floor. I found building software to be an amazing mix of maths, engineering, creativity and problem solving. It’s like being paid to play with LEGO all day!
I went on to complete a Master’s in Computer Science in Moscow and then worked at a couple of startups there, before moving to Edinburgh. Two years ago, I took a break from regular developer work to join a coding bootcamp as a coach, helping more people get into the profession.
After that, I wanted something more out of my comfort zone from an engineering point of view, and also something that would have a genuine positive effect on people’s lives. I found both here. Everytime I see someone using our card, it makes me proud to be a part of this team.
On a day-to-day basis, who do you work with and how does the team run?
For my first few weeks here, I’ve worked closely with Dan and Ed – they showed me the ropes and are getting me up to speed. We also have weekly meetings with the Operations team to keep in touch and set our priorities.
It’s only week 4 – what have you learned here?
I’ve learned loads about the architecture of the platform. How different Go is from the other languages I’ve worked with, and how this difference affects the engineering culture. I have
definitely have gained more knowledge about how banks and debits cards work than I ever expected to. This domain is really interesting and I’m excited to learn more about it.
What are you most proud of?
In my second week, I fixed and pushed something into production. Knowing that your code will affect so many people in their daily lives is exciting – you fix a problem before the customer even has a chance to notice it. Currently, I’m working on a tool that will allow the support team to take calls straight from a browser.
If you weren’t at Monzo, what would you be doing?
Studying Maths in some dark university corner. Definitely better off here 🙂
3 words to describe Monzo
Intense, resourceful, fun.
Weekend Hobby:
Roller Derby – less face punching than Whip It would suggest!
Unexpected Fact:
I played tambourine in a folk-rock band.
Links
Twitter: @jafrog
Blog: http://jafrog.com