A day in the life of a Graduate Full Stack Engineer

Ayden is a Graduate Full Stack Engineer based in London. She moved to the UK in 2022 to pursue a Master’s degree in Computer Science, went to the BFI IMAX cinema to see Avatar 2, fell in love with the place, kept going there for more movies, and eventually decided to live in London after graduation. Ayden loves animals and is ecstatic to have a sleeping ferret and a chihuahua in her arms in this photo. Prior to joining the company, Ayden worked at Huawei as a C/C++ Software Engineer building network protocols. Fun fact: Ayden once survived a Middle Earth movie marathon that showed the extended versions of The Hobbit trilogy and The Lord of The Rings trilogy, lasting more than 21 hours.

What does day-to-day life in your role look like?

My typical day starts with attending morning stand ups with my pod and then the wider Application Development Team to sync our progress and raise any issues I might have. After that, I crack on with various tickets improving Vortexa’s public and internal platforms. Every once in a while I meet with analysts to gather valuable feedback on how we can make the user experience of our platforms even better.

What would you say is the most interesting aspect of your role?

I’d say the variety of technologies I get to work with is the most interesting part. As a recent graduate, I’m getting exposure to different sections of the entire software development process. It’s also great to learn how to write code that’s up to an industry standard.

What was your path to joining Vortexa? 

I went job hunting after graduating with my master’s degree, found Vortexa’s job post on LinkedIn and applied. A recruiter made contact and gave me a brief introduction of the company and the platform. I then went through two rounds of technical interviews and one round of behavioural interview. When Vortexa made me an offer I decided to take it because out of the many companies I interviewed with at that time, Vortexa’s recruiters were the only ones who made me feel like the interview process is a collaboration, not just a test.

What kind of qualities does a person need to have to succeed at Vortexa?

A strong interest in learning and improving your skills. Being a good team player and willing to support your colleagues. Also knowing when to ask for help if you need it.

What do you like about the culture? 

Everyone is incredibly friendly and supportive. As a new joiner you’re encouraged to ask questions and people are always willing to help you out. Also, if you make a mistake, people focus on fixing the problem and improving the way we do things to prevent future issues, not assigning blame.

Who do you collaborate with?

Mostly my pod-mates, product managers, and also colleagues in the Data Production Team. Occasionally the project I’m working on will also require inputs from analysts or the marketing team.

What are the first three things you do on a Monday morning? 

Flipping a new page in my cat-a-day calendar. Admiring the cat of the day. Then attend the morning stand-ups with a good mood.

What energises you most about working as a Graduate Full Stack Engineer at Vortexa?

The opportunity to learn so many different things! Also working with people whom I genuinely want to be friends with and I know I can trust to have my back.