Valentin Valchev, Software Engineering Team Lead
Ocado Technology team @ Questers
What do you like about working at Ocado Technology?
We have the opportunity to build our teams from scratch, and to choose the best people for the job. I also enjoy seeing new people coming to the office and enjoying their work, feeling happy about being here.
How does Ocado Technology keep you motivated and engaged?
Every day is a challenge. Day-to-day tasks are pushing the limits of our skills and knowledge. Every day you learn something new, use the latest technologies, and meet interesting people working on exciting projects.
How do you think Ocado Technology has supported your career?
Ocado has a Catalyst team that spends a lot of effort defining concrete criteria and rules for the promotion processes; the best part is that these rules are publicly available and fair.
They are also working to improve our performance and efficiency by getting rid of bureaucracy and improving the company culture.
Their peer feedback initiative allows you to get direct, honest and useful feedback from your colleagues’ and gives you the opportunity to improve yourself.
What are the favourite parts of your job?
Learning! The company embraces and manages risk which means we are allowed to explore, experiment and adopt everything that’s new and take risks ourselves, in order to deliver outstanding quality and performance.
How are the technologies which you use chosen?
The first time I went to the Ocado headquarters in Hatfield, I attended a meeting where one of the senior managers told us that it's up to us what we choose. Yes, there are certain business goals but, when we talk about technology, it's up to software engineers to choose the appropriate one, and the best timeframe to deliver not a “just working” product, but a high quality and reliable product.
Do you unleash your creativity?
My creativity? Come on! We are a team full of curiosity. None of us are working on the things we used to work on in the past, and that is great! Ocado is a company where people get together and passionately discuss new projects they've found and can be used by the team.
Explore the career opportunities in Ocado Technology’s team here.