Welcome to #HiringAtCoda - the latest LinkedIn series where we talk to senior management and different function leads to learn more about what they look out for in potential Codans, what their roles are like and tips on how to excel in a global company like Coda. 🌎

Today's article is all about Michael Feldkamp, our Chief Technology Officer (CTO) in Coda Payments and the instrumental pillar behind scaling our tech efforts to meet the challenges that come with delivering complex products at a massive scale, all requiring best-in-class security and compliance.

Are you interested in joining us as an engineer? 👀 Read on to find out more about our Engineering team. 👇

How has Tech hiring changed over the recent years? How differently are you hiring at Coda? 🚀

Hiring in technology has changed quite a bit since the pandemic started. Still, the core concepts remain the same: technical proficiency, architectural skills, critical thinking, and a strong sense of ownership.

One major thing the pandemic accelerated was the work from home / remote work concept. Coda is now “remote first” in our tech team, which has changed what we look for in engineers. I’ll say something controversial: most engineers are less productive when they work remotely. Sure, we might write more code due to fewer distractions and save time commuting, but ultimately we lose all that efficiency and more when coordinating with others. To counteract this, at Coda, we emphasise excellent communication skills and value being part of a team. We look for proactive people who take ownership and are intrinsically motivated, leading to successful remote engineering teams.

Another important thing we consider at Coda when we hire is empathy. Distributed teams mean there is no one dominant HQ with local customs. This means that diversity is even more pronounced than ever before. We need people who can understand other cultures and individuals. Luckily, this is deep in our DNA at Coda, going back to our founders, who are still big champions of our culture today.

What do you envision the engineering team in Coda to be like in the long run?

Bigger! Coda’s business grew so fast that our team has been keeping up and scaling our core business. Now we need to step into the driver’s seat and create technology that creates new opportunities for Coda. To do that, we’re building a team that can rapidly experiment with new features and ideas. Ultimately, that means we need to be a Product and Engineering team that is really leading the business and the industry.

Tell us more about the working environment in the Engineering team at Coda. What type of person will fit in? 💡

Coda has a very open and collaborative culture. In Engineering, we try to make sure the best ideas get implemented, regardless of where or whom they come from. We use data to drive decisions and have technical reviews to discuss the merits of different technology choices.

People who can use data to express their technical ideas clearly, learn from their peers, and incorporate better ideas will be a great fit! At the same time, we understand that technical communication is hard, so we make sure our managers are outstanding communicators to provide coaching and support where needed.

Any exciting projects in the pipeline for the team? 😮

Absolutely! We have many cool projects happening and even more on the roadmap. Here are some ideas we have been working on:

• Rebuilding our data and metrics platform using the latest technology available. 
• Implementing a new experimentation platform that will allow us to innovate faster and at a larger scale. 
• Putting even more machine learning into our fraud detection systems. 
• Rebuilding our game tournaments app, Codashop Global Series. 
• And of course, many features make it easier to onboard and purchase great digital content.

We hope you have enjoyed this short read and found it insightful! If you like this current series, do drop us a follow and keep your eyes peeled as we feature more departments in upcoming posts such as Marketing, Product and many more.

Have we perked your interest in joining Coda? Wondering what career opportunities we have currently? We are now hiring to support our company in hyper-growth mode. Check out this link: https://jobs.lever.co/codapayments.