Senior Developer Yevgeniya Kobrina gets to combine her passions at Exove
Hands-on coding is Senior Developer Yevgeniya Kobrina’s number one passion, with mentoring a close second. Combining the two is exactly what she enjoys doing at Exove. Read Yevgeniya’s full career story and get to know her.
Exove has always been a family-like community to me
Six years ago, Yevgeniya had just finished her PhD in Applied Physics and was looking for a job where she could get her hands dirty in software development.
“I still remember the interview so well. Everybody was so nice, and I could ask any question that came to my mind. But even more I remember the group who walked by the glass-walled meeting room we were in. They were staring at us with such enthusiasm. Later I learned they were fresh out of a team meeting and were happy that another woman was about to join their team,” Yevgeniya recalls.
Everything worked smoothly as Yevgeniya joined a small team as Junior Developer. Yevgeniya recalls having all the support she could ask for, and there was always someone to answer her questions.
“We also shared a fair number of jokes and laughs. Exove has always been a family-like community to me,” Yevgeniya says.
40% coding, 60% management
Over time, Yevgeniya’s responsibilities have grown and diversified significantly. Currently she works not only as Senior Developer but also as a technical Competence Manager and Resourcing Coordinator.
“As Senior Developer I lead projects as a technical lead. Hands-on coding is the best part about my job. I never want to stop doing it! At the moment, about 40% of my work consists of coding and 60% of management,” Yevgeniya explains.
As Competence Manager, Yevgeniya gets to fulfill her other passion: mentoring and sharing her expertise. She mentors a group of six people and supports their career growth and technical development. The job entitles monthly meetings, performance evaluations and a lot of feedback. In addition to the team members’ personal progress, Yevgeniya also participates in developing the whole company’s processes and tools.’
“I have already been mentoring for some time – I just simply enjoy helping others. It’s really exciting and rewarding to have an impact on someone’s career. I’ve also written guides and documentation to share the knowledge I’ve gathered. My goal is to promote a culture of sharing, giving feedback and openness in the company.”
For a couple of years, Yevgeniya has also acted as Resource Coordinator. She and other coordinators ensure that Exove’s various projects, clients, stakeholders and developers have the resources they need to succeed in their work.
Supportive culture promotes career growth
As Yevgeniya now helps others to grow, she also wants to express gratitude towards the colleagues that pushed her forward.
“I owe my great supervisors so much. They helped me from the start and recognized my strengths. The support and encouragement I received from them and my competence managers really helped to build my confidence. It’s a huge reason for why I am at this place and position now.”
In addition to the supportive culture at Exove, Yevgeniya appreciates the atmosphere of trust and openness. Everybody is encouraged to give feedback and ideas to improve any area of the company. “Our management trusts the employees’ decisions. Project managers trust developers to give their best. Everybody at Exove is friendly and easy to approach. We are like a family.”
But what kind of a person could Yevgeniya see working at Exove? “They should be a constant learner who wants to know more than they know now. Someone who wants to affect their way of working and develop themselves as well as others.”
