Openness, flexibility and mutual trust are what set AUCTANE apart. Adam’s 20th anniversary
20 years ago, AUCTANE was a very different company – much smaller, but with huge ambitions. What’s it like to be part of such a huge transformation, working on systems that have secured our market leadership? That’s what Adam, our long-serving employee who joined us in 2004 and is celebrating his 20th anniversary, tells us.
Adam, before we look back, let’s talk about what’s happening now. What is your position and what are your responsibilities?
My position is Staff Engineer Advisory, which is a senior software engineer in an advisory role. However, due to my experience, I combine the responsibilities of several roles. I analyse complex problems and propose solutions, design and develop the architecture of our systems, and sometimes have to dive into ‘legacy’ code.
Some of my key roles include helping development teams choose the right technologies and strategies for new projects, identifying problems, proposing solutions and seeing them through to an efficient conclusion, consistently solving strategic problems that require analysis of multiple systems, designing technical solutions that go beyond the scope of one team or department, supporting grassroots initiatives and promoting our products.
That’s a lot of responsibility – has it always been like this? How has your career at AUCTANE developed over the last 20 years? How has your position evolved?
I started as a C# programmer as a recent graduate with few skills. My only experience at the time was doing occasional projects in Java on a freelance basis. However, thanks to the opportunity to learn from others, the collegial atmosphere and a lot of self-denial, I quickly gained further skills in .Net technology. Within a short period of time, I was given the challenging task of creating a financial accounting module for an e-commerce system. Working on it certainly taught me about attention to detail. This was followed by new challenges that developed my skills at successive levels, but not without some learning mistakes. The first few years in the company were very busy, but also interesting and exciting. It was there that I developed the ability to react quickly to problems, which I was able to use during on-site implementations with foreign customers. I also had the opportunity to see the production environments in which our systems operated and to meet the people who used the fruits of my labour, to hear their opinions and expectations.
Armed with new experiences and knowledge, I was promoted to more positions. One of these promotions was to a management role, which developed my soft skills, but also made me realise how demanding managing people is. After about a year, I decided to return to the technical side as a software architect. I felt I could develop more and use my potential and knowledge more effectively. The space created by the company, the flexibility and the mutual trust are elements that continue to distinguish AUCTANE in the labour market.
Another mission was to create a new approach and tools to build courier integrations and adapt them to the existing system. This was a big project, which we successfully completed with the invaluable help of many colleagues.
The company’s ambitions went further and, riding the wave of microservices that was then in vogue, we started building distributed services. Not everything worked out, but it taught me not to give up and to turn failure into learning. As a result of this experience, I was able to use the skills and ideas I gained as the technical lead of a cross-functional team to build other solutions. In the meantime, the company has changed hands several times and the product portfolio has expanded. This has given me the opportunity to learn about the latest technologies and to work in an international environment with different experiences and work cultures. This allows me to see the bigger picture when providing technical advice to people from different departments and teams. I am also constantly looking for new areas to optimise and ensure that the flow of information is consistent.
A lot has happened over the years. Do you remember being recruited and your first days in the company? What did you think of AUCTANE at that time and was it confirmed?
Of course I remember, those are the moments that make our history. I wasn’t really looking for a job at the time, it was the company that found me. I went for an interview on the initiative of a school friend who had got me interested in the niche software the company was developing. The company was small, employing a handful of programmers. Everyone already knew each other well, and the interview was conducted by the CEO himself in his modest office. The one and only meeting was held in a pleasant atmosphere and ended with a job offer, despite the fact that at the time I had no great achievements to my name and only a few Java and PHP projects to my credit. I recall that the company was pioneering the development of its flagship software in C#, which provided an additional incentive to learn something new.
Once given the chance, I quickly learned that it doesn’t matter what language you’re programming in. If you know the basics and general patterns, learning another language is a matter of days, not months. The support of colleagues is also important. I still appreciate the openness and willingness of my colleagues to help me during that time. Karma comes back, now I can repay that virtual debt by supporting teams or giving training. I also had a nose for a niche industry. We are now one of the largest providers of e-commerce software, offering access to hundreds of integrations with courier services.
And we are constantly evolving. You mentioned that AUCTANE has changed internally over the years. How do you feel about such a dynamic working environment – is this a disadvantage or an advantage in terms of your development?
This is the most interesting part of the job. To paraphrase a classic, “the only constant in our company is change”. Change is what has driven me to action and self-development. Working on so many large projects, in different technologies, by teams all over the world, I feel that I am not standing still and that I am constantly evolving. I think that’s the greatest asset of this company and what makes the comebacks happen among people who are curious about the world 🙂
Your experience at AUCTANE – as you yourself point out – has taught you a lot. What has been your biggest challenge recently and how did you overcome it?
There are many challenges and each one is interesting. Recently, I supported the team in a project to add a new module to our platform to enhance its tax capabilities. Gathering the information and requirements was quite a planning challenge as it involved people from several continents and consultation with all departments. However, thanks to the support of colleagues and a strong will, a concept has been created that fulfils the tasks set and at the same time is flexible to changes that will certainly not be lacking in this area. Good and transparent communication is the key, as well as good writing 🙂
What do you like best about your job? What has kept you here for 20 years?
Hopefully that has already been said. Every day brings new and interesting challenges. There is no time for boredom. Our systems operate around the clock, seven days a week. I have always paid attention to the continuity and high uptime of every service we create. Building successful systems of this kind makes my job very satisfying, but also motivates me to constantly look for areas to improve.
Another factor that has kept me here for so long is the invaluable support and collegial atmosphere in the teams and the opportunity to work with people from all over the world. Good and healthy relationships take years to build.
Also read: I’m lucky to be doing what I enjoy. Hubert’s 15th anniversary at AUCTANE →
Are there any benefits that you enjoy and appreciate?
For many years I have benefited from the active programme, i.e. the sports card. It allows me to use the swimming pool and sauna practically free of charge. Long service has its advantages 🙂
The volunteer day is also a great idea. It’s a good opportunity to spend your free time helping the environment or animals in need. It is also often an interesting form of team integration.
We’ve talked about work, but what do you do after hours to de-stress professionally? Do you feel you have the right work-life balance?
I used to have a problem with that. Working and constantly improving my skills took up a lot of time and there wasn’t much time for hobbies. Now I schedule my work commitments around a suitable time frame, which can sometimes shift due to working in an international environment. I spend my free time in a trivial way – reading or listening to music. I have also been active in sports since my youth. I always feel the urge to go cycling or swimming. Zielona Góra is ideal for such activities. Besides, whenever I have the opportunity, I go out of town with my family and we discover the unknown. Being in touch with nature and walking in the fresh air regenerates both body and soul.
What are your plans for your own development at AUCTANE? Do you want to keep doing what you are doing or are you already thinking about new challenges?
I am always open to new challenges, of which we have no shortage. I am also constantly working on myself and looking to the future, defining my career path and planning further training. One of these is training in public speaking, an area in need of improvement that will certainly pay dividends in the future. On the other hand, I am monitoring the conditions and development opportunities that the organisation is creating for me. The company’s long-term strategy opens up new possibilities, where I see the chance to work with young and ambitious people, which I am sure will be inspiring and I am convinced will bring only positive results.
