After joining Bricklane in 2021, Femi quickly established himself as an integral part of the Engineering team. Here he discusses what a typical day looks like for a software engineer, as well as the current projects he’s most excited about.
What is the day-to-day like working on the Engineering team?
We kick off with a daily stand-up in the morning where we discuss actions from the previous day, any blockers, and what we hope to achieve. From there, we move on to the day’s tickets, which could involve anything from creating brand new functionality for our investment platform, updating or upgrading old functionality or making architectural changes that involve how our systems are organised.
Tickets are usually assigned in pairs so that one person doesn’t need to know everything and to ensure we can cover if someone is sick or on holiday. It’s a great way to learn as well – one person normally leads on the ticket and writes the code, while the other assists, providing support and offering ideas the writer may not have thought of, or probing and asking for justification on tools and methods chosen. At a certain point in the process – usually a few hours into the ticket – the pair will then switch roles.
We do this up to the point of releasing the ticket, testing it to make sure it’s all ok and then putting it live.
Are there any projects you’re particularly excited about at the moment?
Currently, I’m most excited about one project involving EPC improvement costs and another focused on Compass, which is the key tool Bricklane uses to identify investment opportunities. We’re in the process of moving Compass into a microservice architecture, which is particularly important as it helps to spread it out into smaller, more manageable components.
What do you enjoy most about your role?
I love problem-solving and programming, but what I enjoy the most is the ongoing learning. Technology is always changing so you have to ensure you keep up to date. In this role, you’re always learning, whether it’s adapting to new processes or starting exciting projects.
What do you like about working at Bricklane?
Technology is at the forefront of what we do here which means that we get to deliver great solutions using cutting-edge tech.
We have a very welcoming culture as well – everyone works hard while maintaining a good work-life balance, and there are a range of great benefits focused on employee wellbeing, including enhanced maternity and paternity leave.
There’s also a strong emphasis on helping you grow in your career. For example, everyone has a £1500 personal development budget they can use to upskill and there are a lot of progression opportunities within the company. I think this type of approach creates a really positive atmosphere that makes Bricklane a great place to work.
What advice would you give to someone interested in joining the Engineering team?
Be willing to learn and don’t be afraid to get something wrong. Working on the Engineering team is an ongoing learning process and everyone is always happy to help out when needed.
