Software Engineering team lead Dainius: our team has a great potential to grow

- Dainius, where did the idea to create Software Engineering team come from?

- Centric branch in Kaunas has been operating for three years. During this period, the organization has noticed that we have excellent specialists here in Kaunas; our Cloud and DevOps team has proved that they can implement even the most complex projects, such as Nebula. In other words, we have earned recognition at Centric internationally.

Till now, the main Software Engineering activities have been carried out in one of the largest Centric departments in Romania, which has been operating for more than 10 years and employs over 300 people. However, the services and projects in the country have expanded, so to help succeed our colleagues with high-quality projects, we are creating a Software Engineering Department in Kaunas, which will help to implement the ongoing projects and plans for the whole international Software Engineering team.

- Is it easy to create a new team?

- There are currently eight members in the team: the professionals who get the job done from start to finish and create value for clients. A new colleague recently joined us: a Senior Full Stack programmer with nine years of experience. Part of the team are post-student-practice colleagues who have worked with an in-house product. The other part is the internal staff of the company, who decided to change their positions horizontally and join this new team.

We are currently actively contributing to existing and new projects from the R&D department. Since Centric has a range of almost all possible products, I have no doubt that my team will have a lot to do. I believe, that a very interesting year is coming. I also hope that in the future, we may even have our own products.

Dainius, please tell us, what can a new person, who is considering joining your team, can expect now? What other professionals are you looking for and how will the team grow in the future?

- The management here listens to the employees and their needs. A strategy is formed based on people: both a customer and an employee. We have an advanced Agile coach who contributes to the overall change of the company - a big plus for my team, because we also work with Agile and know how these principles work.

The Software Engineering team will definitely have a lot of freedom. And this freedom comes with ability to form a team that the team members will want. I believe that each new person brings their own good practices, which are highly valued here.

When it comes to the team’s development, we are planning to have 16 people in the team this year: we still need to hire eight more colleagues. I’ve noticed that it’s best when there are eight people on a team, so it looks like we’ll have two teams this year. If we somehow will form three teams, it will be even better.

We are looking for both Senior and Junior programmers, testers, a Scrum Master who would know business analytics and would help the team to form a direction and need. My vision is to have a team that takes the job from scratch and finishes it, creating value for customers.

Of course, the IT market is very complicated right now, it takes four months to hire a Senior Specialist - I hope we can find all the employees we are looking for. Next year we are planning to have a team of at least 40 people. If we bring value to the company with the right people, and build trust, we will grow even faster.

- What qualities a person should have to join the team?

- I am always looking for people who want to achieve something in their life and work. Whenever necessary, I will always share tips on how to work smart, not hard. I also believe in discovering balance at work. I really appreciate colleagues who are not afraid to make mistakes, but also do not forget to correct it; who strive to do their job to the maximum quality.

Of course, it is important for a person to strive for continuous improvement and share their good practices with other colleagues. In the IT sector, we cannot stand still - we solve various dilemmas, problems, uncertainties and find solutions experimentally.

My main vision is that every team member grows and helps each other to learn something new.

- Dainius, what do you promise for your new team members? What inspires you at work?

- I trust my team: I give it autonomy, because they are experts in their field. I will not attempt to micromanage. Whenever necessary, I will be a mentor, assisting and supporting in solving dilemmas. I will always listen to the needs of the team and help achieve the goals. Together we will decide what is best for us - we will hear each other and cooperate.

I follow these principles because I’m inspired by freedom and trust. People of Centric care about this company, and together we believe in teamwork.

I am guided by this thought: "Work on your strengths, not weaknesses"; and I will definitely help cultivate the strongest skills of my team members.

Wanna join the Software Engineering team? Contact Dainius directly: Dainius Stasiulis | LinkedIn