Roxana joined Endava almost 5 years ago but she still remembers the vibe and energy she felt stepping into the office. She always loved to push herself beyond her comfort zone and right now, she is doing the same, as Career Coach and Scrum Master. Committed to her colleagues’ growth, she tries to lead by example through creating a safe environment for others to succeed or fail, get up, learn some more and try again. Let’s dig into her story and find out more about Roxana’s aim to create an environment where people feel encouraged to be more.

How did you join the company and what is your role now?

I started as a Senior Tester on a challenging project in the payments domain, mainly focusing on database and manual testing. Soon I started also to create automated tests for APIs. Everything was new: the industry, my colleagues, the agile way of working. But I felt people trusted me. This and my expertise made me step up and give my best.

Over the years, I started taking over more responsibilities within the projects and company, acting as a Test Lead when needed, organizing several events (e.g. Endava Testing Week and a charity event), becoming a Hiring Manager for the Testing Discipline and also being involved in several testing practices, like Test Management.

I am now the Scrum Master of an amazing, dynamic and distributed team that the client, a leader in the Nordics payments industry, trusts. I coach my team and the client on adopting the agile way of working. It is the role that allows me to shape people, to give something back from what I learned, to support and mirror the persons in front of me so they can see that they are valuable and empowered and that they have as many chances as they want in reaching their goals.

Tell us about what motivates you most at work.

What I like about Endava is that here I am free and feel empowered to do what I am passionate about, thus changing things for the better.

I celebrate my successes and acknowledge my failures as a way of improving who I am. I also strive to create a safe environment for others to try and succeed or fail, get up, learn some more and try again.

What are you most proud of?

I think getting my Scrum Master certification is one of the things I am most proud of. It meant a lot for my future steps. While I value most the hands-on experience, I think obtaining this certificate was an important step towards the right professional track. It meant that I could broaden my expertise in additional areas.

How do you keep up with the latest technology trends?

I have subscribed to different blogs and communities where updates are presented and debated. I try to read as much as possible in the time I have. I also like to discuss new technologies with my colleagues or the architects or project managers I interact with each day. I am surrounded by people who are actively interested in the latest technology trends and because we have so many opportunities to get together and share what we know, it’s easy for me to stay updated on any topic of interest.

What can you tell us about your life outside of work?

I like to create and I like to help. Creating jewellery, clothes or paper flower decorations are just some of the things I invest my imagination in.

Helping others is my way of expressing my thanks for what I have and what I am, of battling the wrong things with good deeds, of remembering to stay humble and connected with the world around me. These things became even more important since I now have the best playmate I could have dreamed of: my little son. My husband and I try to raise him in the same spirit: be creative, break things so you can learn how to fix them, be courageous, get to know places and people but most of all, be kind and considerate. As you can imagine, it’s a handful; we never get bored!

I think my passions shaped my way of working. I aim to create work environments where people feel encouraged to be more.

What advice would you give yourself if you were starting work at Endava today?

Brace yourself; it is going to be an amazing ride!