Keeping curious in an ever-changing industry.

 

Adam was surprised to stumble on an ad for a role in a Technology team at Tesco. But when he learnt about the challenges he’d get to take on working for a retail business, he couldn’t wait to apply. Now, he’s making our customers’ experience more seamless, supporting his colleagues to fulfil their potential, and shaping the future of our Hub in Kraków.

 

“Long before I studied Computer Science at university, I was reading textbooks about programming. Growing up, I was intrigued by all the tech devices that started to appear – the first computer I tried at a friend’s house, the games console I loved to play. I began dreaming of my very own machine. And my curiosity got me thinking- how do these machines work under the hood? Could I create my own program or a game?

Professionally speaking, I started out as a Freelancer, creating web applications, then joined a small Polish company as a programmer where I built my experience for seven years. Since then, I’ve worked in a few organisations, developing both my technical and leadership skills, before joining Tesco as Head of Software Development, around 18 months ago.

Behind the scenes of every Tesco online interaction is my team: Identity. We identify and authenticate all Tesco customers, to make their journey completely secure and seamless, whether they’re logging in online or on their mobile app, or using their Clubcard instore. No less important is that we ensure all our software systems can communicate with each other securely.

Our homegrown tech allows us to take full ownership of keeping everything running smoothly. It’s a big burden and a challenging work, but really rewarding too. If we do our job in a great way, we can have a huge impact, not only on the customer security but also on their experience. And that means great results for Tesco.

My place within that? It’s hard to summarise, but I guess it’s my role to make sure my team is set up for success. And this success is defined by whether the software we develop and maintain is fully functional, reliable and available at all times. On a daily basis, it translates to a variety of activities. I set the direction and priorities for the team, optimise our work methods, inspire and motivate, and support their professional development, to name just a few.

Witnessing my colleagues’ career journeys is one of the things I enjoy most about my job, and being able to participate in it brings me a lot of fulfilment. I try to see things through their eyes, through active listening. I’m mentoring and training my colleagues, yes, but it’s not only about approaching it from my perspective. Primarily, it’s about getting to the heart of their goal and what they need to achieve it. It’s about a relationship built on trust and support, not judgement.

Commitment to learning is key when you work in the technology industry. To thrive in an ever-changing industry, you must remain curious. Learning new principles of software design, cloud environments and tools – which are constantly evolving. Understanding our business, who our customers are, and how they use our software, so you can be effective in your role. And learning more effective ways of working together, because it’s impossible to create something significant and on a large scale alone. I hope that I’ll give future leaders the tools and empowerment to grow and move through the next levels of professional maturity by arousing their curiosity and showing them new directions and undiscovered areas.

And I believe that’s the key to success at the Kraków Hub: enabling future leaders to realise their potential. I see that potential constantly in my team, and the colleagues around me. I’m humbled by how talented, collaborative, and caring they are. And I think the culture encourages that. Not only are we trying to make things better for our customers, but for each other too.

A prime example of this is the family-first approach we have here. We’re able to be flexible with our schedules to maintain a work-life balance and our wellbeing. That’s important because to me, family and loved ones always come before anything else. This approach is one of the core values for Tesco employees, at all levels, and I try to foster it even more in my team and the Kraków hub. I personally have four children, and love that through this culture, I can be there for them, even more, while remaining committed to my responsibilities at work.

We want to become an employer of choice in Kraków, and there are very few boundaries when it comes to how we do that. So, if you want to build something new, something special, it's the perfect time to join us. The Hub will continue to expand and grow massively over the next few years, both culturally and technically. I, for one, am extremely excited about helping take it to another level of maturity. Why don’t you come and be part of it?”

 

Adam, Head of Software Development

Everyone’s welcome at Tesco. We’re there for our people, whatever life brings. So we’ll do everything we can to support you. To help make sure you always feel comfortable being yourself at work, and that you’ve got what you need to develop and grow with us.

 

So why not explore our latest Tech opportunities? Click here