Meet Nina – From Healthcare Management to Software Development

You switched to IT as a career changer. How did that come about, how dit it work and what was it about that particularly appealed to you?

What did you experience as particularly challenging when you changed jobs?

What features / projects are you currently working on? And which tech stack do you use?

Basically, I work in Retail Logistics. Our processing product includes all the important information about a product that is required for warehousing and dropshipment and that needs to be checked during goods inspection. This information is essential for processing customer and supplier orders and for managing logistics.

I am currently working on a project to optimise our internal DevOps processes. It involves the automated import of "deadletter" messages from interface systems in the Google Cloud that could not be processed directly.

We use Kotlin and Spring Boot to develop our services, while Terraform is used for infrastructure automation. We also use GitHub for version control and collaboration and Github Actions for Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD).

What is your favourite programming language?

My favourite programming language is Kotlin. I particularly appreciate the expressiveness and security that Kotlin offers, as well as its interoperability with Java. Kotlin combines functional and object-oriented programming paradigms in a very intuitive way, which makes the development process more efficient and convenient.

What has been the biggest challenge in your area of work in IT so far?

The biggest challenge so far has been the implementation of a complex microservice architecture project. This architecture required not only a deep understanding of the individual components, but also the ability to orchestrate and scale them effectively. We had to ensure that the services were not only independent, but also resilient and scalable. This project required detailed planning to ensure that all components interacted seamlessly with each other.

Particularly challenging was the system integrative test with many interfaces and the implementation of a robust communication system between the services. This required in-depth knowledge of distributed systems and intensive testing to ensure the reliability and scalability of the new architecture.

What do you like most about working in your team?

I particularly appreciate the open and collaborative atmosphere in my team. Everyone brings their individual skills and perspectives to the table, which makes problem-solving creative and efficient. Our team consists of a product owner, a senior dev and three developers. We all use agile methods such as Scrum to organise our work, which promotes transparency and continuous improvement.

The willingness to support each other and the shared focus on quality and innovation make working together very pleasant and productive. We enjoy working together and have a lot of fun in our team. 

Another highlight is the willingness to share knowledge and support each other. Due to pair programming and regular code reviews, we are constantly learning from each other and improving our skills. This collegial atmosphere contributes significantly to the quality of our work. The Tech Days, where we can realise creative ideas, also motivate me.

Is there a subject area that particularly interests you and in which you would like to deepen your knowledge?

There are several areas in which I would like to further develop my skills. I am particularly interested in deepening my knowledge in Clean Code, architecture and the performance-optimised use of cloud resources. As security plays an increasingly important role in IT, I want to ensure that our applications and data are protected in the best possible way. 

I am also interested in learning more about machine learning and AI to potentially integrate these technologies into our projects and make our solutions smarter.

Speaking of AI: What touchpoints do you already have with AI in your work and do you see any special use cases in your team?

In terms of AI, there are definitely exciting potential applications in our Retail Logistics division - but the Business Intelligence department is primarily responsible for this. One specific use case could be the optimisation of supply chains through predictive analytics in order to shorten delivery times and increase efficiency. 

Another interesting area of application could be the automatic detection and classification of logistical problems to enable faster and more efficient solutions. This type of AI-supported system could help to further automate and optimise our processes, which would ultimately lead to improved customer satisfaction.

What advice would you give to career changers?