Joe’s life @GBG

Joe tells us what a software engineer who doesn’t like running in the dark likes to do with his day.

What does a day in software engineering involve?

My day can involve anything from investigating complex problems, to designing technical solutions, to coaching team members to achieve their best work and deliver for our customers. As a team leader in software engineering, my role spans multiple software development squads within Identity. We build the solutions that allow our customers to verify the identity of their own customers when they sign up for a service or purchase a product.

“Having the ability to take time away from my work to go running during the day helps me keep fit.”

Do you enjoy working when and where you want?

Having flexibility really helps in the winter months; I love being outdoors, and like many I don’t like exercising on cold dark nights. Having the ability to take time away from my work to go running during the day helps me keep fit and healthy – it’s also much safer. I can return to work after taking time for myself without worrying about being away and that keeps me happy. I’ve been fortunate to take advantage of remote working which GBG has fully embraced; I get far more value out of my working day without the morning commute. That said, I regularly spend time with team members at our offices which strikes a nice balance.

Joe puts his running skills and dinosaur outfit on display for the GBG Challenge 2020, running 1.33 miles on the hour every hour for 24 hours.

What’s the secret to work satisfaction in software?

Software development doesn’t ever stand still. I like that. It involves technical understanding of our existing design and code and taking measured technical risks to achieve the best outcome for our customers. Being given the time to focus on a problem and design the best solution is immensely satisfying and getting exposure to new and interesting technology as part of this process is why I wanted to be a developer in the first place.

What’s the biggest challenge facing customers today?

I think for both our customers and our customers’ customers it’s about trust – knowing who you’re dealing with and trusting them. As online transactions have increased, so has the risk to business of identity theft and fraud. So, the verification of identity during online transactions and customer onboarding plays an important part in establishing trust and mitigation of that risk.

 
"Getting exposure to new and interesting technology as part of this process is why I wanted to be a developer.”

How do you think things will develop in the next few years?

I think that the acceleration of digital transactions I mentioned is going to continue and identity fraud will develop with it and get more sophisticated – so expectations on us to meet those challenges will increase. Meanwhile, I think consumers will expect that identity validation and verification doesn’t slow them down as they try to access a service or purchase a product, so it has to be seamless.

People are becoming better educated about their digital identities and privacy online. As the financial world becomes more open with the adoption of digital banking and people take control of their data, I think we’ll really start to see this play out in the digital identity space. This will have great benefits for both the consumer and the digital businesses that embrace it.