Data experts

It's the idea that I will come up with a clever solution to something by the end of the sprint, one that everyone will find useful and meaningful.

I'd make it harder for the rest of the team. How can we tackle challenges or build solutions if we don't all give the same focus? It's a good thing I work with professionals, and we can always rely on each other.

"Oh, you work for a bank, you probably know all about financial stuff". In reality, it's mostly coding, analysis, and having fun.

I'm passionate about astrophotography and have my own fully automated astronomy imaging setup.
I've always been a builder and fixer, someone who wanted to create and automate things, so my job fits like a glove.

Working from home is a huge benefit, it's highly rewarding and sought after. I value time spent with my colleagues and cherish the moments when I'm with my family.

I try to be a good father and a good husband and, whenever I can, I photograph the universe and explore the unknown. But I'm into photography in all its forms, and it's a hobby I share with my wife. So, I'd say I'm fortunate enough to lead a full life.

Besides technical skills, I add empathy, good laughs, and support. ING Hubs Romania is where I've spent most of my professional life and formed long-lasting friendships. It's where I was able to evolve to where I am now, and one of the reasons is that the work environment and culture felt like a match from day one. I'm happy to report that we continue to click.

Exciting enough for me to say that I’ve never had a boring day at work. Let me expand on that: we are responsible for a series of products that prevent financial crime in 40 ING countries. There are so many puzzles to solve, a lot of scenarios to explore and plenty of room to innovate.

People are surprised by how much of my work is about collaboration, interaction, creativity and learning from mistakes. We don’t just bask in perfectly aligned figures and databases.

A good day can be filled with aha moments and long brainstorming sessions that help us arrive at an aligned concept that everyone is happy with.

We work in a fast-paced environment and mistakes made can impact whether we stay compliant or not. On top of this, our global tribe is expanding quite fast, so we often witness transformations, lift-and-shifts that can add to the challenge. Last year we saw the most complex reorg we have gone through so far. It was a testing moment, but we managed to stay on top, with some lessons learned along the way: 1. don’t change too much at once and mitigate before rolling out. 2. try not to panic; just like in a natural disaster, panic will only limit your strategic thinking.

Most of the time I keep it simple: I start by looking at the sky until I can feel the rush of the day dissipate, I spend time with loved ones, take walks, have tea while reading or listening to podcasts. Sometimes I still manage to paint for a bit.

I have the flexibility to organise my time and that’s golden.

I hope they find my curiosity inspiring, allowing them the mind space to ask questions and process things. They often come to me for comfort or to run ideas by, and this tells me they trust my opinion and value our rapport. I always have their backs and they know that. The reverse is also true: they support me in key moments, and I can rely on them whenever I need.

My colleagues are quite smart, ambitious, open and willing to try new things. They also have a great sense of humour.

There are too many! My favourite is when we get to look at our accomplishments at the end of each year. We have an event that combines fun activities with a retrospect.

It’s very rewarding to see aggregated figures with tens of complex projects we successfully delivered, billions of transactions processed by our systems, and to receive the appreciation of our global beneficiaries.

I was on the fence between becoming a mathematician or something related to art or philosophy. What I do now combines the structure of mathematical analysis and strings and the multifaceted perspectives of philosophy when dealing with data feeds.

Yes, it is "just a job", but since we give so much time and energy to our jobs, it matters to me that I have the one that suits me. ING Hubs feels like a global laboratory and an entrepreneurial space more than anything, really. I get to work with the best of people, so I’m very happy with where I am.

It starts with defining and describing things in the real world and the way they are connected. We need a common understanding to build strong data models. If that starting point is missed, things can easily derail and lead to sanctions, operational inefficiencies or even a misguided company strategy.

I joined ING Hubs Romania in a different role, but data modelling drew me in. The rest is history, as they say, and the people here gave me room to grow, feeding my drive to learn and desire to perform.

My team is quite big and that comes with a lot of variety in terms of skills, personalities, and experience. I really admire my colleagues' constant availability and desire to share their knowledge and learnings. And they're fun to be around and great to work with, so what more could I wish for?

I do my part by bringing balance, diligence, a positive attitude, and a commitment to creating value.

Maintaining a work-life balance is one of the most important skills a professional can acquire, but it can be difficult to put into practice.

Know your values and prioritise what matters to you, set boundaries and stick to them. I am fully engaged in my job, but also fortunate enough to work for a company where to "unplug and disconnect" are not buzzwords, but a celebrated right. And I use it, because spending quality time with my kids and family is essential to me.

I'm not there and I don't think I will be. I like the variety of activities, the balance, the people, the fact that ING Hubs Romania encourages innovation and creates opportunities and changes often enough to keep me interested and enthusiastic. I can easily say that I have found my place.