Product & business experts
Depending on their role in our ecosystem, these are individuals who skilfully turn business requirements into technical ones, drive product development and adoption, present IT assets and services to internal parties and deliver a compliant, state of the art service. They merge business needs with tech teams and display excellent stakeholder management skills in the process.
Skills & interactions: successful delivery is heavily assisted by clarity of purpose, technical understanding and execution, testing plans, acceptance criteria for new features, documentation, trainings, demos, continuous improvement. Domain/enterprise architects, technical leads, product owners, feature engineers, all work closely together.
See who you could team up with:
Ana-Maria Neagu
Chapter Lead Customer Journey
Who are your customers and what does a pathfinder do?
Our customers are ING entities, and my job is to understand their needs, understand the payments industry standards and regulations, then identify opportunities for product and service enhancements.
I act as a coordinator, engaging with stakeholders like product leads, service owners, country representatives, architects, and feature engineers.
In terms of local to global, how do you work with your colleagues?
As part of the Payment and Settlement Services (PSS) domain, we onboard ING entities to our standardized payments platform and contribute to the delivery of various programmes, e.g. Instant Payments and Assisted Channels. Successfully migrating local payment solutions to global PSS services and ensuring an exceptional customer experience, in the process is where we all come together.
What about your local team, what’s the dynamic there?
My colleagues are highly intelligent, reliable, and hardworking. But what stands out to me is their sense of humour and that while we do serious work together, they don’t take themselves too seriously, which fosters easy and effective collaboration.
I, in turn, see myself as proactive, efficient and a good listener, offering encouragement and helping out during challenging times.
Do you remember a time when you felt especially proud of a job-related success?
To be able to contribute daily to the development of outstanding payment capabilities is a success in and of itself. The volumes, the complexity, the reliability of execution, these are monumental.
Also, to lead product development, to take an idea and run with it until it turns into tangible production product capabilities, that are both compliant and loved by our customers, is very rewarding.
What is something you’ve learned from a less than perfect work situation?
‘’Don’t take things personally’’ and ‘’try to make more informed decisions’’.
Work from home or from the office? What’s your preference?
I do both and, interestingly enough, I feel more energized at the end of a day spent in the office. The work environment is highly positive, I think that’s what does it.
But I also appreciate the flexibility in terms of working hours and working from home.
What’s a rewarding mix that your job brings?
Top ingredients: working in an international environment and contributing to the delivery of innovative products and projects. It’s challenging enough to keep me engaged and to help me develop my skills, but not overwhelming.
I always show up for myself and make room for the things I enjoy after hours: a good movie or a podcast, a masterful sushi dish, the occasional gym session, or a theatre play.
What was your dream job growing up and did you manage to integrate it in your adult life?
As a child I dreamed of exploring the world and experiencing different cultures and places. I immediately associated that with working in the travel industry. I do travel for pleasure nowadays, and I also travel through
the people I connect with professionally. They’re all over the globe, so the international flavour of it is certainly present.
Ionuț Chitic
Chapter Lead eFx
We help build and enhance a complex trading application to gain ING a competitive advantage in the Foreign Exchange (FX) and Money Market space.
Having access to the FX world and being in the middle of the action is fun. You can watch markets burn and understand exactly why it’s happening, as it’s happening. Having that kind of insight is rewarding to me.
I love complexity and the freedom to experiment, and I have both doing what I do.
What I can say is that I aspire to be a leader for my team and those around me and to create a circle of safety. We face all sort of challenges and land on our feet every time so, to give our best, we need to be at our best.
But on the development side I do the opposite: I push, I get them out of their comfort zone to do more, be more. They are so smart that it drives me crazy sometimes, but it’s a good "problem" to have
My proudest moment was when my team backed me up when I needed the most, without me asking them.
It came as confirmation that my efforts to build a united team paid off. It’s like brushing your teeth, you don’t think of the return every day you do it, but you end up having a nice smile.
Challenges come with the territory in my job, but the most recent one was about a huge exposure* for ING in a matter of hours. I learnt that getting the bad news out as fast as possible is the best course of action.
* the maximum potential loss a lender may incur if the borrower defaults.
I’m all about self-development, constantly trying to improve something: how I speak, look, behave, think. Exploring different dimensions is part of my nature, whether it’s through a hobby (music, sports) or a course of action that supports my professional growth.
Maybe because I orchestrate engaging experiences, motivate people, and create space for new things.
I believe in leading by example, so I’m the first to leave my comfort zone. Sometimes quite literally, like the time I booked a next day flight to the U.S.
What matters most to me is to be in good health, to be close to family and friends and to develop professionally. Working for ING Hubs grants me the resources I need to tend to all of the above.
I relate to the proud lion we know to appear at the beginning of many movies, seeing it makes you think you’re in for a good time, in good company.
Ailin Seit-Amet
After graduating from ING's 3-year International Talent Programme, which took me to different areas in the company, I chose product management. I get to define the product strategy and roadmap, prioritise features, translate customer needs and business goals into technical tasks that my team can build.
And no, I don't just "tell developers what to do", to debunk a myth. We're in it together and everyone contributes from their place of expertise.
I'm surrounded by bright and creative minds; we communicate openly, and we always rely on each another. Stepping up to share knowledge or to offer support when one of us is struggling helped build trust over the years. I also love our humour-infused meetings – we don't take serious matters lightly, but we don't let them swallow us whole either.
There are continuous challenges for a product manager: conflicting priorities, tight deadlines or misalignments between the teams involved in delivery. Transparent communication, setting realistic goals and managing expectations is what gets us through. It matters that all parties are heard and agree that the best possible resolution has been reached.
ING customers and partners could get new functionalities they don't want or need, the product launch might fail to meet the deadline or lack direction. And when you work on a product that is highly regulated (the PSD2 channel), failing to deliver on requirements in due time can lead to penalties.
For me, it all fits in a 4-days work week. Monday to Thursday, my focus is on work, then I get one extra day to enjoy life unscripted, which is amazing. But even during the four days, there are flexible work hours, days of remote work, company-wide wellness programmes. So, mark me safe from feeling worn out.
It's a mix between my professional role and my new passion for cooking and baking. I couldn't have gotten a better name, I love it!
And, looking back, I joined ING Hubs Romania as a fresh graduate, which was a huge jumpstart. And I think this is what working here means to many of us.