‘I’m making my mark by playing the long game and winning through continuous improvement’

GFT is my first job, since joining in 2016 as a back-end developer. I’m now a senior back-end developer, working in banking. I’m passionate about development and everything related to it and am studying to become a Technical Lead and Software Architect. I hope, eventually, to earn ‘Distinguished Engineer’ status, which is a coveted internal nomination for excellence.

I love solving complex problems and working in teams. A proud moment was my manager revealing that a client had congratulated one of my solutions. Rather than creating just two personal identifiers for banking customers, as requested, I proposed a database for potentially variable numbers, which obviously met the need much better. That both broke a deadlock for our client and prevented future issues with his own clients.

Another key moment was winning the ‘Caring’ award for Italy at GFT’s 2018 Value Awards. The online survey delivered three candidates, with the final award made at the Christmas Party. I’d brought on several new employees for an upcoming project and suspect they nominated me. As well as making them feel part of the team, I’d committed to helping them with training and additional support. The following year, after pushing myself really hard to boost my technical knowledge, and to repay my Delivery Executive Manager’s strong trust, I was a finalist for Best Performer.

As well as these honors, I lead the internal GFT Backend Architectures community, which runs webinars and hands-on meetings for developers to help improve their skill. I also work in the Italian Digital Banking practice, which provides opportunities to develop my skills with new technologies and observe future banking sector trends.

To some, my journey might seem like hard work—but to me, it’s like mastering a long, rewarding campaign. Just like in gaming, each challenge is an opportunity to grow, improve, and support the team. And with GFT, I’ve found the perfect world to keep playing, learning, and winning—one level at a time.