How I have grown with Aire

Clare Lindley has been with Aire since 2016. This makes her our longest serving Software Engineer. Read on to find out about her journey with us:

Nice to meet you! My name’s Clare, and I’d like to tell you about my experience as a Software Engineer at Aire.

I’ve been with Aire for just over 2 years. Prior to that, I was working as a Drupal contractor and getting very bored! Contracting is well known for paying very well, and I was incredibly fortunate to be able to make a living that way for a long time. I never took this for granted, however—I soon came to realise that once my basic expenses are met (and retirement, obvs—I don’t love work that much 😂), I’m really not motivated to earn any more. What I love is, I think, what all Engineers love: to be challenged, pushed, and stretched just a little outside my comfort zone, and to reap the rewards of a hard problem solved and a job well done.

So, disillusioned with contracting life, I took some time out to plan my next move. This helped me understand that what I was looking for was somewhere that presented me with opportunities for growth, and what better place than a startup where we would be growing side-by-side? (In my interview when I was asked what I was looking for, I actually remember saying: “I want to work somewhere I can grow with the company”!)

Growth across different dimensions

During my interview, I don’t think I had any idea just how much this company would shape me and inspire me to aim higher in my career than I ever had before. Back then, when I talked about growth, I was just thinking about learning new technical skills and being a ‘better programmer’ — that really was the scope of my ambition. But now when I reflect on my growth, I think that it has happened across many different dimensions in ways that I never imagined.

My confidence has grown exponentially, and this is wholly down to the culture here. We are very, very respectful of each other, and psychological safety is a priority. This makes it easy to speak up in meetings, and I have been able to find more of a voice.

My career ambitions have also grown, because of the brilliant, hardworking, and talented people I work with, who inspire me daily. I see what they do, look up to them, and want more for myself than only being an individual contributor. I feel like I have more potential to fulfil than I initially realised, and I am ready to take on more responsibility. And I’ve been given space — to do my own thing, to learn experientially, to grow on my own terms, and to draw my own conclusions about what works for me. This is key. No-one is defining my role, or holding me to a particular job description or set of rules. There are processes and — dare I say it — rules here… or maybe ‘heuristics’ or unspoken conventions even. However, there is no dogma and no pressure! At every level, we are free to challenge and question every decision made, and I don’t feel constrained by rules. We have freedom. We are enabled and able to challenge.

’Don’t trust me. Think for yourself!’

I remember on my initial job-offer phone call with Tim, the CTO, I said one of the reasons I chose Aire is because I trust you — and he said something like: ‘Don’t trust me, think for yourself!’ As an employee, I have full ownership of my professional development and growth — I drive the conversation.

Practically, one way Aire supports this is by facilitating weekly 1:1s with Tim for all the Engineers. I myself have chosen to use this time to learn from Tim’s leadership experience and to get feedback on areas that I need to develop.

I would also like to speak about the incredible support I have received here for my mental health. I am forever grateful to Jon, our COO, and to Tim again for being so understanding and supportive when I was going through a rough time last year. I can’t express how much gratitude I have for the empathic, compassionate, and humane leadership team. It really is priceless, and creates a bottomless well of motivation from which I can draw when I am having a low day.

Come on in, the water’s lovely! In at the deep end — Aire-style

And now, if you’re still with me? yes? Good! Let’s get to the fun stuff! Another aspect of working here that I really appreciate is that technically we are encouraged to be good all-round Engineers following solid principles, rather than specialists in one language or framework. So even though we use Python a lot, it doesn’t really matter if you don’t already know Python. All that matters is that you know how to learn and, equally importantly, how to share what you know with others. You may find yourself in at the deep end occasionally, but you will be in good company, and well supported.

There are incredible learning opportunities here, I have to pinch myself sometimes — pretty much everything I’ve worked on this year has been new to me: I’ve been working on our new product platform on AWS, and been learning more about networking, Python, AWS, ssh, Kubernetes, Terraform, and Ansible. Working on so many unfamiliar things means that I have just learned to relax, be comfortable with the uncomfortable, and trust the learning process — which I am able to do because I have the trust and support of the business.

My most productive spot in the office.

As well as being a safe place to learn, I’d like to speak about what other things I feel an Engineering team needs to function at its best and stay motivated — and examples of how that happens in practice at Aire:

• We have the freedom here to choose the tools and technologies that are right for the job, and right for us, all the way from our IDE to the infrastructure that our products run on (and everything in between).
• We have the freedom—no, responsibility—to challenge and shape the company and its processes. If there’s anything we want to change, we are enabled to make that change, be it the hiring process, our implementation of Scrum and Agile, our Infosec policy, our Christmas party — anything! In spite of working in one of the most heavily regulated domains in the world, we have managed to grow and maintain a culture where we are all enabled to take ownership and accountability for our decisions — rather than constantly having to ask for permission. I feel that I am trusted by default.
• Following on from this, we are all involved in hiring decisions, and I am really proud to say that I have helped grow the best team I have ever worked with.
• This is also the most diverse engineering team I have ever worked in. I can’t tell you how much of a difference it makes not to be the only woman in a meeting. I believe there is strength in the diversity of thought, ideas, and culture, and this is embraced wholeheartedly at Aire.
• We can work wherever we like as all Engineers are given laptops. I personally saw the introduction of laptops here as a game-changer. I have a long commute, and it’s wonderful to have the option to work from home. I really appreciate that. I am also very sensitive to background noise, so to be able to move around the office and work in the quietest spots is a life-saver, and really helps me stay calm and focused.
• And last, but not least: Ice cream! Vegan ice cream, gluten-free ice cream, frozen yoghurt, heck even regular ice cream! Aire is big on ice cream. And other snacks, lovingly sourced by our office manager, Becci — and of course as much tea and coffee as you can drink!

Yum! :)

I’m so excited about the work we’re doing here and the opportunities that are available to me. It’s a remarkable place to work — please do stop by for a chat any time — I’d love it. Ice creams are on me :)