Checkout.com Interview: A Software Engineer’s Journey from India to London
Sonali Agrawal
Software Engineer II
Hi Sonali, thank you again for volunteering to be a part of our Interview series! Let’s begin! Could you please introduce yourself and your role at Checkout?
Hey everyone. My name is Sonali Agrawal. I am a Software Engineer 2 at Checkout.com, London in the gateway team. I joined Checkout.com 9 months ago and that’s when I moved to London from India on a work visa sponsored by Checkout. Prior to this, I was working as a Software Engineer 2 at Microsoft in India.
At Checkout.com, I help in scaling up the gateway platform to be able to handle more requests and keep up with the rapid pace at which Checkout is growing. To do this, I have worked extensively on the development of a central load testing platform that integrates with the various gateway services. I am also working in Gateway’s routing team, which is a system that intelligently suggests which route a payment request should take for maximum benefit.
How did you get into tech?
I earned my Bachelor’s in Computer Science and Engineering in India at NIT Rourkela and during my undergraduate program, I did a lot of exploratory projects mostly involved in Robotics and Machine Learning. I was a part of the Robotics team, and we went to many national and international competitions. I was also involved with projects in Machine Learning, where I developed a few algorithms for an online recommendation system that gives you faster customised interests based on your previous interests.
I did four internships whilst at College.The last one was with Microsoft, and that internship converted into a full time offer. I spent the last four years with Microsoft in India.I recently got the opportunity to join Checkout — that’s when I moved to London from India with a sponsored visa.
What attracted you to Checkout.com?
At Microsoft I used to work in the financial space. I used to drive global invoicing programs there to keep up with the changing tax regulations for customers. This involved designing to coding, testing and mentoring front end developers. I wanted to expand my horizon in FinTech so it was a natural fit for me to continue in this field with Checkout.
It was a big move coming from India to the UK — I needed a company that I really believed in. With Checkout, I believed in the CEO’s passion and drive, Checkout’s business strategy, their user-first approach and putting their merchants in the centre of their solutions.
As a new joiner, how have the first few weeks/months been for you?
It has been quite interesting. I think Checkout is a fast paced company, which is really great. Because of that, I got the opportunity to start delivering from day 1. That was new and exciting for me. In the first three months, I was able to raise 25 pull requests which is very fast paced compared to what I’m used to — generally I’m used to one or two months of warm up where I’m getting to know the company. But here, I’ve been able to develop fast and work with more exciting technologies. In a short period of time, I’ve been able to learn new technologies and use them.
Other than that, talking about peers — they’re very helpful. My org has multiple teams, and though my team is the smallest, all of my peers and my sister teams are warm and really approachable. I can go to anyone for brainstorming which I really appreciate.
How have you found the Checkout support teams?
It has been amazing. The visa process was extremely smooth and they had a point of contact from India and the UK. It was so helpful to have someone I could call directly to ask questions in India. I interviewed with Checkout at the end of May, and I had the visa in a little over one month, which is very quick.
Other than that, the onboarding process was also very smooth. As soon as I landed, I got Covid! Checkout was very supportive. Initially I was supposed to pick up my laptop in the office, but they were able to deliver the laptop to my home within a few days. My manager was also very supportive in keeping my first week light until I received my laptop. I only had my iPad with me at the time and the Checkout IT team was able to set up a temporary work account quickly onto my iPad, allowing me to get through the first week without missing anything.
How would you describe the culture at CKO?
The culture is very warm with helpful peers. Everybody has an expertise in different areas, we are technology oriented and we are not barred by any technology. I feel we have a very inclusive work environment — this really helps as we have a lot of diverse backgrounds here.I felt very included from day one.
During my second week at CKO, my Engineering Director invited me for a lunch with the wider team at Nando’s which made me feel so welcomed. Since I was only getting started on knowing people, this gesture made me feel a sense of belongingness.
What makes you think Checkout is diverse and inclusive?
I have the chance to work with people from various backgrounds. I think Checkout sees diversity and inclusivity in all aspects, not just gender. The friends that I’ve made here at Checkout are from diverse geographical as well as technical backgrounds which I think may not have been that easy in other companies.
In your experience, what are the challenges and benefits from working in diverse teams?
I think the benefit is definitely being able to see multiple solutions to a single problem through different pairs of eyes. A given problem can have various solutions, and if we’re restricting ourselves to approach a problem with people from the same background, we may only see it in a certain way. However, having a diverse group allows us to expand our horizons, see it in different ways and find new ways of solving the problem for our users.
I guess the challenge is ensuring that we don’t have hidden biases. We should consciously pause and rethink to remove such biases in our day to day life.
At Checkout if you’re a member of our communities, what made you join and what did you find most valuable?
I’ve joined the Asia community and Women’s community. I joined both because as a starter from a new country I wanted to find a group to share common interests. We’re doing really well in making a minority group of people feel very welcome. For example, Diwali is not generally celebrated in the UK nor did I expect this to be celebrated here but the Asian community had arranged Indian delicacies for everyone for lunch in the office to celebrate Diwali which helped me feel included and my community recognised!
What’s the most impactful way Checkout celebrates diversity?
Checkout has many initiatives that celebrates and fosters diversity. One such impact program that I think is very important which I had the privilege to be a part of is the Tech Returners program. Tech Returners is a program designed to help individuals who took a break from work due to various personal reasons enter back into the tech workforce. Checkout, in collaboration with Tech Returners, hosted an 8 week training programme focused on training and preparing the returners to get back into tech. I think the way Checkout is different from others is that we’re not just sourcing people from diverse backgrounds, but we’re helping them as well. In this case, we’re making a big impact in their lives by providing technical and non-technical sessions and helping them prepare for interviews.
What opportunities do Checkout provide that differ from other organisations?
Joining a FinTech Company was in line with my career ambitions, so the decision to join Checkout was a natural one. Other than that, I appreciate the flexibility in working hours — it is definitely an important factor for me — it helps with my productivity!
Of course there are also industry standard benefits like dental benefits, health insurance — this is one less thing to worry about for someone like me who came from a different country. Having these ready for me is a big benefit helping me to feel at ease in a new country.
How has Checkout.com helped you to elevate your career?
It’s given me a lot of opportunities in the Finance space — I personally wanted to elevate my software engineering skills catered to the finance world. There are a lot of opportunities within Checkout, specially in the London HQ. Even the movements Checkout promotes internally are very smooth. For example, I was working on Scalability but I’ll have the opportunity to work on Routing two days per week following a casual conversation with my manager. Since I was doing .Net/C# and this aligned to the tech stack used in Routing, it was directly in line with my experience.
How does Checkout provide a career growth plan for you?
My background is .NET/C# but the initial project I was doing here allowed me to explore JavaScript in the work I’ve been doing for the Scaling team. While I’m very open to new technologies, having expertise in the .NET/C# field and encouraging me to pursue projects in the same alongside my work with new technologies is helping me to advance my career.
What’s the one piece of advice you’d give to women looking to get into tech?
Do not be afraid of change and always be open to exploring! Speaking from personal experience, the jump from India to the UK or leaving behind a company I’ve been with for four years at Microsoft, was a big decision. Once you’re with a company that long, you start to feel very comfortable, you know the domain, the people etc. You should always continue to push yourself outside of your comfort zone, explore new things and always be ready to take the plunge!
