Bassem Sleiman, Front-End Engineer @ Pennylane

Hi Bassem! Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

Hi Fanny! Before joining Pennylane, I worked for 2 other companies — one Lebanese, the other, Scottish — as a full-stack engineer. I joined Pennylane about 6 months ago [in September 2021].

In my free time, I enjoy hanging out with friends, reading — especially about history (few people know I have a minor in political science) — and, sometimes, workout. 😉

Well, now they know! 😉 And what made you choose Pennylane?

I started doing front-end (with react) at my previous company. I found that language truly interesting and challenging and wanted to dive even deeper into it.

Pennylane offered me the opportunity to focus all my attention on front-end development. I checked the company on Glassdoor, social media… I saw it was growing a lot, and rapidly — I grew interested.

Then, I met with Thierry and Quentin and loved the interviews. We had long conversations about the tech; those meetings were really insightful. I thought: “They know what they’re doing”.

“At Pennylane, there is no micro-managing: you make decisions and you take ownership of them. That’s what I was looking for.”

That didn’t scare you, to join a French company and work remotely?

I must admit: at first, I was a bit scared. I was starting something completely new, all my colleagues would be far away — the Scottish company I worked for had an office in Lebanon so I could stop by anytime I wanted.

But I really love working at Pennylane! People are very thoughtful; the work/life balance is great; the culture, too.

Just one example: the flexible working hours. Many companies say they do it when they actually don’t. At Pennylane, it’s real. It’s OK to skip a stand-up sometimes if something urgent comes up; we can adjust our schedule if needed.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to fly to Paris during the onboarding week but it felt like I was there. I got to meet Arthur [the CEO of Pennylane] over a call when he presented the company’s vision; it was fascinating, his vision, his determination…

“It’s a great initiative to fly all the newcomers to Paris; I was impressed by the team, both on a technical and a commercial level.”

Talking about culture; among Pennylane’s values (Supporting SMEs; Community of Builders; Radical Trust) which speaks to you the most and why?

Community of builders — definitely.

Things happen quickly here; we’re always building new features and improving old ones.

“Everyone is working towards making things easier for fellow engineers and, most importantly, better so we can work comfortably.”

As you said before, the tech team is remote-first. How do you manage to create comradeship in that setting?

It’s a collective effort. :)

When I joined, I was a bit shy but I immediately received lots and lots of invitations to virtual coffees. The people I work with are very friendly and caring — it’s easy to create friendships.

Another example: when I moved to another team (this is my 3rd team already but I honestly enjoy it: it allows me to learn more about the product!), I stayed in contact with my “old” team — we still share a lot of things, over calls, over Slack.

“Because there is no micro-management, we have the flexibility to schedule 30-minute calls — not only to work but to enjoy each other’s company: we are trusted to manage our time and deliver what is expected from us nonetheless.”

You joined Pennylane 6 months ago; what’s your greatest achievement so far? :)

It’s actually the very first project I did. I particularly loved it because I had to dive very deep into the accounting world.

We were building the new balance — which involved a lot of technical changes at the same time — and the project was very successful. So… a great way in!

Last but not least; any word of advice for future applicants?

Do what you can to be accepted! [He laughs.]

It’s really great to work here — you learn a lot, it pushes you to go further. I mean:

“I left a 4-days work week to join Pennylane!”

Thank you for your time and your enthusiasm, Bassem!

👀 If Bassem convinced you to join Pennylane, please take a look at our job offers: https://bit.ly/3sN8g9X

See you soon!