The mobile app market has grown rapidly over the past few years. At the same time, the demand for developers and competition among high-class personnel has increased. David Grigoryan is one of those who have already achieved significant success in this field. He has worked as a software engineer at some of the largest companies in the CIS, participated in the creation of products used by tens of millions of people, and gained international recognition. Additionally, David acts as a judge and expert at national and international hackathons, including the Digital Breakthrough competition.
David Grigoryan shared insights on how to become sought after by world-famous companies, how to become a recognized expert, and how the market may change in the coming years.
- David, a significant portion of your career is connected to Sberbank. How did you come to work for this company? Was the competition for the position high?
- I joined Sberbank as a software engineer after working at King Bird Studio, where I gained valuable experience in mobile app development. I wanted to work in a team that specialized in specific technologies and could create large-scale products, and Sberbank Online fit the bill perfectly.
The selection process at this company is known for being one of the most challenging in the entire CIS. As a mobile developer or any other type of professional, you can expect the interview to test your skills and knowledge thoroughly. Before I was hired at Sberbank, I went through several rounds of interviews along with other professionals. The selection process consisted of three stages: a technical screening, a full technical interview, and communication with the team. If a candidate did not pass any of these tests, they were not considered for the next round and therefore rejected.
- What does a software engineer do, and what qualities should this specialist have?
- A specialist should be able to turn an idea into a technical solution and solve complex problems. Such an expert should be responsible for clarifying the requirements of customers for a future product, estimating the timing and tasks, and identifying technologies that can be used. Then they should be actively involved in the development process, including reviewing the codes of his colleagues and ensuring the successful release and support of the functionality.
This specialist needs to have a strong foundation in computer science, as well as critical thinking skills. Also, they should be able to abstract from technical details when gathering customer requirements.
- What major projects of Sberbank did you work on?
- I worked as the senior software engineer for the development of mobile applications on the Sberbank Online project. This was a very large project. Our team participated in a large-scale update in 2019. I personally worked on updating the main screen of a mobile application for iOS. The main screen featured various banking products that different teams worked on, and the challenge was to synchronize all the developments. I also faced the difficult task of ensuring that both the old and new functionalities worked seamlessly together. As the main screen was the face of the company, the cost of any mistakes in my work was very high. After a successful launch, our department received high praise.
I also worked on the development of an analytical platform. This platform enables developers to collect depersonalized data from users of Sber ecosystem products. It was essential for building effective business strategies and creating a user profile. As a result of this development, we received an award in the "Innovation Time" competition in the "Best Project for the Implementation of Innovations" category.
- What is the uniqueness of this platform?
- Firstly, it is tailored to the Sber ecosystem and allows you to analyze user behaviors of ecosystem products such as Delivery Club and Sber Market. That is, my development has impacted about 70% of iPhone users in the country. Secondly, Sber Analytics has useful functionality that is not offered by third-party solutions like Yandex.Metrica or Google Analytics.
Thanks to this development, Sber was able to improve its business performance. As a result, the company's intellectual property department decided to patent the developed technology.
- Now you work for Ozon. Do they also place high demands on mobile developers here?
- The selection process at top companies such as Ozon can be even more challenging than at other high-level enterprises. The entry threshold is very high, and the experience of a new employee working with various types of data and technologies should surpass the average developer's experience at a competing company.
Ozon has a wide range of business lines, including Ozon Travel, Ozon Bank products, marketing solutions, and single user authorization. To work with the company's products, it is necessary to utilize a range of tools for developing applications that can be used on iOS and Android devices.
For example, I am currently developing and supporting a service like Ozon Classified. We created the functionality from scratch, and most of the technical decisions were made by us. Only very experienced and highly skilled developers can design at the fundamental level.
- That is, Ozon will not hire fresh graduate students, even a very talented one?
- Newcomers to the profession have a chance to succeed. To do this, the candidate must pass all the tests at the bootcamp.
When I started my career in IT, bootcamps and internships were not as common as they are now. Most top companies now have them, which means that talented developers are more likely to get involved in a large project.
- There is a stereotype that the dream of all great developers is to get a job at a company like Google and Amazon. Is it really true?
- It all depends on the individual goals of each specialist. Some people really aspire to work at giant FAANG companies (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Google), while others want to work in a startup and make a contribution that would add another letter to FAANG.
- How does one attract the attention of recruiters of large companies?
- As a developer who contributes to the advancement of their field, there is always something to share with colleagues at conferences. One way to do this is by writing articles, tutorials, about your achievements and posting them on your blog. It is important to regularly update and maintain your blog or page to keep others informed about your contributions. LinkedIn is also a great platform for sharing your work and engaging with others in your field.
Developers who share their expertise often receive letters from recruiters at top companies in search of talented employees. For instance, recruiters from companies such as Google, Amazon, Apple, Snapchat, Booking, and Visa have reached out to me, and they were impressed by my experience and contributions to the field of mobile development.
- How do you see your future development in the profession?
- Now I'm very interested in mobile development because it provides me with the opportunity to explore various areas of development, such as map creation with navigation, machine learning, graphics, AR/VR, and more. There are countless possibilities in this field. However, I am also interested in other areas, such as back-end development. In my opinion, a developer should have a basic understanding of the main areas of IT in order to create a high-quality product and be able to communicate effectively with colleagues.
- How do you think the market will change in the coming years, and what competencies software developers should have?
- In the past 5-10 years, the demand for programmers and developers in the market has been increasing. However, merely knowing a specific programming language is no longer sufficient; it is now necessary to be able to understand the problem at hand and select the appropriate solution stack to address it. As a result, coders who are proficient in only a single language may find themselves in less demand.
Programmers and developers with extensive experience and significant achievements in the projects they have worked on will always be in demand. This is true regardless of the current popularity of specific areas such as web, back-end, or mobile development.
I believe that as new developments in IT are promoted, the demands of companies will change. For example, augmented and virtual reality technologies are not widely used or easily accessible at present. However, if portable AR/VR glasses are introduced that offer long battery life and high image quality, it's possible that many companies will want to utilize them for product promotion. This is also true for artificial intelligence.
