For Reaktor, technology is at the core of their business. They help global companies become technological leaders, creating custom made software and developing digital strategies together with the client.
Reaktor currently has 9 offices across 6 countries, bringing together more than 600 great tech minds in some of the most digitally advanced capitals like New York, Amsterdam and Helsinki. The company supports a range of international clients working in various domains from media to retail and air travel, including some of the renowned brands like HBO, Adidas, KLM and FC Liverpool to name a few.
Lisbon Tech Hub
Lisbon — one of the most up-and-coming tech hubs in Europe — was the perfect choice for Reaktor to open its latest new office. As Nizar Jouini, the Head of Engineering at Reaktor Lisbon, mentions, I would go as far as to say that the quality of talent here in Lisbon is astounding. We see tremendous potential in the tech scene here, and are willing to invest in it. Our business is our people, so prioritizing future Reaktorians’ standard of living is vitally important to us. In terms of internationality, accessibility, and level of ambition, Lisbon ticks all the boxes. The city boasts one of the best sea views, delicious pastel de nata, and ranks among the safest cities in Europe.
They’re currently looking for a team of Software Engineers who will be involved in setting direction for one of Reaktor’s key nodes for technological growth. When you become a Reaktorian, you’ll be solving juicy digital challenges, sharing expertise, working closely with Reaktor communities in Amsterdam, Stockholm, Helsinki, and connecting with colleagues and clients from all over the world.
Sincerely, your future team
Reaktor has one of the most interesting initiatives we’ve seen when it comes to reaching out to their future team members. Imagine reading letters from your future colleagues talking about their experience at the company? That’s exactly what Reaktor does with Dear future colleague, a series where a different employee writes a letter to their future colleague, talking about their personal journey inside Reaktor and giving a special “inside peek”.
Here’s an example of one:
Dear future colleague,
My name is Aku Kotkavuo, and I’ve been working at Reaktor as a software consultant for the past nine years. Little did I know what an adventure I was signing up for!
The past decade has been full of roaring laughter, learning, successes and failures. I’ve learned a great deal about technology, but even more about teamwork, humility, respect, and kindness — and these things have guided me towards becoming a real professional.
Without a doubt, the last nine years have been the best time of my life. I matured in the most supportive environment I’ve ever worked in. I’ve grown up to become like one of the people I admired when I first joined Reaktor, and I’ve been able to share some of what I’ve learned with the people who have joined after me.
I joined Reaktor at only 23, looking for a new challenge. Despite my young age I had decided to take a chance at applying to work for the top Finnish software consultancies. Reaktor seemed like the most interesting of the bunch, and to my great delight the interest was mutual. They took a chance on me and I became the youngest Reaktorian at the time by a number of years.
Over the following years I discovered how little I knew and how naïve I had been — in the best way possible, by following in the footsteps and working with real professionals. I was treated with respect and kindness from the start — it seemed like everyone wanted to unlock the potential I supposedly held within. Every Thursday evening we gather to our HQ to have fun and share what we have learned from our victories and fuck-ups alike, a tradition that continues to this day!
Growth often involves pain, and my journey was no different. After a number of projects, I had learned a lot, but I still felt I hadn’t been able to really prove myself, especially among my more experienced peers. This persistent, nagging self-doubt made me feel vulnerable. I became thin-skinned and defensive. I started jealously guarding my own productivity at the cost of my team. I grew a shell around myself and stopped listening to heartfelt advice from the people around me. I feared I maybe didn’t belong here after all, that the people recruiting me some years ago had made a terrible mistake.
Throughout all this, my friends never gave up on me. In a gentle way they made me see how I had progressed in some ways and regressed in others. They made me realize how I could really take the next step on my career: by caring less about myself and more about my team. The best way to become a mythical “10x developer” is to help everyone else around you to reach their true potential.
The framing inside my mind gradually changed from “how can I become a better developer” to “how can I become a better teammate”. This paradigm shift has been the map I’ve used to get where I am now and what continues to guide my future growth.
Over time this mindset resulted in the kinds of success I can now be genuinely proud of. Passing on some of these learnings to the next generation of Reaktorians, I feel like I’ve finally been able to reach some of what the people who hired me saw in me all those years ago.
One of the best things about working at Reaktor is being able to choose your own path. After working on our internal tools for a long time, I longed to get back into direct contact with a client. I started looking for an environment where I could get back into consulting and deeper tech. I set out my timetable for a rotation and started helping in sales efforts. We found a great fit for my existing skills and wishes with ZenRobotics.
ZenRobotics interviewed me along with two other candidates from Reaktor. I happened to be a really good match from a technological viewpoint: I have experience working in Python, Clojure, C++ and JavaScript, the main programming languages used at ZenRobotics. On top of this, I felt like I hit it off with the developers at ZenRobotics right away. I didn’t have previous experience with robotics or the type of machine learning used at ZenRobotics — areas I’ve since gotten much better at.
While the first few weeks are always full of wondering and pondering, it didn’t take long before I felt comfortable enough to start making concrete things happen. These first few contributions are important for developing trust: my job is to make changes, not just wave my hands.
Getting to know the people around me is always the key. You can’t effectively make change happen without knowing who is going to be part of that change. Trust opens avenues for deeper collaboration and better well-being. Now, nine months later, we’ve reached our original goals and are working full steam ahead on the next release. Lots of work remains to be done, but there is a sense of optimism in the air.
Read the full story here.
A place where you feel welcome from Day 1
Starting a new job is not short of exciting and sometimes even scary. But starting a life at Reaktor couldn’t feel more attractive.
Wake up, take a relaxed sip of your morning coffee and arrive at a beautiful office space to be greeted by a friendly group of your Reaktor team-mates (as COVID permits of course).
You can expect to work closely with other Reaktor teams spread out around the world, especially Amsterdam, Helsinki and Stockholm, and the company allows you to work remotely on certain days and take advantage of flexible work hours.
The People Operations team called HUG knows how to receive you and will make sure you don’t feel left out. They have a fully prepared onboarding to introduce you to the Reaktor culture, ways of working and to your team.
So, what are you waiting for? If you’re looking for a new challenge in your career and want to join a forward-thinking and fast-growing team at Reaktor, apply here.
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