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Samme started at Lendi two and a half years ago as a junior Frontend Engineer in one of our product teams. In 2019, Lendi Engineering was in a very different place. Over the past two years she has witnessed and been a part of a lot of change as the tech department continues to learn and grow. 

These include:

1. Team structural changes involving moving away from specialised frontend and backend teams to cross-functional teams
2. Cultural shifts setting our values and prioritising psychological safety 
3. Rethinking work during the global pandemic and transitioning to [flex-first](https://www.lendi.com.au/inspire/life-at-lendi/lendi-flex-first-approach/) to support work life balance for Lendi employees. 

The only real thing that has been consistent is change. With change comes opportunity and the ability to learn, grow and be better - should you choose to take advantage of it - and this is what she has experienced at Lendi.

## Opportunities for development at Lendi

In her first year at Lendi, her team was presented with the opportunity to take on a full-stack project. Going full-stack with a team of front-end engineers wasn’t an easy task and presented challenges, a lot of learning, and many opportunities. It was a turning point for Samme and she learned a lot.

She loved the challenge of learning new technologies and being able to dive into the backend to work on a product end-to-end. What she also learned is that Lendi is willing to invest in improving and empowering its people and teams. Team experience and feedback helped pave the way for adopting a cross-functional team model, which has provided more autonomy and a richer ownership experience across product teams. 

Samme’s own career development took a turn. She never thought she’d be a backend engineer, but the project presented an opportunity to give it a go and she was encouraged and supported in her transition after expressing interest. 

These days she’s supported with opportunities to continue her growth through leading projects and contributing to architecture, studying for her AWS certification, and learning from her talented teammates every day - there’s always something to learn.

## How Samme has shaped Lendi culture

As Lendi continues to grow, it paves the way for more exciting opportunities. In the past year, she has had opportunities to contribute to the Lendi culture through co-running the Backend Guild, helping to establish the Women in Tech group, and recently received a promotion to Senior Engineer. 

Prior to this she has been involved in providing inputs for both the initial Level Up learning program, and the Lendi Values. Through these opportunities Samme has been able to forge stronger connections with people in our wider teams and learn from them, promote positive action on diversity in the tech industry, and grow as a person. It’s always exciting to be in a company as it grows, and even more exciting to be able to play an active part in it.

For the future, she’s passionate about increasing the representation of women and people from non-traditional pathways and backgrounds into tech. This is not just in terms of overall numbers, but addressing disparities in senior and leadership roles, in which there is an even wider gap. 

## Overcoming internal doubts and imposter syndrome

She is working towards increasing her own leadership and soft skills, and learning how best to play a part in providing a voice and opportunities to help address these issues within the tech industry through representation, advocacy and education. Some days she struggles with impostor syndrome and her own internal monologue that tells her that she is not technical enough and that her soft skills don’t matter. 

On particularly bad days that same voice tells her that she’s only here to tick a box because she’s a woman, even though this is obviously not the case. Samme appreciates that she’s in an environment where she knows this, and to be in the position where her impostor syndrome is the biggest challenge she faces. 

Through Women in Tech, there is a community that may be small, but is still strong and empowering. Members provide support and guidance to lift each other up, and it reminds them that representation and diversity is important. 

Currently, that is what Samme is working on, embracing being here while being herself, and knowing that all of this - her alternative pathway, her technical skills, and soft skills, her experiences, her desire to keep growing - are what makes her good at her career.

## Lendi is hiring!

At Lendi, we're always on the lookout for passionate, motivated individuals who are excited about innovation and ongoing learning. Check out our [job openings](https://lendi.recruiterbox.com/) if you're interested in joining one of Australia's fastest growing companies.