Principal Engineer, Rihan, joined Hastings’ Digital Development team at the start of 2021. He’s recruiting for Senior iOS and Android Developers to join him so in this week’s colleague blog, he tells us about his experience so far and why it’s an exciting time to be part of Hasting’s digital journey. Tell us about your background and what led you to join Hastings Direct I’ve been working as a mobile developer since 2009. I started with Blackberry application development and then transitioned into the Android development world. Since 2017, I have been working as an Engineering Manager and I build iOS and Android applications. Most of my experience has been in FinTech – after working at Travelex for six years, I wanted a new challenge and decided to try out InsurTech. I was sold on the Hastings 2.0 ambitions and I wanted to challenge myself with the fresh opportunities at HD. I was also impressed by the company culture and how happy the people were. Tell us about working life at Hastings Direct and as part of the Digital and Change team? My colleagues have welcomed me and helped me settle in quickly. Each day is a new day and there are new challenges every day. There is so much happening at Hastings that I love to wake up excited at the prospect of what the day will look like and how I can solve problems that will help our customers. Our team is spread over Europe and Asia and that brings a very multi-cultural vibe. There are many experienced team members who bring a lot of knowledge and know-how, and it's an ideal setup to learn new things as we are constantly innovating. Why is it a great time to join Hastings as a mobile developer? We’re shaping the future of the Hastings Direct mobile app – using innovative technologies to build a mobile app that we are proud of. Hastings is undergoing a massive digital transformation. There’s lots happening and lots to learn on our way to building the next generation mobile app and becoming a digital leader in the insurance space. How do the team approach home-working? We ensure we get a lot of ‘face time’ over the week and make sure each other are feeling good. I’ve found it beneficial to treat the home office as a workplace, making sure the furniture and IT peripherals are suitable and fit for a workplace. When the working day is over, it’s important to try to cut off from work (no email checks!) until the next day. What advice would you give someone who’s considering joining Hastings as the next step in their career? As we’re undergoing a massive digital transformation, it would be the right time in anyone's career to be part of it – solving exciting challenges whilst also having fun. Join Rihan’s team! As a Senior Digital Developer, you’ll be improving our highly-rated app and creating brand new mobile experiences for our customers across iOS or Android platforms. We have lot of opportunities – in digital and in the wider business. If you’d like to be part of a team working together to support our customers, click here to find our more about available roles.