Inside Keyzo: An Interview with Ross
Ross Horton, one of our Senior Software Developers, has been with the business over 6 years. He’s come a long way to enhance his skills, knowledge and experience within our Production Team, developing our products and supporting our continued growth.
We had a chat with Ross to learn more about his current role, his journey so far and what he loves most about working at Keyzo.
What does your role involve as a Senior developer with Keyzo?
My role is quite varied, rarely are 2 days the same.
I am employed as a full stack developer, so I am involved from the ground up on any new product features. That means researching different implementations / technologies, working on the visuals with our wider team, and ensuring specification is captured accurately.
The development itself is across different tech stacks so that makes things interesting too. Work spans the frontend and backend including down to the api and database layer so plenty to keep me busy. In addition to the development work, I also help mentor our new members, and bring them up to speed with our products and code base.
Did you have any relevant experience prior to joining the company?
I have been privileged to have had a long career 25+ years. I have been able to try many different programming languages and frameworks, including some embedded software and windows-based development. For the last 15 years have been solely focused on web-based solutions. When I applied for my current role, however, I hadn’t yet done any PHP so that was a new challenge.
How has Keyzo helped you develop your skills and knowledge since you started?
I can honestly say that this has been the most challenging and rewarding job of my career. I have had to learn many new skills and have really helped shaped the products.
Who or what inspires you the most?
When I was a teenager I used to have a poster of Martin Luther King ‘I have a dream’ on my wall. I would say I am most inspired by the dreamers of the world, who dared to follow those dreams both big and small.
What do you like most about your software developer role?
I really like the creativity that software development gives me. I like being able to solve problems and see them take shape.
What has been your personal highlight since joining Keyzo?
The company have been amazing and have placed a significant amount of trust in me, when I have wanted to try new things. I think this has paid off and really contributed to the growth in the products and the business.
How do you find working remotely and how does Keyzo support you as a remote worker?
I liked the office environment and was initially sceptical of remote working I thought I would struggle with it, keeping motivated and feeling isolated. That however hasn’t been the case, now I wouldn’t want to go back. We have plenty of interaction over teams, and now I find it easier to get my head down when I need to, so really the best of both worlds.
What advice would you give someone either thinking of becoming a software developer, or applying for one of our vacancies?
I think software development is an amazing career, it continues to evolve especially with the advent of Artificial Intelligence, so there is always something new to explore and learn.
In terms of applying for a vacancy my advice would be go for it!
Looking for a new career?
If you’d like to progress your skills and advance your career in tech, just like Ross, then head to our careers page to find out what opportunities we have for you to join our team!
