Marathoner. Bread Baker. Technical Lead.
Name: Phil S.
Job Title: Technical Lead, Business Technology
A dream to work in finance
I’ve honestly always wanted to be involved with financial services. Discover provided me with the perfect opportunity to work on greenfield (built from the beginning, with no constraints) projects within the payment services space. I’m now on the technical development team at Discover. Our team is one of many platform teams that are responsible for using the latest and greatest technologies to implement the next generation settlement platform. Our ultimate goal is to provide a common enterprise payments platform. This would be comprised of the three payments networks we control: Discover Network, Pulse and Diners Club International.
From student to leader
I started out at Discover as a Junior Software Developer soon after graduating from university. The knowledge I’ve gained in the years since I joined Discover has allowed me develop and mature my skillset. I’m now able to lead a development team efficiently. When I was a Junior Developer at Discover, I took responsibility for producing important proof-of-concepts. The assignment resulted in my work forming the base of software applications destined for production.
Passion for quality
I’m interested in the subject of quality, particularly ‘DevOps’ and ‘Automation.’ I’ve been heavily involved in ensuring the software applications we produced are bug-free and of the highest standard. Through deployment pipelines, the software our team creates can now be built, deployed and tested in a consistent manner. This reduces the need for manual intervention that could potentially lead to mistakes!
Providing the best
The positive work environment at Discover makes me feel comfortable. It allows me to focus on the work at hand, with no compromises. The work I produce will always be to the best of my ability. As a company, we’re always striving to ‘keep up,’ in that we’re not afraid to implement new technologies.
Flexible schedule
The benefits are seemingly endless here. One of the best things about Discover that I’ve found the most surprising is the flexibility to adjust your working arrangements to suit your day-to-day life. I’m a competitive runner and regularly compete for my club and county on all types of terrain—my proudest achievement was running a half marathon in 67 minutes. I also love to cook. My main passion is baking bread. Even with my busy role, I’m able to pursue my passions. The organisation realises that a happy workforce means a more productive workforce.
High marks
I would absolutely recommend Discover to anyone considering it. The environment couldn’t be friendlier. It’s a great organisation for those looking to develop their skills and progress down their career path.