Meet Software Developer, Darren

At the core of fire.com are our software developers. We recently sat down with Darren, from our Dublin team, to find out what it’s like working for one of Ireland’s most fun and fast-paced fintechs. Here’s what he had to say:

Hi Darren! Can you tell us a little bit about what your job involves as a software developer?
I’m part of fire.com’s Development team in Dublin. I’m responsible for estimating stories, creating technical designs, programming, code reviews and release management.

What do you find most rewarding about your role?
It’s great seeing projects I have worked on out in the real world. Also, the fact that I enjoy my job – I like coming into work!

What is the most exciting challenge you’ve worked on yet?
The most exciting project I have worked on was fire.com’s implementation of Strong Customer Authentication (SCA). SCA is a new requirement that makes banking and payments services more secure, by asking customers to authenticate via a range of different methods. It was my first solo project where I took it from technical design to release, making it all that more rewarding to see it rolled out and being used effectively.

So what’s your background? Why did you want to join a company like fire.com?
I went to college in Dundalk Institute of Technology and started working in fire.com straight after graduating. At the time, one of my friends was working at fire.com and told me how great the culture was. He also said he was learning loads because the team is lean; everyone does a bit of everything. I’ve definitely found that to be true. It would be hard to get the experience I have gained here anywhere else.

Can you summarise the culture in three words?
Fun, fast, educational.

What do you like about working in the payments industry? 
We deal with people’s money meaning we have to pay great attention to detail. I like this because I think it makes me a better developer.

Outside of work, what do you like to get up to?
Playing guitar, singing and a bit of kickboxing, too!

Do you have any unusual or quirky interests or fears?
I have two very specific fears – zombies and cows. I guess my worst fear would be a zombie-cow.