After hogging the limelight last month I thought it was time to introduce you to some of our latest additions to the Movio Crew. I asked some of our most recent starters a few probing questions to find out more about their journey so far. This is part one of two.
Gary (Guanping) Zhu - Software Engineer
How have you found the process of moving to New Zealand and joining Movio?
“I came to New Zealand on a Working Holiday Visa last year from Shanghai and I was quite lucky to get an offer from
Movio, a tech geek company doing cool stuff using cutting-edge technologies. We have fantastic products, smart engineers, cool technologies, and a great engineering culture. We are always trying to learn and use new technologies to make a difference. Being able to learn lots of things here means I'm full of passion every day and enjoy meeting these great challenges and opportunities at work.
As Movio is an accredited employer for the Work to Residence visa I was able to apply much faster and easier than if I’d not had a job offer. This meant that my application got approved within one week. This was a relief and allowed me to just settle in and enjoy my new New Zealand life both at work and at home. The life in New Zealand is quite different from that in Shanghai, it's more relaxed and there are also quite a lot of outdoor sports which I do enjoy, for example I like swimming in the ocean, playing soccer on the beach, and fishing from the rocks. "
Simon Caley - Tester
What are you enjoying most about your role?
“Being a Tester here has been an interesting change from traditional Testing roles I have had in the past.
We’ve been tasked with the challenge to be ‘Champions of Testing’. Testers are able to impart their knowledge, experience and tools to the rest of the development team with the idea that 'many hands', make light work”.
While it may all seem like 'chocolate covered cupcakes’ there are many challenges in doing this at Movio. The pace of the company is high, new technology is often onboarded and new techniques / processes (continuous integration and delivery) are looked at constantly. But, it is those very attributes that actually make my role very enjoyable, as it makes you evaluate or reevaluate your normal testing approach to these areas. This extends me personally and professionally which I enjoy immensely. Also, being surround by super smart people who have a deep passion for technology is awesome even if some of their keyboard binding catch you out in the middle of a meeting."
Olivier Reynaud-Guerrini - Account Manager, EMEA
How would you describe working in Movio's London office?
“Working in the London office is very exciting and challenging! We are working with clients from very different countries (and each local cinema industry has it’s own specificities).
Therefore, all our clients have very different requirements, expectations and working culture. Each implementation is quite unique and that’s what makes working in the EMEA region very interesting to work in.
Before starting at Movio I really didn’t know what to expect as I have never worked in a start-up nor for a New Zealand company. When I first met the UK team, Sarah Lewthwaite and Pedro Costa, I knew we would have a great work dynamic. Now that I am working with the rest of the Auckland team it’s been really great getting to know everyone; it almost doesn’t feel like we’re working from another part of the world on the same projects! We work very closely all together, and I think that’s a great thing - working globally but keeping that close community feel."
Sam Stradwick - Design Director
How was your transition from a contractor to a permanent employee?
“Contracting was great and I soon realised these guys were going to be great to work with so after the
checking-each-other-out stage, I took the plunge into this newly created role of Design Director. Movio definitely responded to my work-style preferences so adjusting to being a permanent employee has been easy, and I feel like I'm doing some of my best work. I don’t feel like I'm working a 9-5 yet, and I doubt I ever will. The team are open minded and great to work with.”
Jeff Chao - Campaign Coordinator
Is working at Movio what you expected ?
“I joined the LA team at the end of 2015 and I was almost immediately delegated real work to me and conveyed a level of trust that made me feel part of the team very
quickly. Expectations and goals are very high but the support is friendly and people are always willing to help.
The company culture is wonderful, and the most important thing is that the employees genuinely seem happy to be working there. The people that work here are generally kind, humble and intelligent. People bust their butts and truly believe in the company. I feel that the company really invests in its employees with: events, cool workspace, great IT equipment and lots of training. What went beyond my expectations was how management wants to help the team succeed. Senior leadership does everything they can to make every employee feel welcome. They are transparent and share high-level goals and company changes; the door is always open for questions or a quick chat.
