What drew you to a career at Cyara originally and how has the company changed since?
I was referred by an ex-employee and when I heard of what Cyara does, I was excited to know more. It was new to me, and I had no prior contact centre experience. Being the first to work in India, it was initially concerning as the “Work From Home” concept was not common in India at that time. My very first role at Cyara was that of a Tester and in my 12+ years here, I’ve worn many hats and never regretted the decision to join Cyara. I’ve seen the company grow from a handful of employees to multiple teams, from a few customers to having multiple Fortune 500 companies as our customers.
What does a typical day look like for you and what are you currently working on?
My day starts with looking at the nightly automation run, followed by meetings and taking on activities from the board. Although being a QA team member, I take on development tasks which help give me more exposure to the internals of Cyara. There are regular Agile ceremonies and a few sync-ups that happen during the day. I’m currently working on enhancing a portion of the framework that we use for our automated tests.
Tell us about your work life harmony at Cyara?
Cyara is one of the companies that doesn’t just talk about personal growth and family first, but also lives it. With regular adoption of new technologies and processes, Cyara makes sure there is adequate training and also encourages employees to learn new skills. The company also discourages working long hours and has a realistic approach to getting things done. This has helped me grow professionally while not compromising on my family life.
Describe your current role at Cyara.
I’m currently transitioning into my new role as the Technical Lead for Quality Assurance. The QA Chapter needed a lead and, being a part of QA as a Senior SDET for some time and also having built an automation test framework, I have been given the opportunity to lead our amazing QA members. I’ll be helping, mentoring, and empowering them to achieve quality within the teams that they represent. One of the great things about Cyara is that they always consider promoting from within first.
How would you describe the culture at Cyara?
Everyone, at every level in the organisation, is friendly, helpful, and easily approachable. There are people from different parts of the world working at Cyara, and its amazing to catch up with them and have a chat. Professionally, Cyara lives by its core values of customer obsession, innovation, quality, humility, and teamwork. There are regular meetups, some virtual and some in-person, which help build a bond between colleagues professionally and personally.
What has been the most empowering moment in your Cyara career journey?
I’ve had multiple empowering moments at Cyara. Me, along with another colleague, saw a better way of doing something that was already half done. We proposed the better solution and the company heard us and acted upon it. Eventually we were empowered to do it the better way. Another empowering moment was that I have been part of the interview process where the role was for my own manager.
What are you passionate about in your role?
Being part of the Quality Assurance team. It’s rewarding to see a release go out with as few bugs as possible. I’m passionate about finding better means and ways to improve the quality of our product. I’m excited to work with the team and encourage quality from the get-go.
How does Cyara help support your sense of purpose in your career?
For me the sense of purpose is when the company and I move together in alignment. I’ve recently been promoted from a Senior SDET to Technical Lead for Quality Assurance. I guess that says it all.
What have you gained from working at Cyara from a career perspective?
I’ve been here at Cyara for 12+ years and have worn many hats. Each opportunity has helped me grow and take on new adventures. I’ve gained a lot of exposure to the technology and code stack while working close with the Devs. With new features and technologies being introduced, the learning curve has never slowed down.
If you could describe Cyara as an employer in 3 words, what words would you use?
Family, Work, Fun.
How has Cyara’s global approach to diversity helped you in your career so far?
I personally prefer a world without borders. While working from India, I’ve had the opportunity to work with people who come from many different parts of the world, and it’s amazing. There’s so much to learn from everyone, irrespective of where they come from. Diversity has never hindered work at Cyara, rather you only realise the diversity when there is a discussion about Cricket!