S1 - Episode #5: Chris Travers - Director of IT Operations - Adjust
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About Chris:
Chris is the head of the database team for Adjust GmbH. His team is responsible for managing data and building the next generation of products for Adjust, a leading global marketing analytics platform.
With 20+ years experience, Chris takes us through how he moved through the ranks at Adjust, from starting as a Data Admin to building teams directly without the use of recruiters - something that can be very difficult in the data industry! His management style quickly got him noticed and he started taking over a number of teams until he found himself responsible for all the teams managing data and data admin.
Synopsis:
During this episode Chris shares his experience on recruitment without using agencies and how to grow and develop teams who can arrive at innovative solutions to problems as well as sharing his experience of working remotely and dealing with mental health challenges. He talks about the benefits of contributing to open source technology and attending conferences and events to engage with the tech community.
Key Takeaways:
The power of Postgres
The importance of contributing to the open source community to be a market leader
Showcasing your tech at conferences, events and the tech community
Building a team through networking at events and conference talks and saving on recruitment fees
Managing mental health in your team
The benefit of a remote, global team servicing clients 24/7
Motivating remote teams - decision making, smart hiring choices, ownership of duties across the team
Investing in recruitment to get the right candidates for the role, bringing greater long-term value
Advice on being a successful engineering leader
How to foster a good attitude of innovation and risk taking that helps teams keep up with technical changes
The importance of communication between teams in scaling start-ups successfully
Episode Outline:
[00:40] Introduction to Chris
[02:05] Chris’s experience living in Berlin
[03:40] Building a solid data team to enable Adjust to become a market leading analytics company
[05:15] Using Postgres to manage data and its benefits
[07:53] Contributing to the open source community
[10:40] Attracting the best talent at Adjust
[16:00] The make-up of Chris’s team
[17:15] The impact of Covid and having to go remote
[20:40] Management lessons learnt to safeguard against mental health challenges during Covid
[23:10] Coaching through stress, anxiety and burn-out
[25:53] Benefits of a remote, global team
[29:00] Keeping engineers motivated remotely
[31:40] Biggest learnings from Chris’s career
[39:45] Advice for those moving into an Engineering Leadership role
[41:40] The biggest challenges in tech in 2021 and beyond
[45:18] Training Engineers to find innovative solutions
[49:36] Final thoughts on growing teams and the importance of communication
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