I grew up in a small village near Kharkiv, Ukraine, a place where technology was not a part of everyday life, and computer science wasn’t even taught in school. At the time, I didn’t know that software engineering was even a thing.
But I was always curious. When my parents bought me my first computer in 2010, everything changed. It felt like the world suddenly opened up. I could connect with people across countries, create things, and explore ideas far beyond my surroundings. I even built an online community that became one of the largest in its category.
At school, I enjoyed math and physics, but what I really loved was solving problems. Then one day, a group from Kharkiv University of Radioelectronics visited our school. They showed us robots, programs, and real-world applications. I still remember how excited I felt, it was the first time I saw what technology could truly do. That day, I made a decision: this is what I want to do. I chose computer science, even though I had no prior experience and I learned everything from scratch, became an A-grade student, landed my first job in my second year, and by the time I graduated, I was already leading a team.
My tech career really began to take shape during my second year at university. That was when I landed my first internship role at DB Best, a technology company that Amazon later acquired. I remember studying Richter’s CLR via C# (a bible for .NET developers), retyping every example in my IDE to see how the code works. That role introduced me to professional standards and helped develop my skills. From there, life gave me a unique opportunity to lead the launch of a 0-to-1 product for a large Australian business. Did I feel ready? Of course not, but curiosity was stronger than fear. And I liked to challenge myself.
At this point, my work was getting recognised, and I was invited to mentor at an IT school in Kharkiv, helping people from diverse backgrounds transition into tech. Looking back, that experience showed me another side of growth: giving back. There’s something powerful about helping someone see their own potential while you’re still discovering yours.
This led to an opportunity at Jooble. I stepped into Engineering Management, helping build a product that supports millions of people in finding their dream jobs. I later became a Platform Engineering Lead and was trusted to pioneer the launch of the first developer platform. I owned the product vision, strategy, and execution. This experience shaped me significantly as a leader, working closely with such talented people pushed me to continuously grow and improve. I am genuinely grateful to the company and its founders for creating a culture of ownership and empowerment that enabled me to become the leader I am today.
I’d say yes, there was definitely a moment and opportunity that helped me break into the tech industry again, this time in the UK. I am from Ukraine, and when the war started in 2022, I moved to the UK. It wasn’t a planned decision or a career move. It was about safety. I arrived feeling a bit lost, in a new country where I didn’t know anyone, trying to rebuild my life and understand where I fit professionally again. The support of a British family who hosted me made a huge difference in helping me settle and slowly find my footing.
Like many immigrants, one of the biggest challenges was figuring out how to restart a career in a completely different market, how hiring works here, what is expected, and how to even begin.
One moment that really changed things for me came unexpectedly. The founder of Paydock noticed that I had moved to London, reached out to me on LinkedIn, and offered me a product role. On the surface, it can look like luck. But in reality, it was built on years of work before that moment. He already knew my work and had heard feedback from people I had worked with about my ownership, professionalism, and ability to learn quickly.
That opportunity became my entry point into the UK FinTech industry. Since then, I’ve continued to grow in this space, and last year I was honoured to be named Winner of Team Leader of the Year – Finance at the Women in Tech Excellence Awards 2025 for my work in fintech.
The beauty of my role is that I own the product end-to-end, from defining strategy through to delivery and launch. On some days, I focus on shaping product strategy, aligning priorities, presenting direction to senior stakeholders and customers, and ensuring we are solving the right problems before we build anything. A big part of this is getting buy-in and creating clarity on what success looks like.
On other days, I’m deep in product discovery. That includes speaking with customers, running discovery sessions, analysing market needs, validating ideas through prototypes, and using data (including SQL analysis) to understand behaviour and inform decisions. Based on that, I refine the product direction and define what we should build.
Once the direction is clear, I move into execution. I work closely with engineers on API design, collaborate with architects on system design, coordinate with QA on testing, and manage delivery end-to-end, tracking progress, removing blockers, and keeping stakeholders aligned.
I’m also involved in go-to-market activities: defining pricing, working with marketing on messaging, and enabling sales and customer support so they understand and can effectively position new capabilities. In addition, I often work directly with customers delivering demos, supporting onboarding, and helping resolve issues during adoption. Overall, it’s a mix of strategy, hands-on product work, and cross-functional execution, with a strong focus on making sure what we build actually delivers value.
One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced in tech has been navigating situations where I was significantly younger than the people I was leading or presenting to. In my 20s, I often led highly experienced engineers or presented strategies to senior executives with decades of experience in banking and payments. At first, it felt intimidating, especially when I had to challenge ideas or say “no” to something.
What helped me overcome this was letting go of stereotypes and focusing on the shared goal. I didn’t try to prove I was smarter, and I didn’t put myself lower either. I approached these interactions as partnerships, recognising my strengths while respecting their expertise. Sometimes, I even used light humour to ease tension, like saying, “I was probably not born when you started your senior leadership role.” Focusing on delivering results helped me gain confidence, and over time, seeing people appreciate the quality of my ideas, solutions, and professionalism built trust and made me more comfortable in these situations. I also learned to admit mistakes and focus on learning. Recovering from failure is far more valuable than trying to make the perfect decision every time. Chasing perfection only adds unnecessary pressure and rarely leads to real progress.
It’s incredibly diverse, vibrant, and supportive. I’ve always been inspired by the effort the UK and the companies here dedicate to fostering inclusion and diversity, supporting people from different backgrounds to enter tech and build successful careers, especially women. The ecosystem is full of passionate, talented people who are willing to share knowledge, collaborate, and lift each other up.
This energy motivates me to give back to the community, participate in women-in-tech initiatives, and help inspire the next generation of female technologists. Being part of this ecosystem makes a real difference, not just professionally, but personally. It’s energising to be surrounded by people who are as committed to progress, innovation, and inclusion as I am.
Follow your dream. For me, working in tech has always been more than a job. It’s a passion. My journey was never really about me. Everything I’ve done has come from a genuine desire to help others and create impact at scale. That mindset led me to join Jooble, designing solutions that help millions of people around the world find jobs and support their families.
Beyond my core role, I’ve offered mentorship to those who couldn’t afford it, especially women, written articles, spoken at conferences, and shared knowledge openly. Whenever someone asked for help, I was always willing. I truly enjoy helping others. It makes me happy to know I’ve made someone’s life a little better. The products I’ve built and the teams I’ve led have never been just about performance metrics. They’ve been about improving real people’s lives.
So the advice I’d give to women is simple: follow your dream. Be honest with yourself and ask. Do you really want it? If the answer is yes, keep pushing. Focus on being an excellent professional, uphold strong work ethics, continue learning, and success will follow.
