20th May 2026

Starling – Priya, Software Engineer

My Name is Priya and I am a Software Engineer at Starling. I am currently working in the Identity Account Access Engineering Group in the Account Access Team. I mostly work on the platform side although I have on occasion dabbled with some frontend-y things. You may have also seen me host a couple of the Engineering All-Hands!

I have recently completed the graduate scheme and have worked in Business Banking, Payments Processing and Assurance and it has been really interesting to see how different engineering groups operate and to work on a variety of projects.

How did you get this role?

I studied Computer Science at the University of Exeter. Although I didn’t really know what I wanted to do until maybe the last few weeks before applying to University!

I was really lucky that my teachers gave me opportunities in tech. I remember one of my IT teachers signed up a group of us to participate in an App Invention Competition where we used MIT app inventor to create an app concept (We made an app to educate the importance of bees in our ecosystem) . Even though I didn’t study Computer Science for GCSE or the IB, I think I chose Computer Science because I really liked the idea of solving problems – and I guess that’s what I do full time now.

I joined Starling in the Summer of 2022 as an industrial placement student. It was my first ever full-time job and I had maybe covered one module of Java before joining so it was a huge leap to make. I really enjoyed my year in industry and realised that software engineering is probably what I want to do after University and so applied for a full-time role in my final year.

What have you been proud of delivering?

Ooh, that’s a tricky question! I think my final project before leaving Starling for university was working on improving the onboarding for Kite Accounts. It really felt like all the knowledge I had gained during my placement year had all come down to this one project. When I was in my final year at University I was super proud when I saw the advertisements for the new Kite Account and it was super cool to show my family and friends that I worked on it!

What's the most memorable advice you’ve received?

“Be Yourself”

I think I was super worried when I first started working here that I would need to change. What I learnt is that especially at Starling being yourself is very much celebrated. I think it was amazing advice and I definitely wasn’t expecting this answer when I brought it up with my mentor.

What do you enjoy doing outside of work?

I seem to have many, many hobbies that I juggle outside of work. I would say I really enjoy playing video games, running (when I don’t get injured) and photography.

Priya was nominated for this spotlight, and here's what her nominators had to say about her:

Priya used to work for Starling in her placement year in her 3rd year and then as a part-time employee in her 4th year during university. After getting her degree from the University of Exeter in CompSci, Priya joined the Graduate Scheme at Starling, where she joined multiple different teams and achieved great things both at and outside of work. With her team they won the Women In Tech hackathon with HuddleHive.

“Priya is also an inspiration to the graduate cohort of 2024 and also the new 2025 with so much experience under her belt, she is always the first one people go to if they have any questions related to both engineering or Starling!”