At Bitrise, we make real impact on billions of devices everyday while working with the brightest minds in tech. There are fantastic folks here making that possible. In our “Behind the Scenes — Women of Bitrise” series, we sit down with some of the women at Bitrise to provide a glimpse into what they do, and how they got there, and where they’re going.
This round we’re talking to Bia, our Senior UX Researcher from Budapest.
Can you share a little bit about yourself?
I landed a UX researcher role quite spontaneously at the very beginning of my career. I graduated with a degree in international economics, and during my masters program, I joined a small design agency as a trainee. I started as a project manager, but as it turns out, my interest in behavioural economics became pretty useful in the field of UX, so I organically transitioned into a researcher role.
After almost 8 years it was time to say goodbye and challenge my skills at a product company, that’s how I landed at Bitrise.
Did you always know that working in a tech company was what you wanted to do?
Honestly, no! I wanted to give myself a chance to work in an international environment, to invest my working hours into one single product and to be able to see my direct impact daily.
Also, I consider myself a very curious person (which comes in handy if you are a researcher), so the challenge to work on a product that I was not able to use at that time seemed pretty tempting and something I have never done before.
I’d love to say that my career so far has been a very well-planned path, but when I started university I didn’t even know UX research exists. So I try to give myself some flexibility as I move forward and very much rely on my intuition, rather than setting my goals in stone.
What is it like to be a woman working in the tech industry for you?
I remember sitting at the computer as an 18-year-old girl and finalising my application to the university. I started to rule out some of the courses simply because they were (and still are) male-dominated industries, such as computer science.
But look at me now! I internalized the idea as a young girl that some professions are just not for me, but life found its way and now I’m working on making developers’ lives easier. If we allow ourselves to question the unspoken rules of the world around us, we’ll realize that some of the things determining our capabilities are made up by the society itself.
But questioning the status quo requires a lot of extra attention from our side and we also need a supportive environment, which we have here at Bitrise.
What’s your role at Bitrise? What do you do on a typical day?
As a user experience researcher, my role is to make room for the users at the table we are sitting at when making product decisions. Our superpower is the silence itself that allows us to listen and interpret user needs as actionable insights for the product team.
As UX is all about collaboration, my typical day consists of meetings with product team members where we discuss research needs or problem spaces we are facing, customer interviews and luckily some focus time when I have the chance to distil findings and make them actionable for the team. Of course, this role also comes with some less desirable responsibilities, and convincing our users to talk to us (a.k.a recruiting) is one of them.
Why did you choose to work at Bitrise, how did it turn out?
In retrospect, I would say that Bitrise chose me!
At the beginning of 2020, I came to the office for an interview, and although the people I spoke with and the product itself seemed quite interesting, I made the decision not to move forward with the process because things didn’t seem a good fit at that time.
Fast forward to 2022, my former manager wrote me an e-mail asking if I was interested in a researcher role, and I was happy to give it another shot.
This time the stars were aligned and Bitrise seemed everything that I was looking for in a job, and it still is!
What makes you get up in the morning?
The belief that what I’ll do that day matters and people listen to what I have to say. I always try to listen to my intuition, and as long as I feel excited to open up my laptop and start working that day, there is no question that I’ll try to give my best to help the team.
Also, working with very driven, independent and sharp people keeps you on your toes, and there is no such thing as a boring day. Every day is an opportunity to learn something new with these folks at Bitrise and we have a variety of conversations around mobile app development practices or even mental health when we are sitting at the lunch table at the office in Budapest. Challenging each others’ ideas meanwhile being respectful ensures that I’m at the right place.
Who has been your biggest advocate in the workplace?
I’m afraid that this interview is getting cheesy, but the list is too long! There are many people with whom we come from very different backgrounds but we share common values. My research partners have been always my loudest advocates, as well as my managers, who give me the trust and freedom to reach my full potential and support me when needed. Also collaborating with my product manager and designer peers is a wonderful experience!
What advice would you pass on to other women to help them progress in this industry? What do you wish you had known?
Find those people and communities that think like you. It can be at your workplace or outside your company, but make sure that you are surrounded by people who support and respect you, and also challenge you to shape your view of the world around you.
Thanks so much to Bia for a great interview and a look into her life as a UX Researcher at Bitrise. Want to work with Bia and more talented people? Check out our current job openings!
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