My first 6 months as a Front End Engineer at EM Code

We recently sat down with one of our Front End Engineers, Leilah, to chat about her journey into engineering and experiences over the last six months since becoming part of our platform development discipline.

Fire away, Leilah!

What's your day-to-day as a Front End Engineer?

My role entails building the user interface of the products we create for our clients. I ensure that these are clean, performant and accessible solutions. Day to day, I work alongside a team of designers, developers, analysts and delivery managers to shape these products.

What attracted you to the role?

I was instantly attracted to Code's welcoming and sociable culture ‚ I discovered this really early in the interviewing stages. It was important for me to feel like my job wasn't just a place of work, but somewhere where I would make friends and feel part of a community which is exactly what Code turned out to be for me.

Additionally, I loved the benefits Code offers alongside the job, especially Make Change Fridays. I love that we have dedicated time on a Friday afternoon to work on something that benefits our own personal development or something we care passionately about. This allows me to not only improve myself but my productivity and skillset for client work.

What was your onboarding process like?

My onboarding process started off with a little hiccup, as I intended to come into the office every day to have as many face-to-face inductions as I could ‚ but I caught COVID! Nonetheless, despite starting remotely, I was still welcomed thoroughly by everyone. This involved lots of brew rounds which was a lovely way to be introduced to the different teams and everyones' roles.

How did you get into engineering?

When I was in high school, I did very basic web design as part of my ICT GCSE which I really enjoyed. I then went to college where none of my subjects were related to it, but I always kept the interest in the back of my mind.

When I was choosing which course I wanted to do at university, I found one which incorporated web programming, alongside various other digital modules. This also had a 50% split of theory which I liked in case I wasn't any good at coding. Four years later (including a year in industry), I had developed a strong passion for coding and landed myself a job at my first digital agency ‚ then the rest is history!

Highlights of your first few months?

My time at Code has already been such a whirlwind, in the best way! I feel like I've learnt something new every day from working alongside such a talented bunch of people. I have been encouraged to get out of my comfort zone on numerous occasions, giving several talks at company and client meetings, and appearing as a guest on an event panel.

Additionally, I am actively involved in the push to drive and provide accessible solutions to our clients with our passionate Champions Network which has been so great to see evolve. Last but no means least, having some of our work socials has certainly been a highlight too!

. . .

Looking for something new? Check out some of our open roles in engineering, design and analytics here.