Q&A: Meet Guideline’s Engineering Team
Our mission is pretty straightforward: helping people arrive at a secure retirement. Getting there is less so. We sat down with a few members of our talented engineering team to discuss problem-solving, collaboration, culture, and their role in providing a path to retirement for our customers.
Dusty Matthews, Staff DevOps Engineer
What made you choose to work at Guideline?
Before applying, I read a blog post about the company's foundation. I had never really thought much about my 401(k). It was just a line item I saw on my paystub, but this post made it clear that there are a lot of expensive inefficiencies in the industry, and it's the saver who bears that cost. As an engineer, I was drawn to the company's goal of fixing these inefficiencies.
What's your favorite part about working at Guideline?
The sense that we are building something that will last for a very long time. Technology products can often have short lifetimes, but the work we do today could impact individuals decades from now. Building such a sustainable company requires us to be analytical and focus on doing things thoughtfully and deliberately.
What has helped you be successful at Guideline?
Being on a great team and being willing to ask for and give help. The people here are fiercely intelligent and focused. They are also busy, but everyone is generous with their time and knowledge. We are all working toward the same goals, feeling the same pain points, and benefiting from each other's work and experience. I am always working to embrace and contribute to that sense of cohesiveness.
Stephanie Chin, Senior Software Engineer
Why did you choose to come to Guideline?
I knew I wanted to work on solving complex and interesting problems, and I was intrigued by the fintech world. I was sold after getting a peek into how Guideline’s engineering team operates. In one interview, after we finished the coding challenge, the hiring manager taught me a method from the newest version of Ruby that I hadn’t known existed but was a quick alternative for how I’d set up one of my data structures. That showed me first-hand that Guideline had cultivated a culture of learning, knowledge-sharing, and that they supported keeping the tech stack up-to-date with recent versions.
What does “retirement for all” mean to you?
It means we’re giving everyone the opportunity to feel confident in their future, regardless of the size of the company that they work for or how much they know about tax codes or investing.
What’s your favorite part about working at Guideline?
We’re constantly improving both our product and our processes. When I joined, the engineering team already had a solid foundation of tools, practices, and patterns in place to enable engineers. But even in the past six months, there have been multiple initiatives to resolve developer pain points, revamp the structure of our codebase, and improve tooling in other parts of the company. We’re not solely focused on pushing out flashy new features. We’re continually evaluating how to improve the product for our customers, even if that means making a simple button that handles complicated transactions behind the scenes.
Pablo Jairala, Director of Engineering
How would you describe Guideline’s culture?
We have a very knowledge-focused culture. We like to make room for people to speak about the areas they’re knowledgeable about while at the same time remaining open for feedback and letting the best ideas win. I’ve always appreciated how, when it comes to collaboration, there’s always room to hear all voices, and regardless of titles or tenure, the best idea wins.
What’s your favorite part about working here?
The mission and the people. Helping people think about and save for retirement is such an important goal and something that I care deeply about. And my co-workers! I love working with so many intelligent, caring, and kind people here. It’s energizing!
How has working at Guideline helped you grow professionally and personally?
The work is challenging, so I’m constantly encouraged to rise to that challenge and improve my craft. Another significant element here is, again, the people. Working with such brilliant team members motivates me to bring my A-game and become a better team member.
What does being adaptive mean to you?
To me, it means adapting to change, which is a constant in almost any industry. Being adaptive means keeping your processes graceful and agile enough that you can react to those changes.
What has helped you be successful at Guideline?
Attention to detail. Paying attention to the little details isn't always easy, but it can sometimes mean the difference between success and failure. Making an effort to improve communication is also important. Clear, concise, and polite communication is incredibly helpful when it comes to getting buy-in, improving relationships, and generally moving things across the finish line.
Shivani Saran, Staff Support Engineer, Team Lead
What’s your favorite part about working at Guideline?
I love being able to help people. Whether I’m helping my peers or our customers, it’s incredible to see the direct impact of your work and know you’re able to make a difference. The best part is that people across the company embody the same values, so regardless of what you need, there’s always someone ready to give you a hand.
How has working at Guideline helped you grow professionally and personally?
I’ve learned to step out of my comfort zone at Guideline and attempt things I wasn't sure I could. I’ve always been afraid of failing, but I put my trust in my manager and team to support and guide me when needed, and it’s taken me further than I imagined in such a short time.
Esteban Lohr Castelo, Staff Software Engineer
What does being driven mean to you?
Having goals and a purpose. It means caring about our co-workers and our clients. It means being proactive and building solutions that I’m proud of and that I know will help people.
How is collaboration part of your day-to-day job?
The engineering team works closely with the product and design teams to ensure we fully understand their challenges. This helps us know we're designing the right solutions. I also work closely with other engineers by reviewing each other’s work in an effort to build a better product.
Why is it important for successful Guideline employees to be adaptive?
Guideline is a fast-growing company, and we’re in an industry that evolves quickly. Change is essential when it comes to improving our work. Understanding those changes, trying new things, and adapting as needed is fundamental to keeping us on the right track.
Individuals listed herein are current employees of Guideline at the time of publication. The opinions of these individuals are not intended to be representative of Guideline’s products and services.