We’ve sat down with Senior Engineer Anna Sirunian and Tech Leads Frank Jensen and Peter Scotwin to find out what inspires them, what drives them, and what being entrenched in Spirii technology is really like.
If you want to build the world’s most pioneering eMobility platform, you’re going to need a team of hugely talented and engaged engineers. But what’s it really like growing and evolving an EV platform?
As part of an ongoing series of interviews with the diverse and passionate people behind Spirii, we’ve sat down with Senior Engineer Anna Sirunian and Tech Leads Frank Jensen and Peter Scotwin to find out what inspires them, what drives them, and what being entrenched in Spirii technology is really like.
They’re a busy crew, so we’ve only really got time for five key questions…
What inspired you guys to work in Tech and eMobility?
“I've always had a passion for technology and was never afraid to try out stuff,” Frank tells us. I built my first website at age 11, and my first PC at 13 – so it was a natural decision for me to pursue a career in technology.”
As a fellow Tech Lead, Peter’s cut from the same cloth, adding that he loves to “understand how things work – not only on the surface but also in the machinery."
"We build applications here that solve problems, and to be able to build something from scratch that solves a specific issue is really inspiring for me.”
Anna, meanwhile, has a longstanding passion for environmental causes having joined Spirii after a role spent tackling the challenge of reducing CO2 emissions in the shipping industry. “I definitely wanted to stay within the sustainability field,” she explains, “and eMobility sounded pretty exciting.”
What’s special about eMobility?
“It motivates me to utilize tech to contribute to a sustainable future,”
Anna says.
“When you’re working in this field you’re very aware that you’re getting the chance to work on something that matters, and that is meaningful.”
Peter agrees. “To be part of the global journey towards electrification just feels very rewarding to me. eMobility is still in its early stages, but we all know that this is the future,” he says.
“I personally can’t wait to see where we are in 5 years,”
Frank adds, citing that we’re still very much in the early days of the transition. And he’s not wrong. From a business standpoint alone, all signs point to rapid growth to come. Recent Bain & Company research shows that the revenue and profit pools for EV charging in Europe are set to expand dramatically over the next 10 years, exceeding more than 40 billion euros in 2030.
At the end of 2021, more than 330,000 public charging stations had been deployed in the EU; a growth of 57% in just one year. But public charging infrastructure is still scarce, and there are complications with rising electricity demand amidst a difficult geopolitical climate.
At Spirii, we’re doing what we can to help – and that includes building a raft of upcoming features that make EV charging even smarter…
What upcoming tech are you working on right now?
“Together with the Future Tech Team, I’m currently working on Advanced Dynamic Load Management,” Anna says. If that sounds complicated, it’s because it is! But it’s a really important project.
“It’ll basically allow us to control the distribution of power to our charge points based on local grid capacity constraints,” Anna explains, “so that’s really exciting to be able to help with such a pressing issue."
Like Anna, Peter’s currently under the hood working to improve a core part of the EV charging experience: billing. "I’m working on an application improving financial processes related to charging sessions,” he says. “I’m learning loads about how charging infrastructure works in general, but also we’re building this Billing Engine application in a framework that’s new to me, so I get to learn new stuff there too – which I really like!”
Frank, meanwhile, is busily shaping the future of the whole tech stack that fuels the Spirii platform.
"It’s fun because it’s fast-paced and flexible and allows you to dream about what you would like to work with going forward. It requires a pretty solid understanding of new and emerging technologies, and how they might fit in with our current architecture.”
“I’m also pretty excited about leading our OCPI integration efforts,” he adds, “which will open up additional roaming possibilities for us and our partners.” Frank tells us.
With activities in more than 14 countries, more than 70,000 app users, and over 250 platform partners located all over the world, tackling challenges around things like billing, roaming, and charging is a never-ending journey for the team.
So is it that sense of challenge that keeps our engineering team happy to turn up to work on a Monday morning? Or is there something else that makes working at Spirii feel special?
What’s the favorite part of your job?
“I’ve got lots of favorite parts,” Peter tells us, “but if I had to choose one, I’d have to pick the two days every developer gets each month to get creative and try things out."
"If I have an idea that I think could be useful for Spirii, then I can actually spend time building it in those days.”
Anna’s in a similar boat: she loves the techie stuff involved with solving complex charging problems. “You can actually tell the charge point what to do,” she says, “which I think is pretty cool. So with something like Advanced Dynamic Load Management, there’s a lot of complex work that goes into creating these solutions, and that makes it super interesting.”
“I just love being a developer!” Frank says. “I find huge joy in it."
"Some people see software development as a bit boring or nerdy, but for me, no two days are the same and I always have to find hugely creative and solid solutions to push the product forward."
Anna agrees, adding that the working culture at Spirii means a lot to her:
“It might sound weird,” he adds, “but to me, developers are like painters. You start with a foundation or background, and then start building layers up towards what I’m trying to achieve.”
What’s it like working at Spirii?
“Working at Spirii is really great,” Frank says. “I have a massively talented group of colleagues here who’re all striving to build the best possible solutions. In my role as Tech Lead, I help design and plan all our future projects, as well as the technologies we want to work with. It’s truly a fun time – and the projects I’m working on will only help push Spirii forward.”
“There’s this whole idea that you´re a part of the decision-making both in your team and on a higher level. For example, we have a culture board where we're building our own work culture, and everyone can contribute to it."
"As a quick example, we've been asked about how we want our new office space to look – that might seem like a small thing, but it’s really nice to feel listened to.” Anna says. “We truly have great colleagues here,” Peter adds in agreement. “Everyone’s striving to improve our products and the team as a whole. But, aside from that, we also have a very open and flat hierarchy at Spirii"
"Any colleague can go to the top management and talk to them or discuss something."
“I also really appreciate that work-life balance,” he adds in closing. “It’s treated with great importance at Spirii, so we’re granted a lot of flexibility."
“Oh, and we have great coffee!” Peter rounds off. So there you go; a glimpse behind the scenes at the team that makes Spirii tick. While we let Anna, Peter, and Frank get back to their work (and coffee), why not have a look at our careers page to see if there are any vacancies that pique your interest?
Right now we’re on the hunt for a talented Software Developer Lead to help us lead the charge toward smarter, simpler eMobility - find this and our other open positions on our career page.