Hot Job at Traiana – Java Expert

traiana is currently launching a recruitment drive aimed at hiring people for the challenging and creative job of java expert in one of the company’s development groups.
we spoke with michal hirshstein, the company’s human resources manager, and with ziv yankovich, director of r&d and the manager recruiting for the project, who told us about a young, dynamic, high-tech company that combines financial stability with the character of a startup and is offering a fascinating job suitable for those who love people, technology and facing challenges.

on the company:
ziv: traiana was founded eight years ago and deals with solutions for the financial market. the company got its start developing a trading relation management (trm) system to automate multi-party foreign currency trading for the company’s first client, deutsche bank. the company’s solutions are designed to handle the complexity of managing systems and executing deals with multiple participants between institutional clients and the banks serving them. the second product traiana developed is called harmony, which serves as a worldwide standard in foreign currency and is used at 50 of the world’s largest banks. the harmony service provides clients communications with banks without being directly connected to them. about a year ago traiana was sold to british corporation icap for $247 million.

the traiana staff

how did the acquisition affect traiana?
ziv: in our day-to-day operations it hasn’t had any impact. the only thing that happened as a result of the acquisition was that the heads of icap came to us and said they really admired our work, they think israel has very bright people and they want us to continue doing what we do. the new development group we’re recruiting for right now is a result of the confidence icap has in the israeli development staff and the very real challenge for us is to uphold the standards we’ve set.
michal: the acquisition altered our status and position. we’re not in the stressful stage in which a company waits for the next recruitment campaign in order to continue to survive. an excellent amalgamation has been created: a small company, but not too small, combined with a strong financial support base and with the full confidence of the organization that purchased us.

how many workers does the company employ?
michal: traiana is growing all the time. we currently employee 145 workers, with about 40 in the us, including the company management, the marketing and sales departments, professional services and a small development group. traiana also has a small branch in london made up of sales and marketing personnel, and the development center is located in israel at azrieli towers, where 90 workers are employed.

what kind of people do you want to bring into the company?
ziv: high-caliber people who like to grapple with challenges. bright and creative people who can learn and develop systems and also introduce their own initiatives for the sake of these systems.
michal: we select the right people very carefully. we look for team players who also have initiative and individual vision.

is it important to you to recruit experienced candidates?
ziv: experience is very important, but the human dimension is more important. a candidate with just a little experience, but who is a bright person and a decent human being first and foremost, will receive preference over somebody with more experience who doesn’t have that potential.
we’re willing to take people with little experience if they’re high quality people with a spark in their eyes who are capable of taking on tasks that might be too complex and difficult for them at present. we’ll help them confront the challenge and succeed.

what is the job of java expert at traiana all about?
ziv: it’s a job in one of the company’s new development groups. it’s a very interesting job that demands creative people who are not daunted by a challenge and are capable of coping with large systems, invent them and renew them. the systems will serve hundreds of banks around the world.

how would you describe the company’s character?
ziv: most of us were young startup workers when we came here and all of us grew and matured with the company. traiana has a very young feel that’s close-knit at the same time. there’s a sense that all your needs are being taken care of, you’re given all the tools you need to succeed and the key to success is in your hands. we have very high quality people here, the kind of people you’d like to go out with to have a good time. the people here are not ego-driven, but people who are willing to give of themselves for the sake of the company’s success. the quality of the people is one of the influential reasons why icap decided to acquire the company and chose to expand its development group in israel.
michal: there’s an excellent blend of working in a startup atmosphere, a young, dynamic and quality staff, and openness, creativity and freedom. despite being an established, stable company with very strong backing, we’re not too big and everyone knows everyone else well. it’s very important to us to maintain this situation in the future as well.

is the nature of the work at traiana like at an intense, high-pressure startup?
ziv: that’s not our work model and that’s an undesirable situation as far as we’re concerned. there are peaks that require more intensive work, but that’s relatively rare.

what opportunities for personal development are available at traiana?
michal: the people our most import resource and they are the ones who shape the company and contribute more than anything else to its success. therefore obviously it’s important for us to invest in them, since their success is our success. we know how to spot people with potential and promote them. at traiana there are a lot of opportunities for mobility and personal development. it’s hard to find people here who have been working on the same staff since day one. people move within the company, learn new things and tackle new challenges.
ziv: i’ve been here for over eight years, since the company’s first day. i started as a regular developer, then got promoted to team leader and later to the job of r&d director.
michal: there were cases where people were made team leader even after just one year. there’s no seniority here, but rather skills and potential. most of the managers at the company worked their way up to the managerial positions.

which training programs do you hold for employees?
michal: we have an orderly training program we use to provide training for employees. in addition to professional/technological training programs it’s important to us that our personnel be connected and understand the content world they’re involved in. this year we held comprehensive training programs consisting of several sessions by a senior economist who provided the developers in-depth explanations of professional economics concepts they encounter during the course of their work. also, our product managers organize a lecture on the products under their charge once a month, along with the professional workshops the employees take part in.

how would you characterize traiana’s management?
ziv: as one of the senior managers at the company i can attest that the doors here are never closed.
michal: most of the rooms here have no door whatsoever, based on this approach of openness. we believe in teamwork and our senior managers are team players who work and think together. every wednesday we hold a company meeting during which we sit and talk, update one another, get updated, ask questions and express opinions. the atmosphere is very open and dynamic. there’s genuine dialogue.

how is the integration process for new employees carried out?
michal: our integration process is very structured and orderly. every new employee is given a mentor to guide him and it’s important to us that the process include both professional and social integration. we make sure the new employee feels at ease, along with the professional process, which is structured and clear.
ziv: in the hiring process we allow candidates to speak with people on the staff they’d be joining because it’s important to us that there’s a good match. it’s important to us to hire people who are fun to work with and it’s important to us to preserve the close-knit atmosphere at the company. newly hired people here are taken in warmly. we take care of them and teach them the ropes.

which company events do you hold?
michal: we hold a lot of different events – family events, weekends, company trips, etc., but in addition to the major events it’s important to us to hold small events within each staff and to give each of the employees individual attention. we work hard to provide added value.

how do you encourage employee retention?
ziv: the quitting rate here is very low. during the three years’ i’ve been managing the harmony group only two people have left, both of them to set up their own startups.
michal: one of the reasons for the high retention rate is the managers. the people really like their managers and the atmosphere here. we don’t take this for granted and implement active processes to retain our workers. once a year we hold an employee satisfaction survey and take the results seriously, using them to study what and where improvement is needed. one of the main reasons our offices are at azrieli is because of the results of a survey we held that clearly showed the issue of a convenient commute was a very high priority among the employees.

and in conclusion, why is worthwhile for a java expert to join traiana?
michal: the atmosphere at traiana allows employees to develop themselves, advance and get the maximum support needed to succeed. with the backing we have today, this is a company with financial strength, a personal approach and professional management, the kind of company i’d want to work at.
ziv: traiana is a fun and challenging company. it’s a place where you’ll see people smiling in the corridors and they’ll smile at you, too. it’s a company that knows how to challenge you and give you opportunities to realize yourself. if you want to come to a place where you’ll be able to get the maximum out of yourself, a place where you’ll be able to succeed and go as far as you want, then traiana is the place for you. this company knows how to help those who want to succeed.

to apply for the job of java expert, send your resume to [email protected]

for the hebrew article