Meet Christian Dias: Our software developer

August 01, 2019 | Louise Basse

With more than 10 years of experience with software development, Christian Dias is one of our veteran developers. As a part of the Aiia Team, Christian works with new technology in an emerging market to create better financial solutions.

I sat down with him to talk about what it's like to work in a startup environment, be a developer, have enough time for the family, and everything in between.

Let’s hear what he said.

How did you come to work with financial technology?

“Actually, I stumbled my way into it. I’ve spent most of the time working with financial technology since I graduated from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). At first, it was a bit of a coincidence as it was the sector with most developer jobs available. But as I first discovered it’s a field in constant movement, I’ve really come to enjoy working with financial technology. There’s always something new happening, and I think that’s what excites me the most about working in FinTech.”

How would you define our workplace culture? 

“We have an incredibly dynamic workplace culture. Everyone in the company is extremely passionate about what they do. We’re all eager to build solutions that are not only good - but really good. Once we’ve built something, it might look quite simple but working with financial technology is often very complex and time-consuming. Therefore, it’s really important to be proud of what you’re building.”

Rumor has it, you’ve been a scout for many years. How did that come about? 

“Yes, that’s right. I was a scout for most of my childhood and I still love being outside to this day. Working with software development often gets very abstract. For me, it’s really important to get away from the computer when I get back home from a long day at the office. When I’m working on projects at work, it often gets a bit abstract. Doing activities outside makes me appreciate the more hands-on feeling that I sometimes miss as a developer.”

What advice would you give to new developers?

“My best advice is never be afraid to ask questions. As a new developer, you might think: ‘Everyone else knows how to do this, so I should know it as well’. But in our team, it’s never seen as a bad thing to ask questions. It’s quite the opposite actually. It makes our more experienced developers think about if we’re really doing things the right way. And that’s a crucial process that lets the company grow and help developers to gain more experience.”

Where can we find you when you’re not at the office?

“As I have twins that are five years old now, I try to spend as much time with them as possible. Luckily, we have the opportunity to have a really good work-life balance at Aiia. In theory, it doesn’t matter if I’m at the office in Copenhagen or working from remote. As long as we’re all aligned, we have an incredible flexibility to work wherever and whenever. When I’m not with my family, I’m also responsible for planning 25 km adventure race for 300 scouts every year in which we work on fun challenges together."

Fun fact: Christian is the most popular name in our company. In fact, we have five of them. So to avoid having all the Christians running to our desk when we mention their names, Christian is simply called by his last name, Dias.

Do you want to know more about what it’s like to work for Aiia? Head over to our jobsite to learn more about our team, culture and mission to transform Europe with open banking that simply works.