Nordigen is made up of extremely talented people. We’re a team that brings together all sorts of backgrounds, previous experiences and education levels. What unites us is a shared passion for innovation and a desire to reach new heights through continuous experimentation. This is why we take great care in choosing our new team members - these are the people who will define Nordigen and help us get to the next level.

Our CTO Jake Sebastian Jones is one of the main minds behind Nordigen’s way of doing things. He is a great example of our company's not-so-ordinary composition. Born in the UK, he spent most of his life in Australia, where he undertook multiple study and job experiences that you would not associate with a typical technical officer. Jake studied Chinese, worked as a bouncer and even spent 5 years as a Buddhist monk before deciding to take on his life's biggest passion - programming. Whilst you can hear more about his experiences on this podcast, here are some takeaways on what it takes to become a part of Nordigen's gang.

It is not uncommon to see job ads with plenty of requirements for several uni degrees, 4 languages and 7+ years of experience. Being a tech startup, allows us to be more flexible and look beyond official qualifications. Jake believes that strong motivation and intelligence are the key characteristics that make for future supermen (and superwomen) at Nordigen. Whilst most of us have the needed technical skills from the start, we don't require official diplomas and certificates to prove your worth. Instead, we've built a system where we take talented people and create true value. What is more, we don't stop there. Nordigen provides EUR 1000 budget per person per year to work on self-development and grow the skills needed for future success.

So what makes a good fit?

Assessing the practical skills is the easy part. It is a lot more difficult to find people who are ready to take on the opportunity and are motivated to achieve big things for themselves. You need candidates who understand that working for a startup has a larger upside than having a comfortable position at a corporation. You get freedom, an extremely fast career trajectory and a chance to own the company. Of course, this comes at a tradeoff - startups are hard work, they bring chaos and nothing is consistent. Hence, we look for people that are comfortable with occasional mess and are resilient in the face of change. This is where motivation comes in - if you want a career in tech, startups are the way.

How do we find them?

It's extremely difficult to find genuinely committed and highly intelligent people. Whilst our recruitment process is always evolving, we believe that we are on the right track. Our recruitment process is a combination of skills, personality and culture assessment. On top of the regular interviews, we perform a culture fit interview to determine if the candidate is the right match for the team and the company. Furthermore, most candidates meet our founders to see if they have a shared vision for Nordigen. Lastly, we have recognised that talent is independent of location, with many of our team members coming from different countries, living abroad or choosing to move outside of Latvia.

Ultimately, what matters to us is that everyone is on the same page and are truly committed to the company. We want people to engage with this opportunity and be a substantial part of Nordigen's journey. This means being devoted to Nordigen, identifying with the company's problems on a personal level and taking full responsibility for your actions. We believe that talent attracts talent and hence we take great care in choosing the right people and making sure you work with the best in the industry.

In the past year, our count has more than doubled and we don't plan to stop there. If you believe you got what it takes, drop us a message - maybe very soon you'll join us in revolutionising the open banking industry.