Spotnana’s approach to scaling R&D

At Spotnana, we are at the forefront of an exciting transformation in the travel industry. Our goal is to challenge and reinvent the traditional architecture for booking travel that has remained stagnant for over 50 years. The technology we are disrupting was built before the internet, yet it is responsible for enabling billions of people to travel each year. 

Although I’ve led product (and in some cases engineering) teams for innovative companies like Twilio and Weave HQ, I am new to the travel domain. It’s fascinating to observe how, despite significant advancements in aviation technology, the underlying booking and pricing systems have remained ensnared in legacy data formats and technologies that inhibit innovation. But change is on the horizon, and we’re leading the way.

We are navigating the vast landscape of the travel booking space, a trillion-dollar total addressable market, with a technology architecture designed for the modern era. Our API-first approach delivers agility, flexibility, and speed, enabling us to quickly adapt to the needs of our customers and the ever-changing dynamics of the market.

Our strong product-market fit across different verticals has led to an overwhelming amount of demand from customers and channel partners eager to join the Spotnana revolution. They’re ready for a travel solution that’s not just about getting from A to B, but about the entire journey. And we’re prepared to deliver.

Tripling the size of our engineering team

With all this excitement around our product, we’re in a phase of rapid growth. We plan to triple our engineering team in the next 18 months. As we expand, we are committed to maintaining a laser focus on excellence. We will keep our standards high, and continuously push boundaries, enabling us to be the first to bring a new generation of travel experiences to people around the world.

“The next phase of Spotnana is poised to be a game-changer in the travel industry. We’re excited for what lies ahead and invite you to join us on this incredible journey.” – Ashish Chaudhary, VP of Product at Spotnana.

At Spotnana, we believe that moving fast isn’t just about speed. It’s about creating a culture where we quickly act on new ideas, adjust and adapt, and find ways to break new ground. Our strength in building great products and solving challenging problems is all thanks to the caliber of the talent in our fast-moving team.

In our journey to expand, we have thoughtfully considered where we want to build our teams. We have chosen four vibrant cities: Palo Alto, New York, Miami, and Bangalore. These cities have been selected for their dynamic character, which resonates with the energetic spirit of Spotnana. They are rich in diversity and full of opportunities, mirroring our own ethos and ambition.

In each of these cities, we are looking to hire talent at all different levels. We know that a mix of new ideas and experienced insights is what makes a team strong. We don’t want just any talent – we want to attract diverse talent that thrives in a fast-paced environment experiencing rapid growth.  

Using event hiring to accelerate decision-making

To achieve this, we have decided to take a different route, a route that has proven successful in past endeavors: focused event hiring.

Event hiring allows us to interview numerous talented engineers in a condensed amount of time. Yes, it’s quite a task to organize these events and make sure everything runs smoothly. It’s hard work to sift through candidates and conduct so many interviews. However, we see this as an investment in our future.

One of the advantages of event hiring is the onboarding process. When a group of engineers start at the same time, they learn together, support each other, and build strong team bonds from day one. This means they are able to ramp and start contributing to our mission at a faster pace.

Our hiring process during these events is simple and efficient. It all starts with our fantastic recruiting team reaching out to potential candidates. Once candidates show interest, we send them a technical online assessment  to gain a better sense of their computer science fundamentals and approach to problem solving. Those who perform well on the assessment are then invited for an onsite panel interview where they meet with a group of our talented engineers.

We believe in quick decision-making, so after each interview, our team comes together to discuss the candidate. If we think the candidate is the right fit for us, we extend the offer the very next day. This efficient process means we can make 10-20 job offers every week.

Tripling our engineering team is not an easy task, but with this focused and concentrated approach to hiring, we are confident we can achieve this goal. We are not just looking to grow our team – we’re also aiming to have a larger impact in the world, enable more people to benefit from the power of in-person gatherings, and create even better products.

Our ideal candidate profile

We are focusing on four main things when we hire:

• Creativity: At Spotnana, we don’t just want people who can do what’s already been done. We want you to come up with new, bold ideas, to push us ahead.
• Quick Thinking: Things change fast in our world. We need people who can keep up, learn new things, and tackle challenging problems head-on.
• Teamwork: We believe in the power of working together. We’re looking for people who enjoy working with others, learning from different viewpoints, and making everyone’s work better.
• Focus on Customers: Our job is to make life easier for our customers. We want people who understand this and are always thinking about how we can make our products better for the customers we serve.

At Spotnana, moving fast isn’t just about speed. It’s about progress, constant learning, and achieving our goals together. So if you share our vision, are eager to learn and contribute, and love the idea of growing with a team, we’d love to hear from you. Join us at our next hiring event, and let’s shape the future of the travel industry together!