Seven years ago I started working as a developer at one of the two companies that merged together to become Liip. Why have I stayed so long? I still like developing, and I still like working here. Here are a few of the things that I think make Liip a great place to work:
Great people
There are lots of friendly, smart, helpful, interesting people here who are good at what they do.
Interesting work
Projects come and projects go, and with each project I learn something new. It's said that variety is the spice of life, and I certainly enjoy a bit of it in my work life. One of the beauties of open source software is that it can be changed to do something more than before, and this can then be made available to others. I always get a good feeling when I'm able to contribute something back.
Continual learning
Besides the new technologies or new corners of an old technology that we often explore in the context of a project, Liip provides it's employees other educational opportunities:
Once or twice a week there is a “ tech talk ” – a 30 minute presentation of some interesting topic.
Monthly hackday – one day in the month is kept clear of other meetings, so that interested people can participate in one of the sessions that has been organized. Usually the goal is to bring an open source project a bit further, but sometimes it's just about exploring – hands on – an interesting topic. For more, see reports of some previous hackdays.
Project-related workshops : sometimes, we need to know more to find out the best way to do something for a project. In this case the team working on the project can organize a special workshop to deepen their knowledge on the subject.
Yearly “Tech day” – a day for and by the whole company, full of presentations and workshops (and good food).
An individual time and money budget for education that can be used as wished (well, not for a ski vacation). Examples are conferences, language courses, trainings, or participating in the monthly hackdays.
Take a look at rocketlab.liip.ch to see some of the upcoming events, and please join us for one of them if you're passionate about the subject.
Family friendly
I saw a postcard the other day that said “Erziehung ist … Zeit haben” (Raising a child is … having time). I work at 80% so that I can spend one day during the week with my kids. This is frowned upon in many companies, but Liip is very open to it; many people here work at 60-90%.
Also unusual for this country, Liip gives new fathers four weeks of paternity leave. These four weeks can be taken sometime in the year after birth. For me this was a great opportunity to bond with my kids, and my wife was really happy to me around to help out in the weeks after birth; this made her life easier. Maternal leave is also augmented a bit, apparently the calculations there are a bit more complicated so I can't say by exactly how much.
Company with a conscience
Liip reserves the right to, and sometimes does, refuse projects because we find the goal of the project unethical. Liip also takes measures to be environmentally friendly; examples are using “green” electricity and doing CO2 compensation for the energy used by the company.
Zen of a growing business
Liip has grown quite a lot in the past few years. This has required a number of organizational changes, which, imho, Liip has succeeded at remarkably well, with few growing pains. There are some organizational structures, but it remains transparent, uncomplicated and efficient. It is not a hierarchical, decisions-come-from-the-top-live-with-it kind of place. Constructive discussion of important topics is encouraged. It's a company that keeps it's eyes and ears open and adapts.
And …
Well, this post is getting long, so I'll stop. But I certainly didn't mention all of the reasons that Liip is a great place to work. If you're interested in working with us, take a look at the currently open jobs.