FIND YOUR PASSION –
CHALLENGE THE POSSIBLE

Michael, what is your typical working day like and what are your tasks?

This question is difficult to answer – I rarely have a typical working day. As a software developer, I spend most of my time programming, of course, but at the same time I also take on architectural assignments. What I particularly like is that the tasks range from strategic long-term planning and implementation to "we need a solution in a quarter of an hour". On the one hand, I like to get deep into tasks, on the other hand I like the kick of being the fire brigade. I also see aggregating and passing on the resulting knowledge as an important part of my work at knowis, because this is how you create something that stays and helps new colleagues. 

What makes your job so special?

Changing tasks, often across teams and working with new technologies and systems are special features that make the job really interesting for me. Current cloud technologies or methods such as SaaS (Software as a Service), DevOps solutions, Continuous Deployment and Continuous Integration are not yet so established on the market and exciting for us programmers, as we often do pioneering work. The specialists in our IT department are very broadly based, so we can map many processes in-house. The close exchange with the development laboratories of the big IT players such as IBM or Microsoft is also a great enrichment for me – this networking opportunity is not often offered.

How was your application process? What do applicants have to bring with them to be successful in your field?

I was positively surprised how much knowis responds to the applicant – we talked a lot about my previous professional experience and what I like to work on the most, which resulted in a constructive conversation. This is also an advice from me to applicants: Talk openly about your experiences and expectations, even if your CV may not be so extensive yet. No one is born a master. We are looking for employees with team spirit and open-mindedness towards new technologies. A solid basis in programming languages like JavaScript, Java or Python is great, but a really good programmer means that he wants to get to the bottom of problems and, according to the motto 'Trial-and-Error', remains curious and eager to experiment. Be it coding or as a consultant for the team.

Do you enjoy living in Regensburg? You are also relatively new in the city.

The city of Regensburg has a lot to offer. I used to live in Munich and although Regensburg is much smaller, it can keep up very well. In summer I like to lie on the Jahninsel or cool off in the Danube. At this time of year I can also recommend the Jazz-Weekend to everyone, where the whole city is a concert stage. For the colder season the theatre subscription is recommended. For its size, the Regensburg Theatre offers an extensive program of drama, dance and music theatre – but also the Old Malt House should be visited by everyone interested in culture. All in all, you get a great package here and can really feel good.

What does your typical work day look like and what are your tasks at knowis?

It's a colorful mix of tasks. On the one hand, I am the personal assistant and right-hand woman of our Management Board member Gerald and, on the other hand, I look after the application process in our company. The latter includes both the coordination of job interviews and the entire selection process. In addition, I do administrative work for our traveling employees, such as bookings and travel expenses. And most important: at the end of each month, the payroll is due.

How was your application process at knowis? 

I saw an advertisement on StepStone and applied immediately. Just three days later, Kathrin contacted me and invited me for an interview. Of course, I prepared well and was all the more surprised at how easy and open the conversation with Matthias and Kathrin was. They had read my documents in advance – it was not a question and answer interview, but a dialogue to get to know each other.

You are the expert for applications – any advice for potential applicants?

We look forward to receiving compelling applications. A detailed Curriculum Vitae, a cover letter and all reports and certificates make the application complete and we don’t need to ask for anything afterwards. As a tip: it is best to specify the desired start date and, for internships, the period. In addition, job fairs are an ideal place to make first contact. 80 percent of the candidates we meet at such events are invited to an interview. In the conversation itself, no one must appear in a suit – our dress code is casual.

What makes knowis so special as an employer?

We are a young, dynamic team – the average age is just over thirty years. Whether you are a student, graduate or professional, everyone is welcome and able to develop quickly. Graduates are supported by their own supervisor and professionals benefit from our expertise in-house. The flat hierarchies allow our employees to rapidly evolve and pursue their goals. knowis also offers a number of benefits, such as company pension plans and occupational health check-ups.

Sebastian, you study computer science at OTH Regensburg – how did you come to work at knowis and what are your tasks?

At OTH Regensburg, it is compulsory to do an internship for one semester. In search of an internship in software development, I googled potential companies in the Regensburg area, came across knowis and thought “Sounds good, I’ll apply there.” I also checked social media and my university’s information system for additional information on knowis, as some students had already done an internship there before me. At that time, I was not fully aware of the banking background of knowis. However, you should not be intimidated by this; I realized during the job interview: “Team Bilanzkritik fits perfectly.” I felt comfortable from day one and supervision during my internship was very good. That's why I chose to stay with knowis and continued seamlessly as a working student after my internship. So I’m still part of the Bilanzkritik team and work there as a backend developer. I’m primarily focusing on the server application and the Java-based part of the client. In addition, I have also taken on tasks such as the creation of maintenance programs.

You are planning to write your thesis at knowis. What is the process for this?

I determined the topic together with my team leader and an experienced developer of the team. We sat down together to brainstorm about current topics that are suitable as a bachelor’s thesis and that I am interested in. The result: “Feature Analytics: Assessment and Prototypical, Technical Implementation of Event Tracking and Feature Usage Mechanisms Within the Framework of a Business-to-Business Application.” I have already made a rough draft of this topic and proposed this to one of the supervisors of the OTH. As soon as my topic is officially approved, I will be able to start. As it will be quite a lot of work to write my thesis, I will pause my working student job during this period. This means that I can concentrate exclusively on my bachelor’s thesis during my 20 hours per week at knowis and have nothing to do with the ongoing product development for the time being. This gives me flexibility and allows me to arrange my working hours in a way that is most convenient for me. Also, my internal company supervisors from my team at knowis are always there to support me with their expertise.

What have you learnt so far at knowis? Does your job there help you in your studies?

The computer science program at the OTH is generally very practice-oriented, but before knowis I was limited to my own small, isolated projects in the context of lectures or tutorials, which simply disappear from sight at the end of the semester and gather dust. At knowis I got the chance to work in a team of multiple developers for the first time – with a separation between frontend and backend. Instead of opening my IDE (integrated development environment) and starting from scratch, I’m working on an existing application and I’m advancing an existing architecture. This also means that I can explore technologies that are not part of the curriculum at my university.

Do you have any tips for other students regarding the application process or the final thesis?

The best tip to start with, I think, is: Just do it! So, in any case, look for a job as a working student in the professional field of your course, because putting what you have learned into practice in a company is something completely different from what you do in the lectures every now and then. At knowis, I can apply my knowledge and continuously improve my skills. What also helped me a lot during the application process was my personal interest in software engineering in general. During my school days, I was already part of a student-run company that took care of the IT equipment of our school, and I have remained enthusiastic about this subject until today. This is an important factor, especially when it comes to internships, and it helps you to find out if it really fits. Both for the applicant her- or himself, and on the part of the company.

Do you also work on any programming projects in your spare time?

I am a real geek and therefore of course have projects that I’m currently programming in my private time. Besides other hobbies, I’m secretary of our local skiing club and my current task is to bring our internet presence into the current decade. For this purpose, I am developing a modern web application that also works on mobile devices. At the same time – and this is the more complex part – I’m creating an administration tool that digitizes everything that is now managed on paper, such as course registration, vouchers, and membership data. So, programming is definitely a part of my life beyond work and study.

What do your typical work day and tasks look like?

Maybe you have to differentiate roughly between the 'project work day', that is the conceptualization and implementation at the customer site, and the 'office work day' in Regensburg.

When we get to the customer, there's a quick meeting every morning with all the developers (the SCRUM fans know it as the Daily) to check the current status and identify potential issues. This allows us to react flexibly to requirements and changes. Afterwards, the development work starts, whereby as a Senior Solution Engineer I not only develop myself, but I am also responsible for the system architecture and the project organization. In addition, I support customers in finding their way through the agile, and for the customer, often new, thinking structures, and take on an advisory role. It is important to include all the people involved in the development steps and to update them at regular reviews.

In the office in Regensburg, I work in small groups on proof-of-concepts and do administrative work. I enjoy sharing my knowledge with new colleagues and expanding our internal know-how. I regularly hold training courses or participate in internal projects.

What makes your job so special?

The work at knowis gives me the opportunity to gain insights into the many different business areas of the banks. In doing so, I get to know their challenges and the individual approaches to digitalizing complex processes. The great thing is that we, as a medium-sized regional company in cooperation with large multinationals, implement leading and forward-looking project work in major banks. This is anything but ordinary and never boring because the technology is constantly evolving. For example, early on we relied on the use of non-relational databases and we set a very high degree of standardization and thus achieved a very high implementation speed, which pays off today.

How did that go during your job interview?

At that time, it was about becoming knowis employee number 17 and everything had a bit more of a start-up character, even though this spirit is still felt in many places today. Accordingly, the first interview was also very informal. Actually, I had applied to knowis as a web developer, but had no practical experience at the time. During the first few minutes, I realized that the human is in the foreground at knowis. So a really good conversation ensued, in which it became apparent that another vacant position would actually fit much better with my skill profile and my interests – that of a Solution Engineer. In a second conversation, we sealed the deal and shortly after completing my studies, I started. And what can I say – I have already been part of the knowis team for over five years and I am still enthusiastic.

When you're not traveling or at customer appointments – what do you like to do in your free time?

I would describe myself as a geek – the list of my hobbies and interests is long. As a Regensburger, I am of course a Jahn fan. During the season, the home and away matches are marked red in my calendar. I'm also a passionate gamer and I'm constantly expanding my comic and audio playback collection. If I find time, I like cooking, walking or biking. You can tell – just like in my daily work, in my free time it is important to me to pursue a varied mix of activities. I do not know boredom.

What were the stops that you went through to get to your current position?

IT has been my passion since childhood, so I opted for a dual curriculum in applied computer science at IBM. During this time, I had the opportunity to gain experience both at 'IBM Research' in America and at the IBM development laboratory in Böblingen. Then I joined the IT consulting and service organization of IBM's IT Architectural Career. During my studies, I completed a Master of Business Administration & Management at Warwick Business School. I've been with knowis since 2018 to help develop the cloud platform.

What are you doing as a software architect?

An important part of my work is to evaluate new technologies and integrate them into the overall context of the cloud platform. For example, I'm currently working on topics such as zero downtime deployment, evolutionary database design or container orchestration based on Docker and Kubernetes. I also support our development teams, for example, during penetration testing for quality assurance and analysis of performance problems.

As an architect, I also maintain close contact with all knowis customers and advise within the projects when it comes to integrating our technologies into the heterogeneous enterprise architectures of our customers. In addition, it is my job to classify the solutions in the professional and economic overall context, so we receive important input for the roadmap of our products. A good example of this is the change in the financial industry and the associated digitization projects, which we are implementing with our platform.

How does knowis help you achieve your goals?

Currently, the center of my life is Berlin and I usually alternate weekly between Regensburg and my home. This always brings challenges, both logistically and in the coordination of appointments. However, knowis and the colleagues offer me the necessary flexibility to handle everything without any problems, for which I am really grateful. I do not take that for granted. I also appreciate the exchange with my very experienced colleagues. This is one of the key success factors when it comes to the complex technical challenges that we have to overcome on a daily basis.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

In addition to the daily work, sport offers the right balance for me and I try to go running as often as possible, or get my head clear in the gym. Of course, as I used to live in Hamburg, I learned to sail some time ago, so I often find myself at sea in summer. On the weekends ashore, I like to follow my other great passion: the music and spinning records as a DJ.

Markus, how did you come across knowis and how long have you been here?

I have been with knowis for five years now. Previously, I worked in various banks in the lending business for many years. I therefore know from my own experience what is important to our clients, banks and financial institutions. Because I've always been very interested in IT, at some point in my life I wanted to switch to this field as a profession. So, the question was: where do I find a job at the intersection of banking and IT? That’s how I came to knowis.

You only recently became a product manager – what did you do previously with knowis?

At the beginning of my knowis career, I worked as a business analyst. During that time, I looked after many projects while working at the customer's site. The requirements for a product manager are in some respects similar to the tasks that I worked on as a business analyst for many years. In my new position, this helps a lot to understand the big picture, for example, by knowing how the knowis banking platform is actually used and what our customers' experience has been with it. That's why switching to product management was the right step for me to continue to use my strengths and at the same time expand my knowledge.

What are your responsibilities as a product manager?

As an agile software company, we think and plan in release cycles. We want to renew and improve our software on a regular basis, so as a product manager, I deal a lot with feature requests and the enhancement of our software, as well as the prioritization of the different requirements.

New requirements come either directly from the customer or are suggested internally, for example, by our business analysts or the solution engineers. My job is to translate the often rather unspecific needs. This means I must think carefully about what is needed in particular and whether it might already be feasible in other ways. At the same time, it is always important to assess the development effort of a feature; for this part, I collaborate with an IT architect or developer.

Ultimately, I have to weigh how sensible the implementation of such a feature would be, that is to measure the business value against the development effort. Before each release, for example, we try to estimate the sensibility in a ‘business poker' process, where we discuss everything in detail and view the features from different angles. If a feature is to be considered for the next release, I define criteria that must be met during development. These are compared after the implementation and verified by the testing team – so you can already see: product management at knowis is closely integrated with other departments.

What skills or special abilities should you bring as a product manager?

It is very important to develop an understanding of how our software is used. When assessing the 'value' of a feature, a product manager should be able to capture the customer's view and, based on that, prioritize the requirements, while at the same time considering the implementation effort. In addition, the constant development of the knowis software platform is an important topic that needs to be structured and clearly defined.

A basic understanding of the technologies used, and the ability to work closely and effectively with different stakeholders, are among the requirements that a Product Manager should bring to knowis.

What do you like to do in your free time?

Most of all, I spend time with my family, or I am outside in nature, for example, when mountain biking. Also, I really enjoy water, which is of course very convenient here, as Regensburg is beautifully situated on the banks of the Danube. I love swimming there in the summer or just strolling along the river.

What are your tasks at knowis?

I currently take a dual role at knowis. On the one hand, I am gradually growing into the role of a business analyst and, on the other hand, I create content for bank-related deliverables, thereby supporting our growing marketing department. Both knowis and I benefit from my many years of experience as a credit analyst and my law studies. From the very beginning, knowis has trusted me to take on a variety of tasks. For example, I participated in decisions right away and took on responsibility as part of the editorial team. With my part-time working model, however, I am also given enough time to familiarize myself with the new role as a business analyst.

How was your application process? What qualities should applicants bring?

Both interviews were characterized by mutual openness. This is a very important issue for me, which is often underestimated and can quickly lead to dissatisfaction on both sides. You should be yourself and stick with your expectations during the conversation, but also, you should point out possible limits. That worked well for knowis and me. I have been offered a position that fits my career, meets my professional aspirations, and at the same time fits well with my role as the mother of a young child. Anyone who comes from the banking industry, like me, should by no means be afraid of the topic of computer science or software and should bring curiosity for this subject.

You are the mother of a little daughter. How do you manage to balance career and family? How does knowis support you?

The key is definitely a good organization and the willingness to combine career and family. Sure, sometimes there are stressful times, for example, when my daughter is sick and I have to leave the office at short notice to pick her up from daycare or go to medical appointments. The working style and philosophy of knowis is very helpful for my life situation – you can do your tasks when and where you want, the main thing is to be there with commitment and get the final result right. For example, there is the option to do home office and a flexible work schedule. The whole company gives me the confidence that the work does not suffer despite some spontaneous changes in the plan. Unfortunately, this is not something you can take for granted!

What does your typical work day look like and what are your tasks?

In marketing, there are many different open issues and things that we want to move forward as a team. The scope is huge: everything from the conceptualization and maintenance of the website, to the creation of content of any kind, to strategic planning and personnel marketing topics. And as soon as I dedicate myself to something, it often results in new ideas and tasks that have to be tackled. This versatility and variety is exactly what makes my job so exciting for me.

What is so special about marketing at knowis?

We are a young, dynamic company. Everyone is motivated and full of energy and this spirit is really contagious. In such an environment, it is also possible to go unconventional and try out new approaches that are outside the mainstream. In doing so, I get support from both management and my colleagues as well as the necessary trust, which forms the basis for every engagement. By founding an editorial team whose members are based in the various knowis departments and who meet regularly, there is a direct line to the most important topics in the company. This team is enormously helpful to me and also demonstrates their understanding of the importance of public relations.

So your application process is not so long ago – how did it go? Do you have tips for future applicants?

I had a total of two interviews with knowis. Both conversations were very authentic and we were immediately on the same wavelength. From the human point of view, it was just right for me, which is one of the most important prerequisites for such a drastic step as changing my job and moving to a new city. As a personal tip, I can only say that it is very important to speak openly about the expectations of each other and not to pretend. The better one clarifies one's own ideas and the intended area of responsibility, the lower the probability of being disappointed.

You only recently moved to Regensburg. What makes Regensburg as a place of work so attractive to you and how do you like the city?

Regensburg has a bit of a "working-where-others-go-on-vacation" flair. On balmy summer evenings in the city you really feel like you're on vacation. The Danube, the many parks, the historic squares and buildings create a very harmonious overall picture in which you have to feel good. And because Regensburg is a student city, there is also a wide range of cultural events and the attitude of the people is very open and friendly.

What does your typical work day at knowis look like and what are your tasks as a software engineer?

First and foremost, I am involved in the development of our cloud platform. I work with the programming languages JavaScript and TypeScript, but also modern cloud technologies are used.
Over time, my job has also changed a bit – the focus is now more on IT architecture. Incidentally, that's one of the reasons why I like to work for knowis: everyone can develop their own professional interests or reorient themselves as far as possible. As head of one of the engineering teams, I now also take on organizational tasks and am the contact person for questions and problems of my colleagues. 

What is special about the work at knowis?

Knowis has grown very fast in recent years. This always results in new fields of activity and positions. The employees themselves can grow into the new roles because the positions do not need to be created and filled, but arise as needed. Anyone who engages in knowis can definitely take on more responsibility and new tasks. I find it very pleasant that you can work autonomously and independently and are not dictated to from above.

How was your job interview? Do you have tips for the application process at knowis?

The atmosphere during my conversation was very relaxed and enjoyable. At knowis, the personality of the applicants is still a decisive factor for the selection and therefore we also talked a lot about me as a person, my previous work experience and what motivates me in my work. Shortly after the conversation, I got a commitment from knowis.
Currently, as head of engineering, I lead a small team myself and I have been involved in a lot of job interviews. It is important to me personally that the candidate is passionate about the subject and has a clear idea of how he or she can support our team.

At the time of your application, knowis was still a small Regensburg start-up. How did you find out about us?

Knowis is a 'hidden champion' in the industry. I was looking for IT companies, especially in Regensburg, and searched for potential employers through portals like XING, kununu and LinkedIn. Ultimately, I became aware of knowis via a job advertisement on XING and got more information about the company on the home page. The website was not that informative five years ago – which is fortunately very different today. Nevertheless, I immediately identified with the company and the tasks based on the job description and applied right away. As a result, I was invited to a job interview relatively quickly.

Saja, how do you work as a team and what are your tasks?

At knowis we work agile. We have sprints every five days, which have to be planned and structured precisely so that all stories, epics and the technical features we're working on are clear. At the same time, we are flexible, both in terms of our working hours and new ideas for the platform, and we have very fast feedback loops. After planning, employees with different technological backgrounds work together on the discussed features and add them to the platform.

Currently we are trying to integrate the idea of tribes and chapters into our daily work. The idea behind agile working is to collaborate with others as flexibly as possible. The knowis platform, for example, requires people from different teams with TypeScript or React skills to work together with someone who is familiar with Java. As a united chapter, we can do that. I think it works really well. On the one hand, as a NodeJS Developer I get to know the "dark side" – that's what we jokingly call the Java developers – on the other hand, it is very helpful to let other people look at your work and, vice versa, to give feedback to others. The people here are very open to new ideas and exchange of knowledge.

Although the first programmers were female, the IT sector has now developed into a rather male domain. What is it like to be a woman in the tech industry today?

I had never worked with other female developers before I joined knowis and I was really excited when I learned before my job interview at knowis that my team lead is a woman and that I also have another female team colleague. This was actually one of the main reasons why I finally chose knowis. I am used to being the only female software developer in the team and I have never felt uncomfortable with it or got strange reactions from people. Maybe this was still an issue for previous generations, but now it is totally accepted that women work in the IT industry.

Originally, you're from Jordan. Did you come to Regensburg for this job and how was your application process?

I've been in Regensburg for 2.5 years now, so I was here before my employment at knowis. When I lived in Jordan, I didn't know much about Germany or German cities – I only knew that Regensburg has a university and I had heard from friends that it is the city of developers. It sounds strange at first, but when you consider that a large part of the industry here consists of IT start-ups, there is some truth to it. Even when you meet new people here, a lot of them are working in the IT sector. So I decided to move to Regensburg and started to apply.

What qualifications should applicants bring to be successful in your field?

Besides your technological background and the programming languages you are proficient in, soft skills are not to be underestimated. Consistency is very important, because your code should be stable and the quality of your work should meet a certain standard. IT is an extremely fast business and there are updates almost every day – so you should definitely be curious and have the drive to get to the bottom of things, because you need regular education to keep track. You also need to be a team player who gives others the opportunity to present their ideas and is open-minded.

Do you have a programming project that you spend your spare time with or are you done with technology after work?

It depends on the season: When it gets cold outside, I like to find a project that I work on in order to learn new things – as I said before, I think it’s really important to keep studying. But in summer I like to travel, meet new people, or go hiking.