On the March edition of our Employee Spotlight series, we’d like to introduce you to Iqbaldeep Singh, the Banking Development Lead on the Product team here at FISPAN. Iqbal joined FISPAN in 2017 as one of the first 20 employees (which has now grown to 100!), bringing with him nearly ten years of experience as the Technology Lead at Infosys. Iqbal holds a Bachelor of Technology degree in Electronics and Communications Engineering from Guru Nanak Dev University.
Let’s get to know a bit more about Iqbal, why he initially chose to come to FISPAN, and how he feels about working here today.
Iqbal and the team celebrating FISPAN's one-year anniversary in 2017.
What helped you decide to come work for FISPAN in the first place?
I always wanted to work for a start-up and FISPAN gave me the chance to do just that. This was my opportunity to work with next-generation technologies that I’ve always wanted to get my hands on, and I knew this was the time for me to jump at the chance. Vancouver is also a beautiful place to call home and that made my move even more compelling.
How does this position differ from your previous job?
Before FISPAN, I worked for a great IT services company based in India called Infosys. To me, however, it seemed as if each project was treated like a gig where you are told to do a certain job, with the provided tools, over a specific period of time. But in more cases than not, chances are, you move on to the next assignment, task, or activity before you can even see your craftsmanship in action.
That’s what’s different from working here at FISPAN. In contrast, it seems like your projects are more like missions, where you are given a specific problem to solve, but you’re free to choose your own tools that you think will best help you succeed.
Iqbal and the rest of FISPAN congratulate CTO Val Novikov on obtaining his Canadian citizenship!
What is your favourite part about working at FISPAN?
FISPAN is a very tech-savvy company. The engineering team is always ready to experiment and try new technologies and platforms — thanks to the great leadership that promotes it. That's a big reason why our team today can deploy daily to production, all of which helps FISPAN to move faster, learn quicker, and steer course accordingly.
There’s also a great work-life balance at FISPAN, and I can narrate a personal experience that emphasizes how great the work culture really is. 2018 was a tough time for my family, and I was in and out of office for almost three months. To my relief, my then manager, our CTO Val Novikov, fully understood my situation and provided me with continuous support.
An employee may forget the bonuses and perks they’re awarded, but they’ll never forget the support they receive from their employer during the times they need it most.
What is the most rewarding aspect of your job?
The most rewarding and fulfilling part of my job is both knowing and seeing first-hand the kind of impact that I can make with my day-to-day work.
Every team in FISPAN is autonomous and is able to make its own decisions. That, in itself, allows our employees to feel a sense of belonging and pride in their own work. It also gives a sense of power, responsibility, and ownership to each individual and promotes the overall level of innovation at FISPAN.
FISPAN gets into the Christmas spirit with roulette and curling.
If you were to give any piece of advice to those applying to FISPAN, what would it be?
FISPAN offers great opportunities to learn and grow your career. So if you’re ready to learn and adapt, like independence in your work, and are ready to be held accountable for it, FISPAN is the right place for you.
What continues to excite you about FISPAN?
One word: transparency. Our Co-Founder and CEO, Lisa Shields, leads by example and never shies away from discussing the company's finances, roadmap, or strategies in our weekly all-hands meetings. I have also been lucky enough to be the lead of a team that delivers high-quality bank and FinTech integrations at a large scale, which is always intriguing.
If you could interview one person (dead or alive) who would it be and why?
Naval Ravikant — I am very inspired by his achievements. He is a great thinker of the modern world and I am a big fan of his work. I would personally like to get some curated investment advice from him.
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We invite you to get to know Iqbal further by checking out his LinkedIn, and by exploring the many career opportunities we have here at FISPAN for engineers, developers, and everyone else!
