A seasoned Quality Engineering professional, a fun teammate with a good sense of humor, and a sports enthusiast supportive of the development of the local tennis club and dedicated to his family. Meet our colleague Ivan Gachevski.

In the interview below, Ivan shares curious facts about his 10-year professional journey in the company as well as something personal about himself beyond quality assurance and IT.

Congratulations on your work anniversary in TSD, Vanka! Keep up your motivation and collect interesting stories, which you will be able to tell us in another ten years.

1. How did everything start back in 2010?

Back then, I was occupied with a personal business of mine, but I used to visit the TSD office regularly. I liked the activities that the guys at TSD were doing and the everyday communication with the teams of the company’s US-based client. Then I looked at the opportunity to become a part of the TSD team myself and get the chance to work on interesting projects for large international companies and collaborate with foreign colleagues. I decided to take the challenge and applied for a QA Analyst position.

2. Can you make a comparison between then and now? What did you do in the beginning and where are you at right now?

I started as a junior QA Analyst for one of the biggest clients of TSD at the time. As time passed, I gained skills and expertise in the quality assurance field and increasingly felt that I belonged here and liked what I did. Today, I occupy the position of a Quality Engineer for a UK-based client of TSD, operating in the accounting and auditing sector. I’m also contributing to an interesting internal project of TSD, which is currently still in active development.

3. What are the everyday challenges you face in your work?

The kind of challenges that every QA would surely recognize. Those include unexpected downtime and various issues that need to be tackled immediately with the correct approach.

4. And what are the fundamental skills needed to deal with those challenges?

Experience is the most important one. The QA work often puts you in situations in which you have to instantly go through your head to grab a key piece of information that is stored there, render it, and apply it exactly where it needs to go to solve a particular issue. Experience is what allows you to do that successfully.

5. What is your favorite part about working in TSD? What do you love about your job?

Communication with different people and delivering a quality product and satisfaction to my counterparts, and respectively to TSD’s client.

6. What does it take to become a Quality Engineer and what would you advise the guys who are following your steps?

Being a QE has provided me with the ability to examine and assess a situation correctly in order to come up with the best options to cope with any issue that might appear. You do need courage and confidence to present your ideas to the other team members and persuade them that your approach is applicable and correct. Strong communication skills and a clear state of mind are the best allies that one needs to have in this profession.

7. Why do you choose to remain a part of TSD after 10 years? What has the company given you in terms of your professional development?

Being 40 has settled me as a grown-up individual who is at the right place he should be. But I believe I still have a long professional way ahead of me to expand my knowledge far beyond its current state.

8. Share something about yourself as a person. Who is Ivan outside of the office and what does he like to do for fun?

Spending time with my two kids is the most fun thing for me and the best way to use my free time. Apart from that, I do sports activities like playing tennis, basketball, soccer, and swimming. Reading books and educational materials is another joyful and useful activity for me.

9. How do you envision yourself in another 10 years?

Managing an exciting software project.

10. How would you describe this decade in TSD in just three words?

Be on fire.