Employee Spotlight: Allison, Software Engineer
At Barn2Door, we pride ourselves on being the all-in-one solution to help Farmers grow and manage their businesses. We recently sat down with Allison, one of Barn2Door’s very own software engineers with a passion for sustainability and technology. In this edition of our Employee Spotlight series, we’ll learn about how Allison came to work at Barn2Door, how she helps Farmers from behind the scenes, and what advice she has for candidates looking to join our growing team.
If you want to listen to Allison’s entire Employee Spotlight interview, you can find it on the Direct Farm Podcast.
Before Barn2Door, Allison worked on eDiscovery software for lawyers at an established company. Not feeling excited about the product or having a connection with it personally, Allison made a change. Joining Barn2Door allowed her to take on more responsibility where her contributions mattered. Now, Allison watches Farmers’ businesses succeed with the help of the product she creates.
Why did you Apply to Barn2Door?
I wanted to do something different and was looking for a challenge. So when I found Barn2Door, the mission immediately jumped out to me. What we do for Farmers, our contribution to creating a more sustainable food system, and the planet is exciting!
What are your day-to-day responsibilities?
Every day starts with an Engineering Team meeting where we talk about the previous day and what we’re currently working on. When I’m coding, there’s a lot of room to make decisions and have autonomy over a project. With every feature we build, there are a ton of ways it could be designed. Some designs are better than others, so the team discusses the pros and cons of each. But, my feedback and opinions are always discussed and considered. Once a section of the code is finished, it gets sent for code review by our peers. This is a great time to ask questions. We look at what the code is doing, how it works, and, most importantly, if it’s a good feature for our Farmers.
How do you discover what developments to work on next?
A lot of solutions we develop have to do with Farmer-specific problems, like seasonality. For instance, springtime is crucial for Produce Farmers because customers sign up for Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) boxes and summer produce subscriptions before the season starts. So recently, the Product Team looked at what needs weren’t being met for Subscriptions. We ended up making several product improvements to implement before springtime so Farmers can use the new features to secure Buyer commitments and more cash flow for their business.
What makes working at Barn2Door unique?
Almost everything is different! The genuine care people show for the product, the Farmer, and their Customers makes me feel closer to the product and our team. It makes me care more about the software we’re creating than working with software I would never use. I have a personal Barn2Door account to purchase from local Farmers. It’s great to be able to use what we work on every day. That would never happen at my last job.
How would you describe the culture at Barn2Door?
There’s a lot of energy and encouragement to bond with your team, both on and off company time. Company bonding events happen often, between cornhole tournaments, company-wide challenges, daily trivia, or prizes at our weekly company meetings. It creates stronger relationships with your coworkers as you learn about each other's strengths and interests.
What is one piece of advice you’d share with a future Barn2Door employee?
Working at Barn2Door is right for you if you’re motivated by the mission and ready to put a lot of work into your job. As someone early in their career, Barn2Door is a great place to grow - professionally and personally.
Join Barn2Door
Come work with Allison! We’re looking for people passionate about the intersection of food, agriculture, and technology.
See current openings that we’re looking to fill, and listen to The Direct Farm Podcast to learn more about the inspiring people who are changing the world at Barn2Door.