Behind the Scenes: Lana

Our newest Engineering Manager talks to us about her background, her role, and moving to Berlin.
Lana stands outside the office

Babbel’s endgame is getting people to have conversations with other people, in a new language. There are fantastic folks here making that possible. So we sit down with them from time to time, to provide a glimpse into who makes it all work, what they do, and how they got here.

What’s your role at Babbel?

I joined Babbel as an Engineering Manager. Working in that role gives you a lot of freedom to influence different areas like working directly with product teams, understanding what we have to build, and what’s important to our customers — figuring out what technical solutions best address the problems users face. 

I’m also in charge of development of engineering team leads, to deliver bold, quality deliverables quickly. Since we’re growing a lot, I’m involved in the engineer hiring process and making sure engineers have opportunities to grow.

What were you doing before?

Before Babbel I was working as an Engineering Manager at Amazon, where I had the chance to learn from the best.  Before that, I held a couple of different management roles like Project, Product, and Support Manager that gave me a deeper understanding of the software development life-cycle. 

What drew you to Babbel?

I’d say that at different points in life we have different expectations. For me, Babbel came at the right time. I felt I really needed to be at a company where I can balance personal and career life. Especially when you move from a different country, you need to have time to support your family in that transition. 

Babbel is not too big and not too small, so it can provide stability but also have this startup spirit. I was looking for a company where I could share my knowledge and also continue learning.  Especially in new technology where things are changing so fast. Babbel as a learning company provides a lot of support for their employees to learn new things and learning is not just reading and attending courses, but practical application.   

What’s most exciting for you at the moment?

Since I recently joined, the most exciting thing for me is being involved in next year’s roadmap preparation. This year we started a little early so we have enough time to determine what is most important to our customers.

We’re communicating a lot, collecting ideas from everyone in our pillar. It is so exciting how many good ideas we have and how many different approaches we have on the table.

What’s surprised you most so far?

I would say company culture and diversity. A lot of companies talk about diversity, how important it is, but Babbel is living inclusion. It’s really special working with people from so many backgrounds and also seeing so many similarities joined into one, with the same goals and values. People here are very open and communicative. I found the on-boarding process to be one of the best I’ve experienced so far. The whole company is really trying to make the beginning easy and pleasant. 

What do you want to accomplish at Babbel?

I want to help the company move to the next level by building and delivering new, interesting features for our learners.

Where did you move from? How was your relocation to Berlin?

I’m originally from Bosnia, but I moved to Berlin from Madrid. Babbel offered a very good relocation package. That was very important for me and my family, so that we were able to transport all our furniture, have a temporary home, and have all the necessary paperwork and visa support — which is so important. 

Want to join us? Check out our Careers page!

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