For this month’s Meet the Team we’re introducing you to Laolu, our Senior Android Developer.
Laolu is part of the team responsible for the smooth running of iProov’s biometric face verification technology on Android. From squashing bugs to coming up with innovative new features, Laolu ensures that our partners, customers, and end-users have a world-class verification and authentication experience. Read on to find out more…
Hi Laolu! Can you tell us a bit about your role here at iProov?
I’ve been at iProov for around 3 years now and work within the frontend mobile team as a Senior Android Developer. Over my time at iProov the biggest focus has been working on the iProov Android Biometrics SDK. SDK stands for Software Development Kit and it’s one of the ways that we deliver our verification technology to our customers.
Most of my work falls into two categories; it’s either about maintenance, which involves decreasing SDK size, improving reliability or performance, and squashing bugs. Then you have the really exciting things like implementing new features, so anything from new products or applying research initiatives.
What I enjoy about my role is that I get to work with several different teams. We work a lot with the Product team, who give us all the information we need to ensure our customers and partners can implement our technology efficiently. We also work with the Analytics teams – they act as our eyes and ears to the world and let us know if our SDK is running smoothly by monitoring factors such as pass rates.
What did you do before you joined iProov?
Before iProov I tried different roles to figure out what route I wanted to go down. I worked at a digital marketing consultancy as an Android developer and worked with big clients like Sky.
I had my first introduction to AI at a sports analytics start-up, which I’d say certainly piqued my interest in AI. So when the opportunity at iProov came along I was super excited to develop my knowledge in this area.
Everyone says the culture at iProov is one that fuels ambition but is also super friendly and welcoming – how would you sum up the culture here?
What I like about iProov is that whether you’re an introvert or an extrovert, there’s a space for you. You’re encouraged to express your inner self how you want.
Curiosity is embedded into iProov. Everyone is willing to explore new things, new ways of thinking, and to give everything a try. We never stand still at iProov. There’s always something great going on; every week we’re hitting new performance levels for our customers, or someone is working on something slightly crazy and exciting!
There’s always something big going on at iProov!
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received since joining iProov?
This is quite hard. But one that springs to mind is “the good thing about last minute requests is that they only take a minute” and I just think that’s a funny way to sum up iProov’s attitude to handling challenges.
What 3 words would you use to describe iProov?
Pragmatic, progressive, and nimble.
Can you share some of your highlights of your time at iProov so far?
When I first joined iProov, the Android team was coming together to rebuild the existing SDK. While it still worked fine, we could see that it was going to be difficult to maintain – you wouldn’t feel entirely comfortable adding new features on top of it. Ensuring that it ran smoothly was also taking up time that could otherwise have been used for innovation.
So we were given a year to literally pull everything apart and rewrite it. It was the right thing to do for our customers and us, and it proved to me that iProov was brave enough to make big calls like that and do the right thing rather than the easy thing. The biggest highlight definitely was releasing it! It was a really proud moment.
But there are so many highlights with the people we have here at iProov. We’ve built a real closeness within the team – we have a lot of social events, we go out after work a lot together, go on holidays – I’ve made some genuine friends. In previous roles, I probably wouldn’t have spent much time outside of work with colleagues, but at iProov I find myself doing it over and over again.
Thanks Laolu! Anything else before we go?
If you’re looking for something new, exciting, and fast-paced – a role that keeps you on your toes – then come join us at iProov!
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