Humans of Xero: David Pene

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Welcome to Humans of Xero! It’s an occasional series about some of the awesome humans that work at Xero. We’ll talk a bit about their work, their passions, some fascinating facts, and what makes them tick. We’d like to introduce David Pene, a Developer based in New Zealand. We had a chat to him about life in and out of Xero.

Tell us about your role at Xero?

I’m a Developer at Xero and day to day I work on a product designed for our partners called Xero HQ. I get involved throughout the entire lifecycle of the product, working on everything from user research, collaborating as a technical advisor in the design phase, building, testing, and finally deploying the software. I’m also really lucky to be able to work remotely which enables me to travel and work – I’m currently based in beautiful Tauranga on the North Island of New Zealand.

Why did you decide to join Xero?

When I finished up at University, I didn’t hesitate to start looking around for a job as a developer. I had applied to a variety of companies and was offered a few different positions, but it wasn’t at all difficult to decide that Xero was the right choice for me, I had a hunch it would be a fun and exciting company. The people I met throughout the recruitment process were warm and kind and I saw my team as a group that I wanted to be a part of. Out of all the companies I looked at, Xero seemed to have by far the best company culture as everyone here is really casual and easy going.

What’s it like working at Xero?

Working at Xero is really all that I could ask for in a company and more. The people and the culture here are amazing – I know this is what everyone always says, but it’s actually true. My team are both colleagues and friends and we do everything we can to support each other at work but we also take interest in each other’s lives outside of work, which is really incredible.

I would say my favourite thing about Xero is the flexibility they offer and the trust that they have in their people. A lot of the people who work here have flexible working arrangements and this comes in a range of shapes and sizes. Some people work part time, others start early and finish early, some people have a day a week working from home and others, like me, work remotely. I’m currently based out of Tauranga, but I’ve worked from all over world, including Samoa where I spent almost 3 months working, which was a truly amazing experience.

Tell us something #human about yourself?

You don’t get to choose the situation you grow up in – so I have a really big heart for the ‘streets’, or the low socio-economic parts of New Zealand. Over the years I’ve taught hip hop dancing to many different people from all walks of life. This includes our most under resourced areas like West and South Auckland, Huntly, and has even taken me to places like Cape Town, Pretoria, and Johannesburg, helping to inspire young minds to become the best versions of themselves.

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