Our new London development centre is open! It will be home to 200 technologists working with clients around the world. Be in at the start of a really exciting venture http://glassdoor.com/slink.htm?key=vM0fl
We're very proud to be shortlisted for the Masters of Reinvention category, Real Innovation Awards 2019! Please vote now :) http://glassdoor.com/slink.htm?key=vMctC
We are solving some of the hardest technical challenges in the world of online grocery, and adapting our technology for applications that disrupt new industries.
With everything from websites to warehouses designed in-house, our departments are specialists in a wide range of technologies, such as:
Our tech stack is evolving all the time thanks to the strong level of autonomy within our teams. The main technologies we work with are: Android, AWS, GCP, iOS, Kubernetes, Java, Javascript, Microservices, Node.js, Python, Swift.
There are many more under the hood, so ask your recruiter if you'd like more details.
We have five values that we believe foster the best team dynamics and have a tangible impact on our employees' day-to-day lives.
Trust - the foundation of great teamwork is being able to depend on and support the people around you, knowing that you’re working towards a common goal.
Autonomy - we encourage our team members to do everything they can to create autonomy for the people around them by sharing skills and information, so everyone can help drive our great products from development to done.
Craftsmanship - we believe in creating high-quality products, knowing it will not only improve our customers’ experience, but save us time in the long term if it doesn’t need fixing or rewriting. We place great importance on the continued development of our team members’ skills, doing all we can to foster growth.
Collaboration - at the heart of great tech work is strong creative collaboration. We believe the whole is greater than the sum of its parts and encourage group decision-making to reach the best outcomes.
Learn Fast - derived from the term “fail fast”, we believe in an agile way of working with an emphasis on fast feedback loops, continuous improvement, and experimentation. We encourage everyone to try out new things and when experiments fail or succeed, we learn from it and share that learning.
Meet Zara, Technical Recruiter, and Kelly, In-House Recruiter. Here's why they love Ocado Technology and what they're looking for in a candidate. To contact them email technologyjobs@ocado.com
"We have a diverse, multicultural workforce, and instead of placing value on titles, we value a workforce of ‘can-doers’. When I’m recruiting, I’m on the lookout for these ‘can-doers’ – people with an entrepreneurial spirit, people who make a difference."
Zara
"I love working here because it’s exciting, there’s a buzz and always something new happening. That’s also why I think it’s a great place for grads and interns. We’re one of the most dynamic tech companies out there; there’s always something new to work on."
Kelly
What would you like to be when you grow up? If you want to work at the cutting edge of technology and shape the world of tomorrow, join our innovation factory.
I worked at Ocado Technology full-time (More than 3 years)
Pros
Almost everyone there is a pleasure to work with, you'll find people that are very smart but also humble and happy to help out, and at the same time eager to learn from you. Dealing with people from all over the hierarchy (which exists, but isn't thrown at you), is never a stressful situation and there's a genuine interest in solving problems, not finding who to blame.
A very fast paced environment, where you'll feel like you're building a massive airplane while making sure it's still flying (and you're inside....if you're wondering...). I'll list this in the cons as well since it's not for everyone.
This company takes learning very seriously and it shows, everyone is allowed to take some time to learn and improve their skills, but of course, you then are expected to share your knowledge with people around you.
Cons
Fast-paced, lot's going on at the same time and sometimes it seems like we should just focus on one thing at a time.
Some processes are still maturing, so not everything runs smoothly...but then again, tell me one place where it does...
The complexity of the software, systems and the business in general means that it doesn't suffice to be good in tech, you'll have to learn about other areas.
Advice to Management
Not all departments are treated equally and that causes a bit of discomfort among the employees, more effort should be put into making sure this doesn't happen.
Keep doing the changes that are been done recently, it's painful to some but very needed, most people agree with them.
Keep being open and as transparent as possible, people appreciate that. With that in mind, sometimes things just take too long to be decided, as an ex-employee I think it would be ok for the CEO/CTO/CxO to use this quote more often:
“If we have data, let’s look at data. If all we have are opinions, let’s go with mine.”
― Jim Barksdale
All in all, management is doing a great job.
Helpful (5)
Application
I applied through a recruiter. The process took 2 days. I interviewed at Ocado Technology (Hatfield, East of England, England) in June 2018.
Interview
Because a spot had just opened up, I was allowed to skip the online coding test and was invited to the full-day assessment immediately. None of the tests were in them self too difficult, I gave the difficulty rating because it was 8 hours of tests and that is taxing when you're nervous.
Others have described that day before, so I won't repeat it all. I was asked to submit a logic test in a made-up language, had an interview with someone trying to gauge how well I'd fit in with the company culture (that felt more like a personality test than anything else), then got to see the warehouse (amazing), had a pair programming exercise where I had to implement some interfaces and make the tests pass, all while being monitored. After that, they proposed a complicated problem that you were to solve in exactly the way they had come up with before, so if you don't think like them, that's going to be frustrating. They help you though. After that, I had another technical interview, the same questions about Java you get asked everywhere. You have a Java certificate and already proved you know all this? Not worth the digital ink its printed in, nobody will believe you know your stuff until they've asked you similar questions. After that, I had another interview with the head of the department. By that time, it was 5:30 and I was really tired after a day of being on your best behaviour. They told me they'd get back to me within a day or two, but it's been 4 weeks and they never have. At this point in time it's obvious no offer will be forth-coming. I just wished they would have had the courtesy to call and say I didn't make it after I took a day off work and spent 8 hours trying to pass their many tests. A very disappointing experience.
Interview Questions
