Hello, my name is Andrzej Śliwa, and I am the Vice President of Engineering at Zencargo. 

I’ve been a software engineer for over 21 years now, and spent time serving in the Army before that. Eventually, I joined Zencargo early in its development over three years ago. 

I started programming when software was stored on 5’25 floppies. My first machine that I programmed on was a Commodore C64 (and sometimes still do!), and my hobby later became my profession.

Over the years I have mastered many different programming languages and platforms like: Java, .NET, Python, Ruby, Golang, Clojure or Erlang/Elixir. This was challenging due to differences between different philosophies behind each of them. This gives me a unique view on software engineering and helped me be an effective Chief Technical Officer (CTO) in the past and in my current role as VP of Engineering.

Personally speaking, I am a happy husband of 17 years to a wonderful woman with whom I’ve recently started taking dancing lessons. We have two dogs and a few other small animals. When I’m not solving supply chain problems at work or learning to dance with my wife, I’m at the gym or shooting range (sport shooting). 

Working With Zencargo

When I first joined Zencargo, there were only ten or eleven people working there. It was brand new, but I automatically knew it was the place for me just based on the people and culture.

I had had a long working relationship with the CTO at the time. We’d worked together in different startups throughout the growth of my career. 

Due to my experience with him, I knew how important culture and values were to him. It was immediately evident at Zencargo, and I knew those values wouldn’t change under different leadership. When he offered me the chance to join, it was an easy yes. 

As soon as I was brought on, we were all very hands-on in developing the systems and best practices we continue to use today. While training software engineers and developing the architectures we use, my role within the organisation grew. 

Now, we have over 260 people from all over the world working with us, and we’re growing more every week. 

Maintaining Culture Through Growth

No matter how much we continue to grow, culture will always be a priority. 

Both the former CTO and current CTO want to see people grow and thrive within and outside the company. We always encourage new learning, and we strive to ensure everybody is in an environment where they can grow and do their best. 

If somebody feels stifled or discovers something they’re even more eager to work on, we’re flexible in allowing roles to shift to accommodate that. 

Everybody here has a passion for what they do and for our company’s mission to create a better working supply chain. Top to bottom, we are all dedicated to finding elegant solutions to the complex problems facing the shipping industry.  

That’s why culture is so vital; it ensures we’re all happily doing our best. 

Software Engineers Welcome

Working with any startup is exciting, but what we’re doing at Zencargo is incredibly unique. 

First of all, the supply chain and shipping industry has been a mess for decades. Buyers never know where their products are, shipping estimates are barely more than a best guess, and prices and waste within the industry continue to rise. 

We’re using technology that has been around for years in new ways to streamline and solve these issues. 

Having the chance to adapt architectures, like Event Driven, or apply Domain Driven Design in practice, to our needs is a challenging and fascinating process, no matter how long you’ve been an engineer. 

Additionally, you’ll be working in an environment that encourages and supports learning and honing both your professional and soft skills. And you’ll be helping to solve a global crisis at the same time. 

We use various technologies in our stack including Kubernetes, Kafka, Java, Kotlin, Spring, TypeScript & React.

We are constantly expanding and building more teams, so if you’re interested, look here to see the opportunities currently available.