Ideon Employee Spotlight

At Ideon, we’re proud to have such a talented, diverse team leading the charge for a better and more connected health insurance and employee benefits industry. Our ongoing Employee Spotlight series showcases the people behind our product and unveils what life is like at Ideon. Next up… Ali Sarkis, Director of Engineering.

Name: Ali Sarkis
Department: Engineering
Title: Director of Engineering
Location: NYC

Work

How long have you worked at Ideon?

Over five and a half years.

Tell us about your day-to-day at Ideon.

Every day is different, and my schedule pivots depending on team and company priorities. Still, usually, my day starts with a handful of team stand-ups discussing current work and blockers.

Then I spend the rest of my day pairing with team members on their work, writing my own code, researching new technologies that would benefit the engineering department, and joining team and client meetings throughout the day.

How have you grown professionally while on our team?

I started at Ideon as a Senior Engineer, and since then, I have worn so many hats. I was interested in management, so I took the manager’s path instead of the IC (individual contributor) track.

I went from team lead, to engineering manager, to senior engineering manager, to now director of engineering. I grew with the team and because of the team. I learned new skills and sharpened others, like learning Ruby on Rails (coming from a .Net background), building and growing an effective engineering team, being agile and adaptable while keeping the team motivated, engaged, and efficient. The list goes on and on, and I still learn something new daily.

What excites you about the future of Ideon?

When I started at Ideon the engineering team was a team of four. I have seen the team grow to over 23 now and I am looking forward to growing the team even more. I’m also excited about continuing to build the pipes connecting the health insurance and employee benefits industry. Our products are going to change the industry.

What do you like about Ideon’s company culture?

I joined Ideon because of the people and I have stayed for this long because of them too. I love the collaborative culture that we have cultivated. I enjoy working in a fast-paced environment where it is ok to make mistakes, knowing that other team members are always happy to jump in to help.

Life

Favorite activity when you’re not working?

I love to cook, all cuisines but especially Middle Eastern and Italian.

Favorite place you’ve traveled?

Rome, Italy and Beruit, Lebanon are my two favorite cities in the world.

Beirut because it is as close to home as I can get, with great food, fantastic nightlife, and a lot of history.

Rome because it reminds me of Damascus, Syria, and obviously for the great food, outstanding museums, and historical sites. Notice a theme yet?

Interesting fact about yourself… Go!

I travel for food and museums, so instead of lists of places to see and things to do, I have spreadsheets of restaurants I want to try and museums to visit.

Interested in joining our team? Check out Ideon’s careers page.