5 Ways Tesco Does Tech Differently & What This Means for You

Part of a Transforming Tech with Tesco series.

With billions of transactions each year, Tesco is one of the biggest tech retailers in the UK, as well as globally. As Tesco continues to push the boundaries of what can be done with tech, data, and innovation, they're looking for more inquisitive and talented engineers to join their tech teams. We last heard from Vladimir Badiuc in the first of our Transforming Tech with Tesco Series, and we were in for a treat!

So, if you're wondering how you could join, and what types of projects you could be involved in then buckle up, as we get in-depth with Tesco's Payment Team. You may or may not encounter a robot. Interested? Keep reading to find out!

Who's on the payment team?

Having worked at Tesco for over 15 years, Kamal certainly knows a thing or two about how Tesco works especially as he's been working in Payments for the last four years and has seen it change from a monolithic mainframe system into enterprise services. Hanif, on the other hand, has been a Software Development Manager in the Tesco Payments team for just over two years and joined Tesco as he wanted more complexity in his work and an opportunity to really thrive and grow. Lastly, Tamás – who started at Tesco just three months ago – was swayed by the opportunity to get stuck into exciting work whilst developing his managerial skills.

As you can probably see, Tesco has a wide range of employees and their teams consist of developers from Hungary, the UK and India, amongst others. Now we know who's part of the team, let's get into their 5 ways Tesco does tech differently and what this could mean for you.

1. You could work with (and create!) robots

Kamal: I manage one of the critical systems in the Tills world along with some of the other teams. When we do Tesco Tools, as it's widely called, we're in Tesco's own software distributed services which have around 40 containers running in Intel, completely owned by Tesco and developed by Tesco engineers. One of the most critical parts of a user journey is the payment: card payments, gift card payments, anything electronic.

Whilst there's the software side, we also work on the hardware side of things like pin pads, club cards, and contactless. We're currently working on a Robot recon where the primary aim is to get all the tests we do manually to be automated by the robot. Having over 300 to 400 tests automated will reduce production time and improve efficiency. It's really cool.

2. You'll use the latest technologies and get great development opportunities

Tamás: Tesco is great at adopting and implementing the latest technologies. We get given true autonomy in deciding what to use to accomplish our goals and our development. It doesn't just stop there either, if you want to improve your skills you are given ample opportunity to train and develop so you can be a well-rounded developer.

Kamal: On top of the new technologies we also have a fantastic engineering approach to how we can use these technologies. I like that we're one of the only retail companies to be daring and do something different. As I mentioned earlier, we have 40-odd containers running in an Intel (around 16gbs of memory), which has its own challenges but we've made it work.

3. Through interesting projects you'll stretch the limits of what engineers can do

Hanif: We have an added element of real-time customers doing essential shopping all day every day and not just from the UK, but the Republic of Ireland and Central Europe as well. This means we have an additional sense of responsibility to make sure that our payments aren't disrupted in any way and that feeds into a lot of the engineering practices. It's something that's unique to a business like Tesco.

Kamal: What's great about the Payments team is that the work we do is really critical. It can seem daunting that one small mistake or one change can make such a big difference but it also stretches us as engineers. It's great that Tesco still fosters a safe environment to grow and challenges us.

4. Tesco helps you develop your tech skills, but also your softer skills

Hanif: When I joined, the first thing I noticed was that we had a really strong engineering team so I've had to up my game a little bit in response to that, but I've enjoyed this. I've also enjoyed how inclusive the people at Tesco are. Tesco always wants to bring people's opinions and voices into the room in conversations. I also try and play my role in that. What's changed me the most is just working in such as a strong team, it really forces you to open up your mind of what's possible.

Tamás: As this is my first managerial position I've been soaking it all in. I feel lucky to work in such a multi-regional team with different kinds of developers and customs. Developing as a manager has been a process so far but it's also been a good journey so I'd definitely recommend joining us.

Kamal:  The others have said it best but communication and collaboration is very key!

5. You get to collaborate with a global team

Tamás: For my team, we take into account the different time zones. Having colleagues in India, Hungary and the UK doesn't seem like it would work but it does. I like how Tesco always takes into account each of the developer's thoughts and brings together different minds so we can have better improvements and implementations.

Kamal: Even prior to Covid-19, Tesco had a global and sometimes remote workforce. I was handling the teams in Budapest just before Tamás and Hanif joined so by the time lockdown kicked in, we were already used to virtual whiteboarding or brainstorming. Even now my product manager is in Budapest and my CPMs are in the UK and the team is in India. We make use of collaboration tools which makes it easier too.

And that's it!

5 very incredible ways that Tesco does technology differently. Our insight into the Payments team has been over too quickly we know, but we'll be back with another part of the Transforming Tech with Tesco Series soon. If you're interested in a role with Tesco, then head on over to our platform where you can be matched with them in as little as 3 weeks. It takes just 5 minutes to sign up.