From engineer to Director
In under four years, Aoife went from individual contributor to Director of Engineering, in a department that grew from a few small teams to thirteen.
Individual Contributor
Joined to focus on coding and solving meaningful problems.
Interim Manager
Encouraged to step into an interim management role.
Director of Engineering
Progressed from manager to senior manager to Director.
Choosing to build
I joined Phorest in April 2021, ready for a fresh challenge. After several years in leadership roles, the intensity of the COVID period prompted me to pause and think about what I actually enjoyed most about my work. The answer was pretty clear: building great software.
I made the deliberate decision to step away from people leadership and return to an individual contributor role, focusing on coding and solving meaningful problems.
Phorest had been on my radar for a while. I had been following Phorest CTO, John Doran, on social media and was drawn to what he shared about the company’s culture, values and approach to engineering. The tech stack and development practices stood out to me straight away, but just as importantly, Phorest felt like a place that genuinely cared about doing things the right way.
The best onboarding ever
From day one, I would describe my experience at Phorest as amazing. I was struck by how collaborative the environment was and how deeply customer-focused the company is.
The onboarding experience particularly stood out. Even now, I regularly hear new hires describe it as “the best onboarding ever”. For me, what makes it so different is the emphasis Phorest places on understanding the customer and the industry. From an engineering perspective, having that context makes the work more meaningful and helps teams build better products.
Growing my own timber
Although I originally joined as an individual contributor, it didn’t take long for my path to change. After just four months, I was encouraged to step into an interim management role. Since then, I haven’t looked back.
In under four years, I progressed from manager to senior manager to Director of Engineering, a journey that really reflects one of our core principles: “Grow your own timber.”
My story is a great example of how growth can happen at Phorest. I would describe an environment full of stretch opportunities, where people are trusted with real responsibility and given the autonomy to do their jobs well. I felt supported through every step of the challenge.
Open to doing things differently
During my time at Phorest, the engineering department has grown significantly, from three teams to thirteen, and has gone through a major reorganisation. Through all that change, what stands out to me most is the company’s openness to doing things differently.
Phorest isn’t rigid or stuck in old ways of working. There’s a willingness to try new approaches, improve the way we work and evolve as the company grows. You won’t hear “That’s not how we do things around here.”
Culture in three words
We asked Aoife to describe the culture at Phorest in three words. She said:
Helpful and collaborative: no matter what team you’re on, people are willing to jump in, support each other and do what it takes to succeed.
Exciting: engineers stay close to customers, often hearing feedback directly and seeing the real-world impact of their work quickly. That connection makes the work motivating and rewarding.
Challenging (in a good way!): there’s always something new to learn, new problems to solve and opportunities to stretch beyond your comfort zone.
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You won’t hear ‘That’s not how we do things around here.’
Ultimately, what has kept me at Phorest is the people. I find that colleagues approach each other with positive intent, are genuinely supportive and are driven by a shared motivation to build something great - an energy I find contagious.
Aoife Hannigan
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