Building means fun to Principal Software Engineer, Nicole 🎉
Whether that involves creating better buying experiences for customers or developing more imaginative ways for colleagues to connect, she’s never afraid to start from the ground up.
“As an engineer, I really hoped that the LEGO Group would be open to experimenting. That’s what the products are all about, right? Exploring. Having fun. Being playful. Five years after joining, they’ve not let me down yet. It’s one of the things that I love about working here. I’ve been able to mould my roles to what they need to be so I can fulfil their objectives effectively. The freedom I’ve had to figure things out has been really liberating.”
Nicole’s passion for what she does is infectious. This is reflected in the investment she has made, be that in progressing her career or creating opportunities for colleagues to come together with imagination and creativity.
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“I started as a senior infrastructure engineer. This involved looking after our e-commerce site. Making sure that it could scale to handle traffic and that everyone internally knew how everything should come together. One of my stand-out achievements was making sure that LEGO.com could withstand the onslaught of Black Friday without going down.”
“From here, I became a people manager. This meant that I was not only in charge of the people who were building the site but also building the culture for them to be able to progress and express themselves.”
Her commitment beyond her immediate role is something she’s also keen to highlight. It’s something she finds fulfilling and is a great example of our collaborative culture.
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“I like to build the culture that I want to come to work in. This inspired me to start a couple of clubs. Some people joke it’s my way of getting the LEGO Group to pay for my hobbies - and that’s a definite upside. But it’s only one of them. They’re both mindfulness-focused. My crafting club includes people who knit and crochet. These are very meditative and allow you to process anything going on in your life. The other is a climbing club, so this involves a different kind of thinking that clears your mind and forces you to be present. I try to teach that to people who come to our workshops.”
“I guess both are great examples of play too. For me, it’s important to be present; to create things for people to explore and satisfy their curious minds. Having a blank canvas and a free mind to focus purely on solving one problem is good for us. It’s how we achieve better outcomes.”
In terms of her own career path, Nicole has an interesting philosophy. The fact that she’s been able to realise it here is proof that our people have endless paths to explore.
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“I tend not to focus on the future as it exists now. Every role I've taken, and every area I've worked in, did not exist when I started at the company. When I went to university, the degree that I eventually did hadn’t existed when I started out in education.”
“My advice to people would be don’t look at your future based on the present. Be present. Yes, absolutely. But focus on what you find energising in the here and now. When you do this, you’re more engaged and become more expert at something. Who knows what you could do with that something or where you could take it. Or, for that matter, where it could take you.”
For someone so obviously enthused by our products, it’s perhaps surprising they didn’t feature much in Nicole’s childhood:
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“It’s only now that I’ve realised how much actually goes into the building experience of our sets. I’m really amazed by it. There are so many hidden features that are so cool. My engineering background tends to mean I really love the ones with moving parts. And I suppose that’s ultimately the key to everything we do. Appealing to a need or a love of doing something. Finding the thing that adds joy.”
“The experience is everything. But we experience things in different ways and find pleasure in them for different reasons. The trick is creating ones that connect with curious minds and spark their imagination. This is our purpose. That’s why working here is so endlessly fascinating.”
Just imagine your LEGO® career.