The Humans of smrtPhone

This month’s featured “smrtie” is responsible for many parts of the smrtPhone products that you see and interact with, front end developer Andreea Stanga.

Name

Andreea Stanga aka “Andy” 

Title / Role in the Company

I’m on the development team as a front end developer. That means I work on the part of the product that our users see, what appears on the pages.  I work with javascript, html, css. I help with the styling, layout, wording, buttons… everything that a smrtPhone subscriber interacts with. 

How long have you worked for smrtPhone?

I’ve been working on the smrtPhone products for 8 months. But, like many people from our team, I was working in our sister company Swift before, so I’ve been a part of the larger team for a while. There, I was focused more on back end SMS, emails, charts, database queues and other stuff. 

What’s your background? 

My goal has always been to be an engineer in programming. I love getting involved with all of the things and having the senior developers teach me more so I can learn as much as I can.

I went to a technical high school for programming. Then in college, I majored in Computer Science.  

At first, I wanted to be a pilot. To get into the pilot academy, I needed a lot of math. I started studying it and I got really into math. But the further I got into aviation, I decided I didn’t like it and I changed course into programming. 

What was your first job? 

I worked as an event hostess at business marketing events and conferences. I showed people around, answered questions, told them where to go for their meetings, and helped out at product demonstrations. I was pretty young, though, like 15 years old. 

What do you like about working for smrtPhone? 

I like the company’s energy the most. It’s empowering. It’s trusting. I like working with the Dev team so much. They are all great, motivating me, coaching me, mentoring me. I couldn’t do it without Vlad and Liviu. 

Describe smrtPhone in 3 words: 

Family. 

Motivating. 

Growth. 

Is there a particular moment/project at smrtPhone that stands out and makes you feel proud?  

I built a part of the new smrtLeads product that is coming out soon. It was a big project, and when I saw it finished I thought, “Wow, I made that.” 

But there isn’t just one project or feature, it’s the overall experience of being a part of something totally new. To build something from the ground up – from the idea to the design to the build to the finalizing. It’s amazing. 

What do you like to do in your free time? 

I love to do so many things, it’s hard to list! I read. I spend time in nature. I go skiing. I play piano. I paint. I love archery. I have a lot of passions. Everything that is associated with nature, I especially love. I couldn’t live without my forest. 

Name something that is on your “bucket list”

I want to see the world. I want to travel more. I want to go to Egypt most of all. The culture is so interesting. I love the symbolism, the mythology. 

What is a fun fact people might not know about you? 

Even though I didn’t pursue a career in aviation, I still became a glider pilot. I’ve done over 300 flights. 

What might surprise people the most is that while I can be serious about my work, I’m really crazy in real life. I am super active. In summer, with my friends, we go to the beach and party all night. I might come across as quiet, but I love adventure!