In the world of tech, where innovation is at the heart of progress, the fastest way to create that change is to bring together individuals with diverse and unique perspectives. At UKG, it’s our people—our U Krewers—who infuse our tech with creativity, passion, and innovation. From different backgrounds, cultures, and walks of life, these three software engineering professionals contribute not only to the development of cutting-edge solutions but also to the vibrant culture that defines UKG.
Prerna Arora, Associate Software Engineer (she/her)
What is your advice for women studying computer science?
Computer science can be a very daunting field, as many people grew up without access to coding classes before going to college. While classes and initiatives to encourage coding are becoming more commonplace, the field can still be challenging to break into. My biggest advice is to keep trying and believing in yourself. It is super easy to fall into the trap of thinking you are not smart enough, or realizing you have imposter syndrome, but it helps to think of how much you have accomplished already and to remind yourself that you are competent. Every day in computer science is a learning experience, no matter how long you’ve been in the industry; and with a positive outlook, I find that all my problems are solvable in time.
What have you already built and what’s next?
During my time at UKG, I have grown and learned a lot. Socially, I have been able to forge great connections with members of the team that have enriched my workday and made it a pleasure to come into the office. On the more technical side, I have been involved in exciting innovations and projects that have allowed me to expand my coding knowledge and become a better software engineer. In the future, I look forward to learning more about how to become a better engineer and building up my coding foundation.
What problems are you solving?
At UKG, the notion that “Our Purpose is People” is highlighted at every level in every team. In my team, we work on delivering features to UKG users that would make their lives easier. Whether that is helping them understand their paycheck better, making it easier for them to manage their money, or increasing the accessibility of the site, I feel proud to work on tasks that solve real-life problems for our customers and elevate their UKG experience.
What’s the hardest problem you recently solved successfully?
The hardest problem I solved recently is how to learn new things in terms of code. The fear of failure and not understanding can make an experience intimidating, but over time, I have become more comfortable asking for help, investing the time necessary, and going slowly to not become overwhelmed. Recently, I was involved in a project that was implementing APIs, which was an area that I had minimal knowledge of. However, by reaching out to those more experienced than myself, and putting in the work to learn, I now feel more confident working with API calls. Overall, computer science is an everchanging field that nurtures constant innovation. It is the duty of software developers to stay up to date on development to avoid becoming stagnant in their growth.
How has your perception of UKG changed since you joined?
When I initially joined UKG, I thought that since the company was so big, I would just be a cog in the machine, and would experience frequent burnout and stress. However, the working environment at UKG is very conducive to learning and employee growth. I have always felt valued in my team, and even when I interned here, I never felt like my questions and opinions didn’t matter. In terms of burnout, UKG prioritizes mental wellbeing initiatives, physical health, and having a good work-life balance, which has allowed me to succeed at my work without compromising my health, or the things I enjoy.
Jenna Parrillo, Associate Software Engineer (they/them)
What is your advice for someone studying computer science?
Don’t let anyone discourage you from going into this field! Work on your own projects outside of work or school to strengthen your skills. Make connections with others studying alongside you. It’s helpful to know people that are like you in a sea of people who aren’t.
What have you already built and what’s next?
I am one of many developers who have worked on the new UKG Pro mobile app. In the past year, we have done an incredible amount of work to get it to where it is today on the app stores. There are so many more improvements our teams will be making to it over the foreseeable future.
What problems are you solving?
I am part of an effort to improve the performance of the UKG Pro app. I am looking into what parts of the app login are slow, and how we could make it faster for our customers.
What’s the hardest problem you recently solved successfully?
When figuring out exactly how to identify problem areas with the performance of our app login, I had to learn how to use several new tools, as well as formulate a plan of my process beforehand.
How has your perception of UKG changed since you joined?
I’ve learned how welcoming everyone is here. Employees at UKG care for and always want to help one another. The communities I have connected with here advocate for me and the others around us. This is my first full-time engineering position, and the company’s culture has made this go smoothly.
Janiel Chloe Ferrer Caday, Associate Software Engineer (she/her)
What is your advice for women studying computer science?
Embrace your diversity. It leads to new ideas and perspectives that produce innovative solutions, which can in turn push the boundaries of what’s possible. One way you can do this is to join communities. There are lots of communities out there that help streamline opportunities for women whether it be scholarships, internships, employment opportunities, or simply finding other people who can relate to your experiences. Whether it be an international organization like Women in Technology or Girls Who Code, or even a club at your school, you don’t have anything to lose and everything to gain. UKG even has employee resource groups that are open for any U Krewer to join. We as humans are very community driven. My parents always told me that you are who you surround yourself with, and they were right! (Who would’ve guessed?) If it weren’t for the communities I joined to support and guide me, I don’t know where I’d be.
What have you already built and what’s next?
One of my favorite side projects that I’ve built is a full-stack task management app. It’s essentially like Jira or Trello, but instead of teams using it, it’s families. And instead of stories or tickets that are being handled, it’s chores. Parents can assign chores to their children, their child submits a photo of the finished chore or task, and the parent approves or denies it. Some other features it included was a point management system, account authorization, and a customizable UI. As someone who comes from a family of seven, it’s an app I felt that we always needed, and it was exciting to carry it out from start to finish.
As for what’s next, I’d like to keep learning and developing my skills as a developer. I have plans to start pursuing a master’s degree part-time within the next year. I’ve always loved learning, and it’s something I don’t ever intend to stop doing. I hope to still be taking classes on different subjects well into retirement. UKG embracing AI solutions makes me excited to see what other revolutionary ways we can implement AI in our products and I’m excited about the prospect of using my knowledge to contribute!
What problems are you solving?
When Ultimate Software and Kronos merged to form UKG, we needed a way to make both products work together. My team is responsible for synchronizing HCM data from Ultimate Software and workforce management data from Kronos regarding organization levels and building a map between the two. We fall under UKG’s Pro People Value Stream.
With respect to this exact moment in time, we’re working on implementing a new service that is intended to streamline our process of retrieving HCM data that we need for our product. This initiative is a step toward creating a more responsive and seamless user experience, ensuring that our product operates at peak efficiency for our users.
What’s the hardest problem you recently solved successfully?
In a recent project, I encountered an issue with some outdated tools we have that are used to build and manage our application. My actual change was relatively simple, but we ran into some issues where we had to update said tool versions. I then had to make some configurations to support the update since it caused some compatibility issues with some third-party libraries and plugins, as well as dependency conflicts. Attempts to build the project resulted in cryptic error messages that had both me and my mentor scratching our heads.
The process of finding the solution involved lots of documentation research and extensive testing. We adopted a step-by-step method, working with one module at a time and testing the application’s functionality to ensure no regressions. While it was the hardest problem I encountered, it was also the most enjoyable. It taught me how exactly those tools contributed to the application and enhanced my problem-solving skills—especially in dealing with the intricacies of building tool migrations in a codebase as large as anything I’ve ever worked on before.
How has your perception of UKG changed since you joined?
Since joining, my perception of UKG is increasingly positive. Upon first impressions alone, UKG’s company culture aligned well with my values. The emphasis on collaboration, support, and contribution to new technologies/products has fostered a very encouraging work environment for me. The level of mentorship and support provided by my team members is a testament to how genuinely invested U Krewers are to helping newcomers grow. In addition, the company’s dedication to diversity and inclusion expands beyond the motto. I’ve experienced an inclusive atmosphere where diverse talent is not only welcomed, but actively sought after. As someone who has been a long-time advocate for diversity, it’s something I appreciate because it not only makes us a more innovative and adaptable team, but it also creates an environment where every individual feels valued and has the opportunity to thrive.
Watch this video to learn more about the engineering discipline at UKG:
