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Consulting Life

Because you asked

One of the best, and hardest, questions candidates ask our recruiters is: 

‘What will I actually be doing at ThoughtWorks?’


While we have roles and job descriptions, the conversation doesn’t begin and end there. Being consultants, we (annoyingly) like to answer questions with questions. 


We start with ‘What would you like to be doing?’ 


If you’re looking for strictly defined roles with linear paths of progression, this might make you a bit uncomfortable (we think that’s a good thing.) Your path here is mostly self directed, with support and guidance. So, for example, if you want to try your hand in a specific industry, you can. We’d advise you to do some reading, shadow someone on a current project, and let us know about your plan. We’ll do our best to find a project to grow you in the right direction. 


If you want experience working in a different tech stack, or if you want to shift gears completely,

the same applies. It starts with you, some investigation and learning, and goes from there. 

The variety you're looking for

Our consultants work across different industries and on programs of work which last between a few weeks (a product discovery, for instance) to a few years (a full-scale digital replatforming of a traditional business model).


“We have our fingerprints on the transformation of entire industries,

that is something pretty special.” 


Sagar Paul, Head of Demand, India


We are unusually careful about the work that we seek out and take on. We look for technically interesting and business-critical work, because that’s what keeps our people at the cutting edge, and loving what they do.

Unique team structures

Each region works slightly differently, but for every client project we put together a cross-functional team with people covering project and product management, analysis, data, and great engineering practices. The exact make up of a team depends on the project and outcomes we're working toward. We work directly with the client, with lots of face time both on-site and virtually.


Most of the time, you’ll work with a different group of people on each new assignment. Each team intentionally has a mix of experience and levels, including tenured ThoughtWorkers. They’re on hand to help you figure things out, be your partners and give feedback to help you grow. 


Depending on where you are in the world, and which client you’re working with, you may be working in their space, in one of our offices, or some combination of the two. In some regions, travel to client sites Monday to Thursday is a fact of consultant life. You’ll all be there together, so you’ll have lots of time to socialize and get to know your team. 


“Daily, my mind is blown by the conversations I have with people of different backgrounds, that make me aware of my privilege and a more empathetic person.”

Jorge Moreas, Brasil


How we work

Contrary to popular belief there isn’t a prescribed ’ThoughtWorks’ way of doing things. We don’t follow a rigid set of practices. We use the right tech for the job, without bias. We flex the way we work to fit the client’s challenge and culture; but we hold true to our values and to doing the right thing. Some fundamentals, like agile software development, inclusivity, treating each other with respect, open communication, pairing, transparency, and collaboration are things we hold dear. If something’s not working, everyone on the team has the right to speak up and be heard.


“I love that my job is to rock the boat.“

Steven Mitchell, Consultant Dev, San Francisco

Let us show you

The best way to get a sense of life at ThoughtWorks is through our work with enterprises, non-profits, and startups. 


This is Live Below the Line, who fundraise for extreme poverty in Australia. We helped them custom build a platform to connect with donors. 



Check out:

Sonic

Sonic, a 65-year-old restaurant chain in the U.S.; we helped them ‘rocket into the future’ while keeping the essence of their 1950s-style carhop service. 

Lastminute.com

Lastminute.com needed to build innovation and speed into their development model to keep up with the start ups.

Delta

Delta, the world’s largest airline, needed us to help them improve their reliability and mobile app. 

Explore more client stories to see the kinds of work you could do.

How do client engagements map onto someone’s real life experience? 


“My role involves coding, but also leading the tech team; owning the tech solution (making sure it’s appropriate for the situation and its technical strength) and taking some responsibility for the personal development of the team. So lots of communicating and influencing. I try and plan ‘core coding hours’ into every day to make sure I’m close to the solution and keep my thinking grounded in the code. And I always pair...” 

Robin Doherty, Tech Lead

Read more about Robin’s role and what he thinks about being a tech lead. 

In Part 2, Minna Yao shares her tech lead adventures here

Have a voice and use it

When you think about working here, think beyond the projects that you’ll be assigned to. There are also lots of opportunities around tech talks, hackathons, and events like XConf EU and XConf NA, TW Live, and ParadigmShift where ThoughtWorkers share ideas with other techies, our clients, and global leaders. Our people also tend to speak at industry conferences like Grace Hopper, Collision Conf, Elevate, and SXSW. You bring the thinking, we’ll give you the platform.  


Joining ThoughtWorks is being part of an organization that’s driving excellence in tech and positive social change. All that starts with individuals, a personal journey of broadening your awareness, and seeing others’ perspectives. As technologists, we believe we need to consider society a stakeholder and think about the unintended consequences of our efforts. 

Wherever you are in your journey, everyone has a voice, and is invited to the conversation.

“Work is not really work when a typical day includes conversations about scripting, cloud, infrastructure design, Kafka (the streaming app) and Kafka (the author) …” 

Inny So, Australia

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