Tihomira Slavova

Melon hires people who fit the culture, not just to fill a position.

Tihomira joined Melon’s Sofia Office in 2012 as a Junior iOS developer. Her passion for software development manifested from an early age when she and her sister fell in love with their family computer. Her developer’s journey began in high school when she started using the programming language Pascal. This aided her decision to pursue a higher education in Computer Science. She graduated with a Bachelor’s degree from the Sofia University’s Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics. During her Master’s program at the university, she saw an ad of an iOS Development Academy. Meanwhile, a fellow student was working at Melon at the time and recommended the company. “I sent my resume and applied for the program. I ended up studying both at the University and the Academy, as well as working full time at Melon. It was a bit challenging but also a fulfilling and useful experience.”

Tihomira says that she along with the company changed a lot since 2012. Melon was her first job: “I didn’t know anything about software engineering, relationships with clients or mentorship,” she remembers. She is now a Senior iOS Developer and mentors most of the interns and newcomers at the iOS department. “The company has evolved with time. We now have a more precise way to train new hires and a better organizational structure. But one thing is consistent – the team!”

Tihomira believes that the way you do your job depends on what type of person you are and what kind of environment you are in. She says that it is easy to stay motivated when you are surrounded with ambitious and inspiring people who are open to teaching you and learning from you. In her team, everyone is focused on different projects, which helps them exchange knowledge, support each other and overcome every obstacle together. “But you should be eager to learn. I once solved a complex task because of something one of our interns told me,” she adds.

During her 10 years at Melon, Tihomira worked on quite a few interesting projects. One of her favorites is an Apple Watch app that was built with SwiftUI at a time when the technology was pretty new and not a lot of information was available. “We didn’t have any knowledge about this technology nor anyone to ask for help. It was very challenging but the most gratifying so far,” she says. Despite the various software projects Tihomira worked on, she is most proud of are the young developers she has mentored throughout the years.

Tihomira loves challenges and really enjoys the work dynamics and the variety of tasks at Melon. The most satisfying part of the job for her is the whole process of building a project and she feels especially appeased when she comes up with an elegant solution to a problem. She is truly fond of the nice communication she has with her teammates. But of course, there is no rainbow without a little rain. Tihomira had and still faces challenges from time to time. The hardest bit of the job is the business talks, she says: “It's challenging to always be mindful of how you speak to non-technical people, and to come up with a solution that will satisfy everyone.”

Tihomira appreciates the opportunities she has had so far. Melon has supported her professional development with soft skills trainings and various conferences. She believes that the management monitors her progress and continues to open opportunities for further development. They are willing to support her with whatever they can.

„Melon taught me to be patient, but not just because of the interns I train. I have learned many different perspectives - especially when teaching different people, as well as communicating with others. My teammates have diverse personalities and interests, and I learn a lot of fascinating things from them.”

Tihomira believes that the thing that sets Melon’s culture apart form other companies are the people. She says: "Melon hires people who fit the culture, not just to fill a position." Some of her friends are even surprised at how positively she speaks about her colleagues. 

We asked Tihomira what advice she will give to someone considering joining the team and she replied: “If you are inquisitive and conscientious, you will find a spot.”

When she is not busy conquering new challenges at work, Tihomira enjoys diving into a good romance or fantasy novel, watching videos on YouTube, going out with her friends, and traveling. A fun fact that she shares is that she actually met her fellow travelling pals in a romance book discussion forum.