What It's Like to Work at Vivid Seats

What first attracted you to your employer? When did you know it was the right place for you and your career?

Vivid Seats was on my radar early on after experiencing the office and culture during a Chicago Java Users Group meeting. After applying and going through the interview process, everyone was very genuine, open and honest. No trick engineering questions, just good discussions about engineering and design practices and questions which allowed me to put my experience on display. 

I knew it was the right place for my career after the first two weeks when the job role and responsibilities were exactly as advertised, the tech stack matched my expectations and the software engineering process was modern and organized so I knew my experience would be put to good use. I knew Vivid Seats was the right place for me personally when I realized that everyone I talked to loved sports or music (or both!) just like me. It’s great to not only be able to work for a company whose product I enjoy using, but to have my fellow employees just as deeply invested in what we do.

Share one exciting challenge or project you are working on right now. What impact will this have on the business?

I am helping my team and others move scheduled jobs to the Argo workflow engine for Kubernetes. In the past we’ve had a mix of applications run by cron tasks on a batch box and tasks triggered by Spring Scheduling. Neither of those approaches provides much visibility into running tasks or task history. Spring scheduled tasks have the added complication of management across multiple instances and requiring the application container to be always up. 

We considered moving to Spring Cloud Dataflow for my team’s use case, but after discussions with our platform team, we decided that using Argo would provide more opportunities across the engineering org to make use of the infrastructure without having to be constrained by a Java-centric approach. My team — paid search automation — now has a number of different jobs that run at various times throughout the day, and there are over 100 total jobs across all of engineering. 

It has been both fun and impactful to help the platform team find edge cases and work collaboratively with other engineers to streamline the process of getting new jobs ready for Argo that meet everyone’s needs regardless of the kind of application they need to run.

If your company culture was a car, what would it be, and why?

I’d say our culture is a Jeep Wrangler: rugged but adaptable and ready for adventure. We value being able to explore new places easily and take on tough challenges regardless of terrain. We don’t let bumps in the road slow us down, especially when moving into unknown territory. 

Also, like Jeep owners, we’re not just a bunch of coworkers, but a community with a shared passion for the space we’re working in. We also support our fan communities with Make-A-Wish, On Site Support for fans picking up tickets for big festivals and special seating in our sports team partner stadiums. Finally, we’re environmentally conscious with compostable dishware, cups, and utensils throughout our offices. 

Our engineering work reflects this culture, as we are working hard to build a reliable yet customizable infrastructure, ready to be stress-tested by the other parts of the organization and their need to remain nimble.

Describe your experience as a woman in engineering. What are some of the challenges you’ve faced, and how have you overcome them?

I’ve been really fortunate throughout my career to have had managers who have looked out for me and made space for me, and to have other women in both technical and non-technical roles in my corner who I have leaned on for advice, support and encouragement. That said, there have been many times where I have looked around a room and realized that I am one of few women or the only woman present. This can be isolating and can certainly amplify feelings of imposter syndrome, which is perfectly normal to experience, by the way! 

I’ve found it helpful to keep a folder of positive feedback I receive so that I can reflect on past wins and jobs well done when imposter syndrome creeps up. I also like to keep track of accomplishments of all sizes at work, whether it’s solving a small but tricky bug or leading a team through a complex project. It can be so helpful to remind myself of what I’ve accomplished. Lastly, I find a mentor at work or otherwise who can help be a sounding board and reframe moments of growth!

What are your professional goals, and how has Vivid Seats enabled you to pursue them? What career growth resources/opportunities are available?

Right now, I’m continually focused on sharpening my strategic architecture decision-making skills and leading project teams more effectively. For the long term, I aspire to be in a leadership position. I’m energized by working collaboratively and I’m excited to lean more heavily into that as my career progresses. I’m inspired by other women I see in engineering leadership positions, and I’m looking forward to being a mentor to other women engineers early in their career. 

Vivid Seats offers a lot of different opportunities to hone those skills. I am currently going through the Clifton StrengthsFinder program, where it’s been so insightful to learn more about how to leverage my strengths and about my teammates’ strengths and working styles. On the technical side, engineering at Vivid Seats has a culture of team-wide ownership. If you have an idea for a process improvement or technical enhancement, you will have the support and space to take ownership, experiment and make those changes. We also have a variety of forums to discuss new technologies and best practices, such as our React Guild and our AI Meetup, so there are always opportunities to learn and brainstorm with others.

What advice do you have for women in engineering or other technical roles regarding how to identify a company and team that will support their growth and development?

Before interviewing, review the company values and benefits. Do they align with an environment where growth and development are a priority? If you are a parent or caregiver, are there company policies in plan to support you? If you are in the interview stage, don’t be afraid to ask your interviewers for examples of times where they have supported a teammate or direct report in the career, or for a time that they have received that support. Additionally, interviews should be similar to what collaborating day to day will be like. Would your interviewers be people who you could see yourself working alongside to further your career? Choosing the right team is about more than the role itself; it’s about finding a place where you’re encouraged to bring your whole self, where your voice is valued and where your growth is not just supported but celebrated.