Leading with Innovation: Donald Lika's Journey as Engineering Team Lead at SmartRecruiters
In this interview, Donald Lika, Engineering Team Lead, shares how his team balances innovation, teamwork, and customer impact to create seamless candidate experiences.
Your role & team
Q: Can you describe your current role at SmartRecruiters and the team you work with?
In 2022, I joined SmartRecruiters as a Senior Software Engineer on the Apply Experience team, and now I serve as the Engineering Team Lead. I lead a team of four engineers focused on delivering a seamless and scalable candidate application experience across multiple platforms, primarily through public APIs. We also focus on maintaining and improving the screening question process to further enhance the overall candidate experience.
Q: What do you enjoy most about your role? Can you share three key aspects and why they stand out?
Here are some of the key aspects that make my role enjoyable:
- Shaping the Team’s Strategic Impact: One of the most rewarding aspects of being an Engineering Team Lead is ensuring the team’s work aligns with the company’s broader goals. I enjoy guiding the team to work on projects that not only enhance our product, but also have a long-term, strategic impact on the company’s success.
- Collaborative Problem-Solving: I actively work with engineers to brainstorm and challenge each other technically, always striving for the best possible solutions. Our team culture emphasizes transparency, open communication, and shared responsibility. Whether brainstorming potential solutions or executing plans, we do it together, celebrating wins and learning from setbacks.
- Enhancing Customer Experiences: Leading a team that directly influences customer outcomes is incredibly fulfilling. Working closely with engineers to improve features that make the candidate application process smoother and more efficient, and hearing customer feedback, really reinforces the impact of our work.
Life at SmartRecruiters
Q: What do you appreciate most about working at SmartRecruiters?
- People: What really caught my attention during my interview at SmartRecruiters was the genuine openness and the emphasis on people and culture. After nearly three years here, I can say that everyone genuinely values and respects each other's opinions and perspectives. This culture of listening and collaboration is at the heart of what makes SmartRecruiters successful.
- Remote first company: SmartRecruiters’ flexible work environment is something I truly value. I work remotely from Hamburg, and when I visit my hometown, I can continue working without any issues, which gives me the perfect balance between work and personal life.
Innovation and Project Impact
Q: Can you share a project you've worked on that made a significant impact on our products or services?
- New candidate portal: One of my key projects was leading the backend effort to replace the Old Smartr portal with a simpler candidate portal. We aimed to streamline the process by enabling easy email login without a full profile and adding one-time password (OTP) authentication. This redesign has significantly reduced maintenance costs and enhanced the user experience, with the project already showing notable benefits in production.
- Introducing Conditional Screening Questions: One project that stands out is the introduction of Conditional Screening Questions, driven by customer feedback, to simplify the screening process. We faced architectural and product challenges while aiming for an intuitive interface. It was crucial that our public API consumers could adopt the feature at their own pace without disrupting their workflows. Ultimately, we delivered a solution that enhanced usability and allowed customers to customize their screening processes, making a significant impact on their hiring workflows.
Tips for future candidates
Q: What advice would you give to someone considering joining your team?
- Stay curious. Curiosity drives innovation, and asking questions or exploring new ideas will help you find better solutions to complex problems.
- Challenge assumptions and always seek answers. Don’t be afraid to question the status quo or pursue a deeper understanding; this mindset fosters growth and continuous improvement.
- Be customer-centric. Always keep the customer in mind and think about how your work impacts their experience, as solving their problems is at the heart of everything we do.
Finding joy in solving customer problems and putting yourself in their shoes are two critical aspects of being a successful product engineer. Our team thrives on discovering innovative projects, conducting behavior analysis, and always considering how to make life easier for our users.
Receive articles like this
Receive articles like this
Jobs you might be interested in
Salary
Location
Poland
Location
Germany
Department
Sales
Description
You will:Candidates must be fluent in either written and verbal German or French.Possess exceptional knowledge of enterprise CRM or ATS systems and the SAAS ecosystem, display outstanding presentati
Reference
b4808a15-7e28-44ed-8f2c-1582fcfcb3a5
Expiry Date
01/01/0001
Salary
Location
Germany
Location
Germany
Department
Sales
Description
SmartRecruiters is seeking a driven and experienced Partner Development Manager to join our high-growth team. As a Partner Development Manager, you will be responsible for building and nurturing stron
Reference
fb501377-6277-4c0a-b89d-b9bdf5743e97
Expiry Date
01/01/0001
Salary
Location
Poland
Location
Poland
Department
Sales
Description
As a Solutions Architect focused on the SmartRecruiters Talent Acquisition Suite, you will have the opportunity to help shape and deliver on a strategy to build mind share and broad use of all core mo
Reference
9bf9eea3-4b05-4825-b332-ac558352e953
Expiry Date
01/01/0001
Salary
Location
United States
Location
USA
Department
Sales
Description
As an Enterprise Account Executive, your core objective is new logo acquisition by taking on a solutions approach to the pursuit of enterprise deals across multiple verticals.What you’ll deliver:Activ
Reference
92a7a8be-8794-4f8d-9aa1-73146cccdc8a
Expiry Date
01/01/0001
Salary
Location
United States
Location
USA
Department
Sales
Description
We are currently looking for expressions of interest to join our growing Business Develoment team. In this role, you will work with up to three Account Executives to create potential business opportun
Reference
6c76fef2-ee8d-4dbf-b3af-842cab47122b
Expiry Date
01/01/0001
Salary
Location
Australia
Location
Australia
Department
Sales
Description
As a Solutions Architect focused on the SmartRecruiters Talent Acquisition Suite, you will have the opportunity to help shape and deliver on a strategy to build mind share and broad use of all core mo
Reference
09cceaee-0b0f-49ef-b0f7-569a464efcf3
Expiry Date
01/01/0001
Salary
Location
Poland
Location
United Kingdom
Department
Product
Description
We are looking for an outstanding Senior Product Manager to join our team and help drive the evolution within our product suite. You'll be part of the group responsible for building exciting conversat
Reference
39180a6c-d65f-470f-92cb-d191e583bb47
Expiry Date
01/01/0001
Salary
Location
Poland
Location
Poland
Department
Product
Description
We are looking for an outstanding Senior Product Manager to join our team and help drive the evolution within our product suite. You'll be part of the group responsible for building exciting conversat
Reference
6992e35d-e379-4f6b-94c7-a12f4b6e807b
Expiry Date
01/01/0001
Salary
Location
United Kingdom
Location
United Kingdom
Department
Sales
Description
As an Enterprise Account Executive, your core objective is new logo acquisition by taking on a solutions approach to the pursuit of enterprise deals across multiple verticals.What you’ll deliver:Activ
Reference
3766a3ad-a394-40c5-b01a-3a8ed1163c9a
Expiry Date
01/01/0001
Working at SmartRecruiters

Teaser
Day in the LifeContent Type
BlogPublish date
03/24/2025
Summary
At SmartRecruiters, our People Partners are integral to building a thriving and dynamic workplace. In this interview, we chat with Yann Kremer, one of our People Partners about his role, the variety o

Teaser
Our PeopleContent Type
BlogPublish date
03/07/2025
Summary
To celebrate International Women’s Day our colleagues share how they feel being a woman at SmartRecruiters.

Teaser
Day in the LifeContent Type
BlogPublish date
02/18/2025
Summary
Explore the vibrant world of SmartRecruiters, where innovation meets passion. Our Sales & Pre-sales talents Dennis Boecker (RVP, DACH), Emi Candan (Principal Solutions Architect) and Shery Ghahraman (

Teaser
Day in the LifeContent Type
BlogPublish date
01/27/2025
Summary
At SmartRecruiters, design is more than just aesthetics. It’s about collaboration, empowerment, and creating impactful user experiences. Adrian Dąbrowski, a Senior Product Designer, shares his journey

Teaser
Day in the LifeContent Type
BlogPublish date
12/04/2024
Summary
Ewa brings a unique perspective to her role as Continuous Improvement Manager, blending a deep respect for structure with a passion for fostering collaboration and innovation. In this interview, she s

Teaser
Day in the LifeContent Type
BlogPublish date
08/20/2024
Summary
Explore the dynamic role of Sara Osama, a Senior Product Designer at SmartRecruiters, where every day brings new challenges, opportunities for creativity, and the chance to make a significant impact o

Teaser
Day in the LifeContent Type
BlogPublish date
08/02/2024
Summary
Meet Jaideep Singh, a Senior Software Engineer II at SmartRecruiters, in this feature of our 'A Day in the Life' series. We explore the nuances of his role, what makes working at SmartRecruiters uniqu

Teaser
Day in the LifeContent Type
BlogPublish date
07/31/2024
Summary
Meet Ty Fairclough, a UX/Product designer whose creative vision and passion for improving the candidate experience are shaping the future of hiring at SmartRecruiters. From his base in Essex, Ty
.png)
Teaser
Day in the LifeContent Type
BlogPublish date
07/02/2024
Summary
Uncover the details of SmartRecruiters' "work from anywhere" policy through the eyes of Karin Philippczyk, our Customer Marketing Program Manager. With over two years at the company, Karin shares her
.png)
Teaser
Day in the LifeContent Type
BlogPublish date
06/19/2024
Summary
Joining SmartRecruiters in 2021, Marcin Słowiak has advanced to the role of Senior Software Engineer II. His dedication to enhancing the candidate application experience ensures a seamless proces
SmartRecruiters is hiring!
Start your searchJobs you have shown an interest in