Life at Ada: Evgeniia Balyasina

Life at Ada means making the world a little healthier every day, and leaving the world a little better than you found it. We’d like you to meet some of our colleagues and learn how they’re improving health outcomes around the globe. And while you're here, check opportunities to join Ada. ✨

Evgeniia Balyasina, our Director of Technology Operations, shares how she helps engineers develop product features faster and why she doesn’t believe in finish lines.

My team and I are improving software development processes at Ada. For example, we try to automate complex tasks so engineering and product teams can reduce the amount of manual work. We also help teams work more efficiently and release new features to reach Ada users faster. 

1. Get stuff done. Strategic thinking is important, but tactical thinking helps you achieve results.  
2. Collaboration. Don’t just push your ideas: communicate with others and work together!
3. Perseverance. There is never a finish line. When you achieve something, find the next thing that needs your attention.

Of course, I love the product we are building at Ada, which helps people understand their health better. But most of all, I like the challenges we face here. They help us grow.

One of the best examples is compliance and software development which allows continuous delivery while staying compliant. We are not there yet but greatly improved over the last year, which was confirmed by a recent audit.  

I used to swim a lot, but during the pandemic, it was not possible in Berlin, so I’ve started to run. To be sure I do it regularly, I’ve set myself the goal to run the Berlin half marathon in August. Regular exercise helps me to keep my body healthy. But what is more important is that sport helps me to switch focus and clear my mind so I can look at the same problems differently.  

It’s not so much career advice, but I’m super happy that most of my managers have been supportive and challenging at the same time. They believed in me and this helped me develop. I have that here at Ada too. Dan Ashby is one of those managers and he is awesome. 

Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, a great Russian inventor and astronautic pioneer. In the 1890s, he was already thinking about the cosmos and airplanes. Tsiolkovsky wanted to build a plane but didn’t know how, so he built 100 different models and got 100 rejections since nobody believed that metal could fly. In the 1920s, his ideas were finally taken seriously and became the foundation for aerospace engineering.

does what they love. Then, they’ll be happy.

Considering using your skills to improve health outcomes? Check opportunities to join Ada.