Note, I am only talking about my motivations and experiences. This was about 10 years ago and I left after about 18 months. Today it is likely a completely different place (e.g. only a few names in the suit sound familiar).
Why did I start there?
I already knew a lot of the current employees from previous work and remembered them as competent no nonsense senior developers. The job was pitched to me as working on software used by law enforcement against organized crime, terrorism and child abuser rings. Additionally the VC founded Startup I was currently working for imploded, I was fed up with the BS prevalent in the German VC founded Startup World, and my particular skill set was basically unemployable during that time for most other employers in Munich (mostly Scala and Objective-C). Gamma didn‘t hire people outside of their current employees network.
Why did I stay there?
The work environment was as close to zero bullshit as you can probably get to. During my time there were zero pointless meetings, the total meeting time during the 18 months I stayed there was less than 3h (I actually measured them once I realized how few and short our meetings were), no internal politics I could perceive. Feedback of developers was taken seriously, you had decent offices, good equipment and could focus on getting your work done in a way that since then no other employer came close to providing.
Other (not all) colleagues actually started out on the „hactivist“ , were - as far as I could See - highly competent software developers specializing in IT security without a formal CS or related degree, that probably also made it difficult for them to find other work suitable at that time. Pay was good, not exceptional.
Why did I leave?
I handed in my resignation shortly after Gamma appeared in the news the first time and it became apparent that sales was focusing more on governments that I personally do not consider as a „Rechtsstaat“ and less on fighting organized crime or child abusers.
Of course I could have known earlier/looked harder in the first place (I do not remember potential customers being keep a secret by sales) and to be honest this might be just the reason I tell myself, because after about 9 months or so I started to become excruciatingly bored by my day to day work... so this might have been the true reason and the news reports just the straw the broke the camels back. But I guess I‘ll never know.
Again it is roundabout 10 years since I worked there and this is just an account of my Personal experience, not „the truth about Gamma“
Former developer working on FinFisher.
Note, I am only talking about my motivations and experiences. This was about 10 years ago and I left after about 18 months. Today it is likely a completely different place (e.g. only a few names in the suit sound familiar).
Why did I start there?
I already knew a lot of the current employees from previous work and remembered them as competent no nonsense senior developers. The job was pitched to me as working on software used by law enforcement against organized crime, terrorism and child abuser rings. Additionally the VC founded Startup I was currently working for imploded, I was fed up with the BS prevalent in the German VC founded Startup World, and my particular skill set was basically unemployable during that time for most other employers in Munich (mostly Scala and Objective-C). Gamma didn‘t hire people outside of their current employees network.
Why did I stay there? The work environment was as close to zero bullshit as you can probably get to. During my time there were zero pointless meetings, the total meeting time during the 18 months I stayed there was less than 3h (I actually measured them once I realized how few and short our meetings were), no internal politics I could perceive. Feedback of developers was taken seriously, you had decent offices, good equipment and could focus on getting your work done in a way that since then no other employer came close to providing.
Other (not all) colleagues actually started out on the „hactivist“ , were - as far as I could See - highly competent software developers specializing in IT security without a formal CS or related degree, that probably also made it difficult for them to find other work suitable at that time. Pay was good, not exceptional.
Why did I leave? I handed in my resignation shortly after Gamma appeared in the news the first time and it became apparent that sales was focusing more on governments that I personally do not consider as a „Rechtsstaat“ and less on fighting organized crime or child abusers.
Of course I could have known earlier/looked harder in the first place (I do not remember potential customers being keep a secret by sales) and to be honest this might be just the reason I tell myself, because after about 9 months or so I started to become excruciatingly bored by my day to day work... so this might have been the true reason and the news reports just the straw the broke the camels back. But I guess I‘ll never know.
Again it is roundabout 10 years since I worked there and this is just an account of my Personal experience, not „the truth about Gamma“