My Journey at Mercedes-Benz.io - Unity and Multicultural Friendship

I was born in Iran back in 1990, and while I studied architecture at university, my real passion was always technology. I loved all things tech  since I was a kid. So, even though I started as an interior designer, I eventually quit that job to teach myself web development.

My first developer job brought me to the big city of Tehran, the capital of Iran. There, I worked for various companies but the work came with some challenges that most developers do not usually have to deal with. Such as not being able to use GitHub due to sanctions, always needing a VPN and excruciatingly slow internet. All of this made me think it was time for a big change, like moving to a different country where things were better.

Uplifting my life

After a lot of research looking into different places, I fell in love with Portugal. The weather was great, the coastline was stunning, and it felt safe so I decided to try my luck there. I found a job as a Frontend developer at a small startup and, in July 2021, I packed up and moved to Lisbon to join their team.

Moving from Iran to Lisbon was a major change for me. I was worried about fitting in since I did not know much Portuguese and the culture was new to me. However, as soon as I got here, I realized how much the Portuguese sense of humour matched mine. It felt like an instant connection and I easily made great friends right from the start. The friendships I formed back then are still strong and mean the world to me.

And along came Mercedes-Benz.io

After dealing with all the paperwork and finally becoming a resident of Portugal, I was looking forward to new challenges and ready to join a bigger company with more employees.

Around a year later, I spotted some job openings at Mercedes-Benz.io on LinkedIn, and I got excited! I loved the Mercedes brand since I was a kid, so the opportunity to join Mercedes-Benz.io sounded incredible to me.

Diversity at Mercedes-Benz.io

My journey at Mercedes-Benz.io has been really special all thanks to the mix of cultures and the fact that English is our main language. Everyone truly cares about you and takes an interest in getting to know you. For example, in Iran, we have different calendars and unique celebrations like Nowruz, the Iranian New Year. When my teammates heard of it they were immediately curious and wanted to know more.

It's great to see how interested they are in learning from different cultures and I never felt left out. I can honestly say I made great friends and we all get along so well!

Another great example of how close we are as a tribe at Mercedes-Benz.io and how much we value our diversity is our yearly PitStop event. In 2022, all MB.ioneers from Portugal and Germany came together in the same location to celebrate our diverse backgrounds, skills and the tribe in general. It was two days of getting to know one another, seeing what everyone was doing in their daily work and having fun together. As a tribe.

But, of course, my team’s event in Stuttgart holds a special place in my heart, filled with cherished memories. It marked the first occasion I met half of my team face-to-face, and surprisingly, even for an introverted person like me, communication flowed effortlessly.

I truly believe that we're a stronger team when we're united, celebrating our differences and the richness of diversity. Looking ahead, I'm super excited about all the possibilities. We're standing strong together, ready to create an even brighter future as equals.

Unsplash picture by John Schaidler