Building expertise, innovation and trust: the keystones to thriving in our Dedicated Teams

Insights in brief

• Get a behind-the-scenes look at life in a dedicated team

• Learn how our Growth Mindset has helped teams advance

• Explore if a dedicated team is right for you

If building trusting relationships with clients and helping them solve complex challenges is your idea of fun, you would fit right in amongst the ‘steadfast solvers’ of Zühlke’s dedicated teams in Porto. 

Our dedicated teams (sometimes referred to as ‘dedicated development teams’ in other organisations) work with a single client through a strategic long-term partnership – typically for more than 36 months.

Working with a single client this length of time brings huge rewards and unique challenges. 

What makes a dedicated team different?

In our dedicated teams, the focus is not only on developing your core discipline (such as software engineering), but also on gaining in-depth knowledge of your client’s industry. 

Dedicated teams operate as independent units within the client’s organisation, working together with its business and engineering representatives on the strategic direction of a project. But they also have access to the benefits, network and learning platform of Zühlke.

Our managers take responsibility for leading the dedicated team and shaping the relevant processes while exchanging feedback with the client on a day-to-day basis. 

The structure of each dedicated team is aligned with the client’s needs and business vision. The big benefit for the client is that they get a fully cohesive team made up of different disciplines calibrated to their needs. These disciplines include: hardware engineering, software engineering, quality assurance, project and product management.

What is a day-in-the-life of a dedicated team member like?

Though each role within a dedicated team will have its own unique workflow, Embedded Software Engineer, Alessandro Nuzzi says there is a clear structure to our dedicated teams:

‘Typically, all teams catch up on their emails before jumping into our daily stand-up. This is our chance to connect, update on our areas of the project and reach out for support. Thereafter, we work individually but the channels for communication and collaboration are always open. This allows us to work really effectively with colleagues in the Porto office and off-site, despite the distance’.

Currently, Alessandro works from home about 50% of the time. He’s found this blend of in-person and remote work suits him perfectly and has helped him hone his communication skills.

What makes a good dedicated team member?

Dedicated team members are the representatives of our culture and engineering discipline so the first thing they need is a really strong technical foundation in their core focus area. 

But working this closely with clients also requires patience, commitment, dedication and above all – curiosity. 

Another vital skill for dedicated team members is adaptability. Working on a project that spans a long time period means you’ll likely have to adapt to industry, market, or customer changes during it. The best dedicated teams are comfortable working with an agile and adaptive approach to keep the project on track. 

Career growth and opportunities in dedicated teams

It's understandable that some people fear that working in a dedicated team will diminish their career development opportunities – thankfully, this couldn't be further from the truth. 

In reality, working in a dedicated team opens the door to even more opportunities, especially when paired with the career growth support we pride ourselves on at Zühlke. 

‘I not only work in a dedicated team, I'm also a People Lead’, explains Mohammed. ‘As a People Lead, I work with team members to map their growth and development targets. Together, we align those targets to the project goals and find the right growth opportunities for each person’.

The People Lead approach to growth is something that's available to all our teams but according to Muriel, it’s particularly successful in the dedicated team environment: 

How do you keep a cultural connection to Zühlke when working in a dedicated team?

Another fear people often have when it comes to dedicated teams is how you can maintain a cultural connection to your ‘home organisation’ when you work so closely with a client’s organisation. 

The key to avoiding this situation is finding an employer who understands this potential challenge and plans accordingly. Striking this balance is something that recent starter and Expert Software Engineer, Daniel Sousa knows all about.

For Daniel, the comprehensive onboarding and support he’s received from the Wellbeing Ambassadors in the Porto office has been invaluable. 

‘I have received a really warm welcome. First, I have a buddy who’s been at Zühlke for some time already so I always have someone experienced to ask questions to. And then there’s the community building that the Wellbeing Ambassadors do. Here in Portugal, a lot of people come from different countries. The Wellbeing Ambassadors plan a lot of social events that help us bond with each other. When you do events like rock climbing with your colleagues, you get to connect with them as people and build really strong bonds for the future’.

Ready to join a dedicated team? 
Explore our open jobs here