Solutions overview
Harness the power of your data to reduce fraud and increase payment acceptance
Tailor-made fraud protection
Detect and stop fraud faster with clear insights
Adaptive solutions for emerging threats
Defend against ATO, promo abuse and seller fraud
Optimize conversion with agnostic authentication
Manage PSD2 and take control of authentication
Online payment fraud
Understand chargebacks, fees & detection
Machine learning for fraud detection
Models, risk scores & thresholds
Link analysis & graph networks
Draw deeper insights from data
Account takeover fraud
Prevention strategies & reputational risk
Promotion & refund abuse
Uncover & stop hidden costs
PSD2 & SCA
3D Secure, TRA & exemptions
Global payment regulation map 2022
Track PSD2 & more with a full report
Resource Zone
Deep dives on fraud & payments topics
Blog
The latest fraud & payments updates
API & developer docs
APIs, glossary, guides, libraries and SDKs
About Ravelin
Discover the story about Ravelin
Careers
Join our dynamic team
Customers
Read more about our happy customers
Partners
Join our partner programme
Uncover & stop hidden abuse
Resource zone
Read more about our happy custmomers
Blog / Culture
Software Engineer at Ravelin, Alexandra Dresco, discusses her move from a career in finance to coding, why she made the switch, and how to support others who work in tech.
“I’m a part of the account takeover team at Ravelin, helping our clients to stop fraudsters from unlawfully gaining access to online customer accounts.
“I love that no day is the same. I can spend time building features for our machine learning models, which looks at behavior patterns and flags any abnormalities, then switch to working with our product manager to help a client get the most out of our system, for example understanding what fraud looks like and how it’s happening.
“While my role isn’t typically client facing, I work closely with our broader team to make sure the development of our technology adapts to our clients’ needs.”
“I fell into software engineering by accident. I initially studied business and then, to challenge myself, I did a master’s degree in finance in the Netherlands. While I enjoyed my time in finance, I knew it wasn’t the industry I wanted to stay in long term because of the long hours and rigid structure. Being able to travel and having a work–life balance is important to me.
“During my master’s I worked as a billing intern and we had a client form on the website that broke. The team asked if any of us wanted to help fix it and I jumped at the chance. I spent three weeks learning how to code, going to free learning events run by codebar, which is a charity for those who are keen to learn how to code. I even help run these events now!
“If the website didn’t break, who knows where I would be? It turned out to be a defining moment in determining my future career.”
“The problem-solving element is similar in both areas and that’s something I very much enjoy doing, so this was definitely a transferable skill. I was lucky to be selected for the Makers sponsored programme which landed me a great bootcamp and my first job in software engineering which helped a lot. In my new role, I like being in the background, but with an option to manage people and be client facing at some point in the future.
“The skillset that is required for both jobs is also similar, but the career prospects are very different and that’s what drove the transition for me. As a software engineer in the fintech sector, I’m excited by the fact that my career can go in lots of directions and that I know I’ll be making a difference.”
“I believe we are getting to a place where there are more women in tech, which is great to see. Some job descriptions can appear overly complicated and therefore less accessible to women. Many women I know in coding have been unsure about their ability to succeed in a role because it seems too complex.
“I believe it’s important to promote female voices in business. When women see others, they can relate to speaking out about their career and the diversity in their organisation. It encourages them to apply or take the step into a new career. Women inspire women!”
“After I completed the courses at codebar, I took part in an Elsevier bootcamp to become a software engineer, which was great as it combined training and a job in software engineering.
“However, at that early stage, I didn’t really get to do any work that was having a direct impact on the organisation and I was keen to make a big difference. I moved to London to search for a new opportunity and went to a WomanX conference, where you can learn about new companies and the kind of work they are doing.
“The conference format was a bit like speed dating. First, you heard from the companies and what they were doing and then you got to meet a bunch of people who worked at those organisations. That’s how I met two engineers at Ravelin, including my current manager, Alice Cheung.
“Everyone had really good things to say about the culture, environment and ethos at Ravelin, so I put myself into the hiring process and here I am a year and a half later!"
“One of the big reasons I like working at Ravelin is that we fight the bad guys. I feel my job has a purpose.
“But my favourite thing about working at Ravelin is the people and the culture. I had a few offers on the table when I was considering a role, and what made me choose Ravelin was seeing how great the team was. Everyone is passionate and supportive. It really is a great place to work."
Grace Proctor Content Writer
4 min read
More from Grace Proctor
Share this article:
Blog / News
From 2020 to 2022, how has your online business changed? Let’s talk about how the pandemic continues to shape ecommerce two years on.
Grace Proctor, Content Writer
Appetite for ordering food on marketplace apps is still strong, as customers look for convenience and choice. But how are foodie fraud trends evolving?
Lola Omo-Ikerodah, Content Writer
Online marketplaces are exploding, but fast expansion always opens the door to fraud. Learn how to prevent fraud as your business grows with the industry pulse infographic…