Pros
I worked at Alkami for just over 2 years, and I consider my time there to be one of the most rewarding experiences in my IT career.
The company has some extremely talented individuals that will help you to grow and learn and push you to be better. There are difficult challenges to every company and IT shop that is currently in existence. But what I appreciated about Alkami and being a QA there is the support and backing you get from the Managers, Directors and your peers around you. You'll never find anything like this anywhere else. My very first week at Alkami, I remember a meeting we had with all QA, and the Director talked to us about having his full backing to push back against builds and tickets that would come to us incomplete or with issues. This wasn't lip service, this was legit. I've honestly never felt that kind of support before. Another example of an experience I had there, the company is growing incredibly fast and thus there are some environmental issues, these issues seemed to appear when the environments would get pushed to the max during the regression sprints. Management would have one on ones and ask for help to identify area's that affected us and helped with ways to improve the areas, to help decrease the environmental issues. Management always seemed to involve everyone in collaboration of QA ideas and processes.
One of the best parts of Alkami is the comradery on the teams. I was given the chance to work on 3 different teams and managed to create some excellent working relationships on those teams with the developers, scrum masters and product owners. The people there are extremely talented but also helpful and friendly. I never had 1 issue with a single employee there, always felt like an equal and made some great friends. Never felt I couldn’t ask a question and would be left hanging. Always felt comfortable to approach anyone there, and always felt like everyone was willing to help.
Alkami is extremely organized and structured with some sound processes. You know what you are going to do, when you are going to get it done and how. The sprint planning sessions and overall organized processes are another great experience to be had at Alkami. I really appreciate this now more than I did while I was there. The organization and planning is unmatched.
If you are given the chance to work at Alkami, I would take it and not look back. This is a great place to work, it will improve your knowledge and give you experiences you'll never gain anywhere else. The management work hard to give you the tools that are necessary to complete the work, while also giving you an environment to bring your own experiences to improve the teams and working environment. You'll work with some of the greatest people ever from all walks of life, and people who are very talented and work hard. This is a great place to grow, management has your back. The QA team is one of the best, great people who are talented and work hard together.
Great place to work, I miss it.
Cons
In a fast growing company, there are going to be growing pains and times where things don't go as well as planned. That's not unique to Alkami.