Many Minds. One Team.
We are database nerds, UX tamers, and crypto talents, concept professionals and planning heroes. Creative and analytical thinkers, loud voices and quiet ones, introverts and team entertainers, sports enthusiasts and couch potatoes.
Above all, though, we are a team. And we have been for many years.
As different as we are – we have something in common that unites us: we love our jobs, and we are still fascinated by the possibilities offered to us by digital technologies.
Because we breathe software and digital processes and want nothing more than to use them for making the world a better place, we put our heart and soul into creating digital products we are profoundly convinced of. That’s why we ourselves develop the concepts for those products. With a diverse team and a few select partners, so that a variety of interesting perspectives and a whole lot of expertise flow into our products.
Who works here
Berra Hüner
Business Development Manager
Clemens Maaßen
Requirements Engineer
Daniela Fritsch
Project Manager
Dorkas Wittenburg
Captain
Kaja Braun
Head of Venture Building
Dr. Katja Flinzner
Head of Content
Lars Naber
Requirements Engineer
Moritz Heidkamp
Head of Development
Pablo Beyen
Captain
Pascal Wattler
Head of Product
Sebastian Borck
People & Culture Manager
Sebastian Glanert
Finance and Administration
Gordon
Feelgood Manager
...and many other great brains
Experts in
software development, software architecture, system administration, UX/UI, layout, QA ...
How we work
We know that our work has an impact on society, too. We bear this responsibility with conviction and a clear attitude.
We stand for an open, diverse, and free society. Our commitment to diversity is reflected in our team: where our employees come from and with whom they share their lives is just as irrelevant to us as their skin colour or school grades. We employ people with and without disabilities, with a secondary school certificate or a PhD. But all our colleagues have one thing in common: they are really good at what they do.
We’re not just good at our work, we also love it – with all our heart and soul. That’s why we only initiate projects that are compatible with our values, projects we can fully support. The same applies to our cooperation with business partners or contractors.
We are convinced that we can only face our planet’s critical problems by developing sustainable solutions and by a turnaround in energy and traffic policies. That’s why we use efficient hardware, energy-saving code, and renewable energies. We support electric mobility, ride sharing, and intelligent intermodal transport concepts.
Our Favourite Tools
Our projects and products are always “leading edge“ and state-of-the-art. We mean that quite literally, as we have a genuine connection to science and always keep up to date with new findings and methods. We are not influenced by trends and hypes, but we make our decisions based on what’s best for a particular project. We use the latest cryptographic methods as well as well-proven programming languages.
For our software projects, we can draw on a huge pool of technologies with which we build sustainable solutions that pay for themselves in the long term.
CHICKEN Scheme
CHICKEN Scheme is one of our favourite programming languages. It is based on an MIT standard; one of our team members designed and implemented the Chicken compiler and interpreter. Today, there are several dozen people working on this project. We value it as a very portable, high-performance and dynamic high-level language.
Clojure
Clojure is a functional programming language based on the Java Virtual Machine (JVM). As a modern LISP, it offers our developers all the advantages of this language family as well as all the advantages of the large Java world. Similarly, ClojureScript offers us a convenient and efficient way to program web applications.
Git
We rely on Git for version control and source code management. This allows our team to work together safely and efficiently on all our projects.
GitLab
GitLab is a web application for the version management of software projects. It helps us to keep track from a technical point of view and to carry out our binding code reviews.
Java/JVM
Many companies use the Java programming language and therefore the Java Virtual Machine (JVM). Thanks to many excellent libraries, we think the Java ecosystem is a good choice for the development of new projects.
Linux
We operate our notebooks, servers and mobile phones with Linux-based systems. For us, this is the best environment for developing and operating software.
NixOS
NixOS is a Linux distribution based on the software management tool Nix. Features such as reliable, simultaneous updates for different software versions make it the preferred environment for our developers.
PostgreSQL
PostgreSQL is a very fast, stable, versatile and reliable relational (SQL) and document-oriented (NoSQL) database. Its liberal Open Source licence is as user-friendly as the support of all relevant operating systems.
Rails
Rails is the prototype of the modern web framework and is based on the Ruby programming language. Rails has been the basis of many of our projects since 2006.
React Native
With React and React Native, we can develop web and mobile applications (Android and iOS) in closely related technologies, so we don't need more tools than necessary in our toolbox. They are often used in combination with JavaScript, TypeScript, or ClojureScript.
Ruby
Ruby is a programming language that enables the pleasant and efficient development of software products. Designed by a developer for developers, it offers exactly what we value most.
SQLite
SQLite is a database library for numerous common programming languages. We value its lightweight use in mobile devices or embedded devices such as cars and other machines.
Who we work with
AnWert e.V.
AnWert ensures participation by making text understandable for everyone and organising inclusive leisure activities. The AnWert team has translated all texts for the nora website into easy German. They are also our point of contact for many other questions relating to accessible texts.
Eventphone
Sascha Ludwig & Friends organise the telephony on all important hacker events and also other events in and around Germany. Our experience: the network only works sometimes, telephony with Eventphone always works. We contribute some of the call numbers.
PC Office Cologne
PC Office Cologne are computer hardware specialists and have been our partners for over 15 years.
Snom
Snom Technology AG manufactures high-performance IP telephones that we use in numerous setups. Together with Snom, we have implemented several projects such as the World/European Cup ticker and an Advent calendar accessible via the internal browser of Snom telephones. We also write applications for Snom phones, like the Open Source Phonebook.
Tealfox
With Tealfox, we share a common value that forms the basis for everything else: We want to make the world a better place. The Tealfox team supports us in organisational development as we prepare our growing company for the demands of the future.
TwinCubes
Our experience from several workshops: When it comes to the Ordinance on Accessible Information Technology (Barrierefreie-Informationstechnik-Verordnung, or, in short, BIT-V), there is no question that the TwinCubes team cannot answer. That's why we are always happy to rely on the expertise of TwinCubes in all matters relating to digital accessibility in general and the requirements of the BIT-V in particular.
Whom we support
Astropeiler
The Astropeiler is a fascinating piece of technical history. For us, technology is not only a means to an end, but also an elementary part of our culture. It’s important to us to preserve "old" technology as a cultural asset. The impressive radio telescope in the Eifel region (Stockert) offers the general public access to space that is only rarely available. Therefore we support Astropeiler e.V.
More information about the Astropeiler available in the Podcast/CRE by Tim Pritlove…
CanSat
In the German CanSat Competition, student teams design and build their own real satellite, integrated within the volume and shape of a soft drink can. In doing so, they have to meet not only technical, but also organisational and financial challenges. We provided satellite internet access for the start campaign of the German CanSat Competition and also give financial support to this competition for the promotion of young people in the field of space engineering.
eco e.V.
We are children of the Internet and the net is the air we breathe. That's why we are a member of the German Association of the Internet Industry (eco-Verband der deutschen Internetwirtschaft e.V.) – out of conviction. For us, eco e.V. is not just a trade association, but stands for a free, equal Internet without surveillance, something that we really care about.
Fachverband Leitstellen e.V.
As developer and operator of the nora emergency call app system nora emergency call app system, we are committed to ensuring that control centres of police and fire and rescue services work as efficiently and smoothly as possible. This is why we are a member of the Fachverband Leitstellen e.V., an association of German public safety answering points (PSAPs), which promotes the exchange of know-how between control centres in order to jointly shape the future of work in PSAPs.
Wikimedia Deutschland e.V.
Knowledge is power, and free knowledge is power for all of us. For us, free access to knowledge is a pillar of modern society. That is why we support Wikipedia, not just with content, but also financially, because for us it is the modern library of Alexandria. Never before has there been so much good and well-structured information in one place.
Trainees welcome
For our software projects we use powerful technologies, and real experts are hard to find. The obvious thing for us, therefore, is to train the next generation. Our trainees don’t spend the day at the coffee maker, but get involved in our projects as quickly and as completely as possible. We think it’s important that they gain practical experience. As part of our training program, we regularly offer in-house training courses, which are also open to other employees, and optimise the internal training program at the same time.
