At Send, we believe that innovation starts with giving talented people the space and support to do their best work. Our DevOps Engineer, Ahinora Pravcheva, is a great example of that. Since joining Send earlier this year, she’s been instrumental in shaping how we deploy and scale our cloud infrastructure to meet the needs of Send’s customers.
Ahinora talks about what drew her to Send, how she approaches the fast-moving world of DevOps, and what excites her most about being part of Send’s engineering team.
What made you decide to join Send? What stood out to you during the hiring process?
Before Send, I’d reached a point where I needed a new challenge. I wanted to work somewhere that valued autonomy and trusted its engineers to do their jobs, a place that supported growth.
Right from the first interview, I could tell Send was different. The conversations were open and transparent, no buzzwords. Everyone I spoke to genuinely loved what they were doing and spoke passionately about the culture and the technology.
Even the interview process felt refreshingly human. Instead of jumping through hoops or doing irrelevant coding tests, we just talked about real work, real challenges, and where I could make an impact. It felt collaborative from day one.
You started your career as a software engineer before moving into cloud and DevOps. How does that shape how you work today?
That background has been a huge advantage. Starting in software engineering gave me a clear understanding of how all the pieces fit together, from front-end to back-end to infrastructure.
It also taught me to see things from the product team’s perspective. I know what it’s like to build under pressure, to hit deadlines, and to troubleshoot in production. That experience makes working together smoother because I understand their pain points and how infrastructure decisions affect their workflow.
Moving into cloud engineering felt like a natural progression. It combined my love for building things with solving technical puzzles at scale, and that’s exactly what I get to do every day at Send.
What does your day-to-day at Send look like?
Recently, it has been all about setting up environments for new customers. It’s been exciting to see that growth firsthand.
In my previous role, we spent years building infrastructure without actually seeing it live. At Send, I’m deploying production-ready systems for real customers and seeing the impact straight away. That immediacy gives my work a real sense of purpose.
It’s also a lot more hands-on and fast-moving, which I love. There’s accountability, but there’s also trust, and that balance is something Send does really well.
Has anything surprised you or challenged you since joining?
Definitely becoming more customer-facing. In my old role, everything was hidden behind layers of communication.
At Send, it’s more direct, which is great for problem-solving but can also get noisy when your attention is on technical work. As a team, we’ve been smart about managing that, rotating responsibilities, sharing support duties, and giving everyone proper focus time. It’s made a big difference and really shows how collaborative the culture is here.
What stands out to you about the technology and tooling at Send?
Freedom of choice. At Send, we’re trusted to use the right tools for the job, not just stick with what’s always been done. If something feels outdated or inefficient, we question it. We research alternatives, test them properly, and make the switch if it’s the smarter long-term option.
That level of autonomy means our infrastructure is constantly evolving. We’re not limited by rigid processes or legacy decisions; we’re encouraged to experiment, improve, and modernise when it makes sense. It keeps us efficient and gives engineers real ownership over how we build and scale.
A lot of companies talk about innovation, but Send actually lives it. We don’t innovate for the sake of it, we do it because better tools and better ideas make for a stronger, more adaptable platform. And that’s what makes the work here genuinely exciting.
Is there a project you’re particularly proud of since joining?
One of my first projects was automating manual processes that were taking up a lot of team time. Once we rolled out those automations, the impact was immediate: faster deployments and fewer repetitive tasks.
I’ve also been helping other departments with internal tooling they’d wanted to improve for a while. Seeing those small changes make a big difference, both internally and for our customers, has been really rewarding.
How do you balance speed and quality when deadlines are tight?
It really comes down to experience and planning. When I first joined, the team gave me the space to properly learn the full deployment process, no unrealistic deadlines, just time to understand how everything fits together. That solid foundation means that now, when things get hectic, I can move quickly but still stay in control.
Over time, I’ve built a structured way of estimating timelines and factoring in the inevitable surprises that come with complex deployments. So even when things get difficult or something unexpected crops up, I know exactly how to troubleshoot and still deliver on time. It’s about being proactive rather than reactive, and that’s a mindset Send really encourages.
Finally, why is Send such an exciting place to be for a DevOps engineer right now?
Three reasons: growth, innovation, and support.
Send is growing, and with every new customer comes an opportunity to solve something new. We’re encouraged to explore fresh tools, refine our approach, and continuously find smarter, more efficient ways to scale.
The technology we work with is evolving and genuinely interesting. But what makes it special is the people. Everyone here is approachable and genuinely invested in helping each other succeed. At Send, engineers are shaping the infrastructure that enables our product to evolve and scale.
It’s the perfect mix: cutting-edge technology, real ownership, and a culture that actually values its engineers. That’s what makes Send exciting.
Connect with Ahinora on LinkedIn here.