At Verkada, we’re on a mission to protect people, property and privacy. As we continue to work towards this goal, we’re looking for bright, motivated individuals to join our team and help build products that keep people safe. To give you a sneak peek at what this looks like, we recently sat down with iOS Engineer, Dayo Banjo to learn more about his experience and the impact he’s made during his time at Verkada.
Tell us a little about you and your role at Verkada.
Hi — I’m Dayo and I’m an IOS engineer at Verkada. As an IOS engineer, it’s my responsibility to help develop the Verkada iOS applications that provide visibility for Verkada’s six product lines!
Outside of work, I’m passionate about math, computer graphics and media, and rooting for my favorite soccer team — Arsenal Football Club.
Why did you join Verkada?
When I was looking for a job, one thing that was especially important to me was that I wanted to make a positive impact on the world and help others through my work. That’s one of the reasons Verkada quickly stood out. I admired Verkada’s mission of protecting people through technology and was excited about helping make the world a safer place. Since joining, I’ve gotten to see how our solutions are making a difference in people’s lives firsthand. Knowing that I’m making a tangible impact feels very rewarding!
Verkada’s emphasis on innovation and ownership is also really important to me and part of why I ultimately accepted an offer here. I knew there would be a lot of opportunities to work on exciting projects and contribute to developing Verkada’s advanced security products, and that has proven to be the case.
What is the mobile engineering team’s culture like?
Life on the mobile team is fast-paced, highly collaborative and fulfilling. We’re a tight-knit group, and I feel grateful to work with such talented and supportive teammates.
As a team, we do a great job of ensuring that everyone feels heard and is comfortable sharing their ideas. It’s not just about welcoming new ideas; we celebrate them. These lines of open communication allow us to discuss ideas in detail, build on them and put them into action — together. For example, a teammate recently suggested that we try a new database architecture to see if it would lead to any new benefits. After discussing the idea with the team, laying out a plan and testing our theory, we found that it lead to a significant improvement in memory usage. If my teammate had not felt comfortable sharing this idea, we wouldn’t have made this discovery so quickly. This type of culture also encourages constant feedback between senior and newer engineers because it opens up conversations about how we approach certain challenges and how they’ve solved them in the past.
At Verkada, I also feel supported to pursue my passions and interests outside my direct responsibilities. Recently, I’ve been working on camera streaming project. I’ve had the opportunity to work closely with the Camera and Streaming team and learn more about video encoding and decoding technology over different network protocols. We’re encouraged to explore our different interests outside of our area of focus, giving us a lot of freedom to explore other engineering functions, try new things and grow our skill sets.
What has been your favorite project to work on so far?
One of my favorite projects that I worked on at Verkada was building a custom player from scratch. Our main objective was to create a high-resolution, low-latency solution for video streaming. To achieve timed-based audio video we used low-level MPEG-4 fragment-based streaming, utilizing WebSockets and HEVC compression. It was a challenging project but a great opportunity to learn and get more experience as a developer.
What is some advice you’d give to students interested in Verkada?
Verkada is a fast-growing company in a rapidly evolving industry, so it’s important to be open to learning new things and adapting to new challenges. Don’t be afraid to show that you are curious, motivated and eager to learn in the interview process.
What do you love about the Bay Area?
After college, moving from Arkansas to the Bay Area marked a significant transition in my life, encompassing various aspects such as weather, culture, and lifestyle. The Bay Area’s vibrant food scene, from fresh seafood at Fisherman’s Wharf to iconic Mission-style burritos in the SF Mission district, captivated my taste buds with their distinct flavors. Exploring the breathtaking natural beauty through activities like rock climbing in Camino Real, Belmont and beach trips enriched my experiences even further. The Bay Area’s allure lies in its diverse culture, culinary delights, and stunning landscapes. Moreover, sharing the excitement of watching Arsenal games with my friends indoors adds a special touch to my time here.
Graduating college and starting a new job is already a big transition on its own, but graduating and moving to an entirely new state for my first engineering job was a huge leap of faith! I grew up in Arkansas so moving to the Bay Area came along with a lot of change and a lot of exploring to do, especially when it came to the San Francisco food scene. From the seafood at Fisherman’s Wharf to the iconic Mission-style burritos in the SF Mission district, I got to try out a lot of different foods that I hadn’t tried before. Another thing that I have enjoyed exploring since moving has been the nature in the Bay Area. There are so many breathtaking spots to visit. Some of my favorites so far have been rock climbing in Camino Real, hiking in Belmont and lots of tips to the beach. Even though I am finding so many new hobbies and activities to do in the Bay Area — one hobby has remained constant, my love for watching Arsenal football (soccer) games. An added bonus is now I get to share it with all the new people I have met since the move!
