Employee Q&A: Get to Know Dori Amara, Software Engineer

What do you do at CashStar?
I am a Software Engineer, which means I spend my day developing, maintaining, and enhancing CashStar’s gifting solutions. My day-to-day activities largely include working closely with my teammates, writing code—which becomes the products that meet our clients’ digital gifting needs. I am also a Team Lead, which means I have the opportunity to mentor and support a small team of engineers.

What is the one thing you think CashStar clients should know about the work that you and your team do?
The most important thing for clients to know is that my team and I genuinely care about delighting our clients and exceeding their expectations. This is how we measure our success.

What is your opinion of the tech industry and start-up environment here in Portland, Maine?
When I first graduated from college, I wasn’t aware of many options for developers here in Maine. Now, opportunity is abundant. I’m excited to witness this community flourish and provide more and more opportunities for recent grads and experienced engineers to remain here in this awesome city.

Why do you like working at CashStar?
The people. The culture here is one of trust, respect, and high-quality collaboration. This allows each of us to contribute to our highest potential, build high-quality products, AND have fun doing it.

What’s your favorite CashStar perk?
The location. When I am at my workspace, I can look over my shoulder and see the ocean. I love the ocean! One morning this summer, some of my colleagues and I arrived at East End Beach before sunrise to practice yoga on paddle boards before beginning our day at the office together which is just a mile away. I’m pretty sure every day should begin that way. Add to that, this city has so much to offer in terms of dining, music and arts—Portland is a great place to live.

What is your favorite lunch spot?
One of my favorite lunch spots is Olive Cafe. I always have trouble choosing between their awesome daily specials and delicious shawarmas.

What are you up to when you are not at CashStar?
I participate in a variety of dance, aerial, and movement arts. Right now, I spend a lot of time at Circus Maine training on aerial silks (and cross training on aerial straps). I take classes when available and train on my own. This past spring, I had the opportunity to participate in a photo shoot in Acadia National Park with my silks hanging from a cliff over the Atlantic Ocean. That is a moment I will never forget.

If you were not working in your current profession what do you think you’d be doing?
I definitely wanted to be a performance artist when I was younger, but I’ve also been interested in software development since I taught myself how to program my graphing calculator. I was destined to either be a full-time software engineer and part-time performance artist, or full-time performance artist and part-time software engineer. I think I landed in the right place.

To learn more about software development positions and other career opportunities at CashStar, visit our Careers page.