Meet Backend Developer, Alex Todeush
Backend Developer, Alex is part of our Dublin team. We sat down with him to find out what it’s like working at Fire and what brought him to the payments industry.
Hello Alex! How long have you been with the company?
I interned with the company for four months in the summer before my final year of college. I came back in July 2025 after finishing my degree and have been here for almost seven months now. Coming up to a year in total now!
What does your job involve?
As part of the development team, I build and maintain Fire’s backend systems. This includes customer-facing applications as well as tools used internally by our operations team. Day to day, I estimate tasks, write clean and efficient code and tests, work closely with the QA, product and IT Ops teams, and help manage releases.
What do you find most rewarding about your role as a Backend Developer?
What I find most rewarding about my role is the strong sense of ownership I have over the work I deliver. Developers are trusted to drive the process, from designing solutions and writing and testing code, to building and maintaining CI/CD pipelines and taking part in release discussions. By the end of it, I genuinely feel that what I’ve created is my own, something I’ve taken responsibility for from start to finish, which makes the work especially satisfying.
What is the most exciting challenge you’ve worked on yet?
The most exciting challenge I’ve worked on so far was leading the development of the message gateway application, which is part of Fire’s integration into the SEPA Instant scheme. This application validates incoming messages and forwards them to other apps and is also responsible for signing outgoing messages. As SEPA Instant payments must be completed in under seven seconds, performance was a key consideration, so it was particularly interesting to work on optimisation. I learned a lot during this project and really enjoyed collaborating with the QA and IT Ops teams to make quick, effective improvements.
Can you tell us about your background and what motivated you to join a company like Fire?
I studied computer science at Trinity College Dublin. During the summer before my final year, I had the opportunity to intern at Fire. I really enjoyed the experience and learned a huge amount, the size of the development team means you get to do a bit of everything and encounter something new every day. When I finished college and heard there was an open position, I was very eager to come back and contribute. Now I’m here, learning more than ever and thoroughly enjoying my job.
Summarise the culture in three words?
Collaborative, educational, and innovative.
What do you like most about working in the payments industry?
The payments industry is central to how many businesses operate, and I find it exciting that we get to help them succeed through our product. It’s also incredibly valuable experience as a developer, since we need to focus on security and minimise the risk of production issues while handling other people’s money.
And how about outside of work? What do you get up to in your spare time?
Outside of work, I like spending time outdoors (when the weather is nice). At home, I enjoy solving puzzles, especially variant Sudokus, these have extra constraints that require a unique approach. So far, I’ve completed nearly 1,500 of them!
Do you have any unusual or quirky skills or fears?
I don’t consider myself a picky eater, but I think prawns are insects and I won’t have anything with them in it.
Meet Business Development Manager, Joe Tallon
Business Development Manager, Joe is part of our London team. We sat down with him to find out what it’s like working at Fire and what brought him to the payments industry.
Meet Marketing Executive, Melinda Szabo-Havas
Meli works as a Marketing Executive in our Dublin team. We caught up with her to hear about her journey at Fire and what drew her to the payments industry.
Meet Risk and Compliance Analyst, Sinéad Ross
Based in our Dublin office, Risk and Compliance Analyst Sinéad shares what brought her to the payments industry, and what it’s like to work at Fire.