Meet the Team: Rob Jenkins

Meet the Team is a recurring series allowing you to get to know the team behind Scott's Cheap Flights success.

Meet Rob the Builder! He’s a man of many hobbies with a plethora of travels under his belt, who has dreamed of building cool stuff since he was 12.
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Tell us about you! What do you do outside of work?
 

👋🏾 Greetings fellow earthlings, I’m Rob! I was born and raised in Washington, DC but I’ve been living in NYC for the past 20+ years. My hobbies are varied including such things as reading, coding, traveling, hiking, boxing, watching TV, kayaking, and snorkeling.
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What does a Senior Backend Engineer do anyway? How did you get in to Engineering?

As a backend engineer it’s my job to help build the internal plumbing for all of the awesome features and elements users interact with on the SCF site. I've been into tech for as long as I can remember, and I’ve been working with the web since its inception. I taught basic computer literacy when I was 12 to the staff of a local non-profit organization in my hometown by using solitaire to teach the difference between a single click, a double click, click & drag, etc. In 1996 (when I was 16 😬), I built my school’s first web page back when the super information highway was more of a satisfactory, quasi-informative dirt road. From there it was a straight path to getting my Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science and an MBA in Finance so that I could marry my love of technology with my passion for entrepreneurship.
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What's your favorite thing about your role here at SCF?

The most succinct way to describe why I love working at SCF is that ever since I joined, I have noticed that on the last day of any vacation or PTO, I neither dread nor mind going back to work the next day. This is not something I can say I’ve felt in many jobs that I’ve had in the past. In fact, every day at SCF feels like a great day at kindergarten. It’s always a day full of discovery, exploration, and collaboration, all the while working with awesome and interesting people.
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What advice would you give to a candidate interested in working at SCF?

The open ended questions are really, really important, even if you’re applying for a technical role. When I showed the first draft of my application submission to my wife who happens to be a grant writer, she encouraged me to dive deeper and more thoroughly into my responses to the short essays. I assured her they were not that important because I was applying for an engineering role, but I listened to her instincts and enhanced my narrative responses. After I was hired at SCF, I had a chance to speak with the person responsible for reviewing applications and I learned just how important honest and thoughtful responses to the short essay questions were to the hiring process. When I reflect on my path to getting here, I’m thankful for not only having a fulfilling job with great leadership and colleagues, but an amazing partner
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What's your favorite travel destination and why?

One of the experiences I most loved was my stay in the Maldives. For part of the trip we stayed in an aqua villa - a bungalow over the ocean with reef access from our deck. It was an amazing experience that will likely be once in a lifetime, not to mention that these islands are sinking!
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When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

When I was a kid, I either wanted to work in tech or be a marine veterinarian. I don’t get to swim with dolphins for my job, but I do on vacation! I’m rather happy how things ended up! In fact, SCF’s product has helped me find travel deals that lead me to the ocean to get my “marine animal” fix…what could be better?!