Rajan on IT, Collaboration and Learning at Jane Street

SUMMARY

In 30 seconds

Rajan, a member of Jane Street's London IT team since 2020, discusses maintaining flexible systems that help colleagues work. He explains how his chemistry background supports diagnosis and communication, and describes the collaboration and openness he values at the firm.

1Supporting critical systemsIT manages technology used across the firm and makes tasks such as deploying applications or changing machines easier.
2Skills from chemistryRajan applies diagnosis, research and explanation skills developed in his studies to technical problems.
3Everyday collaborationHe describes frequent cooperation across teams and colleagues who communicate openly about feasibility and timing.
4A fresh perspectiveNew hires may still be learning, but their different outlook can produce valuable ideas.

Takeaways

The IT team manages systems used throughout the firm and builds tools that make work more flexible.
Researching causes and diagnosing problems are skills that can transfer from chemistry to IT.
Communicating why a solution is needed and what it fixes is an important part of the work.
Rajan encourages new hires to share ideas because a fresh perspective can be valuable.
He values a culture where people ask questions, admit uncertainty and help each other.

TopicsCareers Company Culture Infrastructure & deployment

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The IT team's work

Rajan introduces his role in London and describes the systems and tools that help colleagues work. These include support for application deployment and changing machines.

I'm Rajan. I joined Jane Street in 2020 and work on the IT team in the London office. We manage critical systems that almost everyone at the firm uses, either directly or through another system they rely on in daily work.

We manage the technology stack to keep people working and make it flexible for different situations. That might mean tooling that makes an application someone developed easier to deploy, or streamlining the process when someone needs to move to a different machine.

Applying a chemistry background

Skills from studying chemistry transfer to diagnosing problems and researching their causes. Rajan also emphasizes explaining solutions clearly.

I studied chemistry at school, which is not directly related to my job, but many skills transfer. Diagnosing problems, researching missing information and thinking about why things happen are useful in IT. My experience with literature also helped me identify key concepts and present ideas.

When presenting a solution, it is important to explain why it is needed, what it fixes and how much time it may save. Communicating ideas clearly is valuable here.

Collaboration and culture

He describes frequent cross-team collaboration and an open approach to questions and uncertainty. He encourages new hires to contribute their perspectives.

Collaboration within and across teams happens almost every day. In my experience, people are willing to help, communicate transparently, give realistic time frames and say whether something is possible.

The culture is open: people are not afraid to ask questions or admit they do not know something, because it is a learning opportunity. People are inquisitive and want to understand why things happen and why systems are the way they are.

My advice to a new hire is not to be afraid to contribute ideas. There is a learning curve and you may not know everything on your first day, but you see things from a different perspective than colleagues who have been here for years. That perspective can be valuable.

Jane Street has benefits and perks, but what stands out to me is the people. They contribute to the culture, are willing to help, and bring intelligent ideas that drive the work and make it exciting.