Meet Becca Batchelor, Aspeq’s expert problem-solver

No one was more surprised than Becca Batchelor, now Aspeq’s Test Lead, that she completed an honours undergraduate degree in software engineering from Vermont State University.

Recognising her aptitude for computers and problem solving, one of her high school teachers registered her for the programme, but it wasn’t until Becca was halfway that she realised it was a four-year bachelor’s degree rather than the diploma she initially planned to complete.

“But, by that time, I had found my passion and was enjoying it too much to leave,” Becca says.

After graduating, she wanted a big adventure, and decided to move to New Zealand. The move wasn’t totally random: she was coming to meet her long-term, long-distance partner, Jon, whom she met in an unconventional way nearly a decade before.

“Jon and I met over dial-up internet, playing flash games through an online chat bar. He was 13 and I was 11. I remember having no idea where New Zealand even was! Over the years, we stayed in touch and became best friends and then, eventually, started dating.”

Her first few years in New Zealand were spent making her way up the ranks at Contact Energy, first doing data remediation work, then as an analyst, then finally as a SAP systems specialist.

“Over time I became an expert in many parts of the business but was frustrated at the lack of opportunities for meaningful growth. I was ready for a new challenge, and I knew I wanted my next role to be at a small but ambitious company, where I could make more of an impact.”

At the same time, she was casting around for a more fulfilling hobby and had recently taken up karate. She made good friends at the dojo, including CJ, who worked at Aspeq and recommended Becca apply for a role in the company’s testing team.

“CJ enjoyed his role and thought I would be a great fit, too.”

Her friend’s hunch was right: from the first interview, Becca immediately felt at home in Aspeq.

“It was a great career move. I found a friendly, passionate team where I could put my software engineering background to use in a way that was really valuable - and valued.”

Becca’s first project at Aspeq was testing software behind the modules used by candidates to make assessment bookings. But she quickly caught up to the developers and was deployed to test other projects.

“The variety gave me a great overview of Aspeq’s technology, and a chance to get to know the entire testing and development teams.”

When an opportunity arose to lead the testing team, Becca put her name forward, though she was only a few months into her role as Test Analyst. Her manager was confident Becca had what it took and seconded Becca into the position. She was quickly awarded the role permanently as she proved herself a natural leader.

Becca’s warm, friendly and collaborative approach to leadership was welcomed by her team.

“Going into this role, I recognised it might be awkward leading a team that I had only recently joined. I took the opportunity to learn from each of my team members how they wanted to be led, what their career ambitions were and how we could work together to achieve them.

“I knew there was a lot I could learn from my colleagues, and we became a team who shared knowledge generously and helped upskill each other based on each of our unique expertise and interests.”

Becca has since been thriving in her role as Test Manager, which she describes as being responsible for “preventing all the issues from happening.” She especially enjoys the opportunity to put her engineering brain to use.

“Whenever a developer does their work, we test it to make sure it doesn’t have any impacts on our clients or customers. My background in computer science allows me to ask our developers probing questions to understand how things work behind the scenes. By understanding the code, I know which parts of the programme are most vulnerable to breaking and should be prioritised for testing.”

Success for Becca isn’t limited to the technical aspects of her role. Her ambitions are people-focussed: she wants to see her team members achieve their career ambitions.

“One of the most rewarding things about this role is that I get to help people along their career journey. I encourage my team to explore their passions whether within their role at Aspeq or beyond it. While it’s sad to see people go, I’m always excited when someone asks me for a reference because it means they are on to their next adventure.”

Her own career ambitions include continuing to grow as a leader by gaining more experience in governance and strategic leadership.

“I love understanding how different parts of a system - whether that be a computer or business - work together and can be made more efficient, so I am keen to take more opportunities to do that as they arise.”

Alongside her career, Becca remains passionate about karate. She’s now a second-degree black-belt and has recently received her “Kobudo” certification for the use of traditional Okinawan weapons within the karate practice, including the bo staff, sai, and nunchaku.

She shares her passion for karate with the Lower Hutt community by volunteering as a teacher in a local dojo. Like in her professional life, she loves to watch her students grow and achieve more than they thought possible.

“Karate teaches you patience and the power of perseverance and determination - something that’s often lacking today as we’ve become used to instant gratification.”

And when she’s not working, walking her dog, or teaching karate, Becca indulges her first love: playing computer games with her now-husband, Jon.