Usersnap GmbH
Martin Sereinig, CTO von usersnap
Description
Der CTO von Usersnap Martin Sereinig spricht im Interview darüber, wie die Devs im Unternehmen die Teamorganisation und das Recruiting gestalten – und was man mit zwei Pizzas machen kann.
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Video Summary
In "Martin Sereinig, CTO von usersnap," Speaker Martin Sereinig explains how an eight‑person web team (5 frontend, 3 backend) operates as a single unit through cross‑department projects to build a feedback platform with embeddable widgets, using React/TypeScript on the front end, Python on the back end, and AWS services. This setup gives developers clear context on the why, but adds communication overhead and makes handovers harder; culturally the team is international with English as default and emphasizes openness and candid feedback via code reviews and monthly 1:1s. Hiring is developer‑driven (screening, interview, coding challenge with a technical deep‑dive, plus cross‑manager review), onboarding pairs newcomers with a technical advisor and targets a production commit in week one; they value learning and the ability to rethink opinions, reinforced by matured practices like automated tests, end‑to‑end tests, CI/CD, and infrastructure as code.
Inside Usersnap Engineering: How “Martin Sereinig, CTO von usersnap” at Usersnap GmbH builds a web-first, feedback-driven team
What we learned from the session “Martin Sereinig, CTO von usersnap”
In the session “Martin Sereinig, CTO von usersnap” at Usersnap GmbH, Martin Sereinig offered a candid look at how a small, focused engineering team builds a web-first product platform—and why cross-functional, project-oriented collaboration is their biggest lever. Because the product helps customers collect feedback and make decisions, the organization aligns its engineering setup, hiring process, and release practices around fast impact in production, without losing the pragmatism that fuels early-stage speed.
“Our product is a web application.”
That clarity sets the tone. Usersnap deliberately concentrates on the web stack; there are no iOS or Android developers on the team. Today, there are eight developers—five frontend, three backend—organized as one team. Work is structured as company-wide projects that pull in Product Management, Design, Frontend, Backend, DevOps, Growth, and Customer Support. The aim: developers should understand why they build something, not just that they’re told to build it.
Team structure: small, focused—and brushing up against the two-pizza rule
Right now, engineering operates as a single team. Eight people, as Martin notes, is where the Amazon “two-pizza rule” starts to break: if a quarter of a pizza feeds one person, two pizzas cover eight—right at the edge. It still works for now, but it may change as the team evolves.
- 5 frontend developers
- 3 backend developers
- plus the CTO as technical lead
This size enables speed and proximity to the product. It also increases communication paths. Martin calls out the trade-off openly: more people means more coordination. That’s why Usersnap structures work as cross-functional projects—with clear expectations on transparency and ownership.
Cross-functional projects as the default
A concrete example from the talk: building an export for the customer dashboard. What sounds like a “small feature” quickly becomes a whole-company initiative.
- Product Management: requirements and intent
- Design: interaction and look-and-feel
- Frontend: UI implementation and behavior
- Backend: data access and services
- DevOps: infrastructure and delivery considerations (e.g., CDN) when relevant
- Growth/Marketing: how to position and announce it (newsletter, messaging)
- Customer Support: closing the loop with customers who asked for it
“If you’re a developer in this project, you will work with many different people from many departments.”
The benefit is context. Developers talk to product, design, growth, and support, understanding why a solution matters, how it should work, and how it fits the whole. The downside: denser communication and harder handovers—especially if someone joins midstream. Usersnap accepts the tension and counters it with open communication and regular feedback rhythms.
International, English-first, and feedback-forward
What stands out about the team? For Martin, it’s the international setup and an honest feedback culture. Colleagues hail from Austria, Poland, Russia, Spain, and Slovenia. English is the default language in the office.
Feedback is not an occasional add-on; it’s embedded—from code reviews to monthly one-on-ones.
- English as the team language, international backgrounds
- Candid code reviews: concrete, respectful, improvement-oriented
- Monthly one-on-ones: personal check-ins and growth signals
It’s a culture where opinions are welcome—and where the ability to revisit them after an informed discussion is even more valued.
It’s “great to have an opinion, but even greater to question it and change it if you’re convinced by new information.”
Hiring led by engineering: from first screen to deep-dive tech interview
The hiring process is largely driven by the engineering team. Martin conducts the initial application screening and the first interview. Every candidate completes a small coding challenge.
- Initial screening by the CTO
- First interview with Martin Sereinig
- Coding challenge for all candidates
- In-depth technical interview with future colleagues—anchored in the coding task
- Cross-manager review with a non-technical leader (e.g., Head of Product or the CEO) for an additional perspective
This flow tests practical skills, ways of working, and team fit—from the vantage point of the people who will actually collaborate—and balances it with a broader organizational view before the final decision.
Onboarding: guided ramp, early impact—and code in production in week one
New hires get a designated technical advisor. Documentation and conversations across the company help newcomers understand processes and how things get done. The overarching goal is direct and ambitious:
“You should commit code that is in production in the first week.”
That approach signals trust, provides early wins, and clarifies what matters most: delivering customer value—fast and with quality.
What Usersnap values in candidates: drive to learn and intellectual honesty
Beyond technical skills, Usersnap prizes the drive to learn something new and the ability to challenge and revise one’s own opinions after an informed discussion. In an environment with candid feedback, high ownership, and cross-functional collaboration, those traits are crucial.
- Hunger to learn and grow
- Strong viewpoints—softly held, ready to evolve with new evidence
- Enthusiasm for working across disciplines
The product: a feedback platform delivered as widgets—code running in customers’ DOMs
Usersnap builds a feedback platform that enables customers to collect user input and make better product decisions. Technically, many features are implemented as widgets that run inside customers’ websites or web apps. That means the team’s code executes within someone else’s DOM—and that’s where the real challenges lie.
“Our code is running in somebody else’s DOM.”
Not everyone adheres to web standards, and a diversity of frameworks creates quirks. Usersnap must handle them all—robustly and respectfully.
- Broad compatibility across frontend frameworks (including idiosyncratic XHR handling)
- Varying compliance to web standards in host environments
- Wide-ranging runtime contexts outside of Usersnap’s direct control
A core feature is the ability to generate screenshots of customers’ websites or applications and render them in Usersnap’s own rendering engine. If a customer’s site isn’t fully standards-compliant, this becomes tricky—yet expectations for accurate screenshots remain. The team leans on creative and pragmatic solutions to deliver reliably.
Tech stack: TypeScript/React on the frontend, Python on the backend, AWS-first infrastructure
Martin outlines a clear technical direction:
- Frontend: a recent migration from “normal JavaScript” to TypeScript; React.js is now mostly used with TypeScript
- Backend: “all in on Python”
- Server/infrastructure: everything is built on AWS solutions where possible—cloud-first
“Whenever there’s a service we can use, we use the service and don’t try to do it ourselves.”
This stance minimizes operational burden, accelerates delivery, and frees the team to focus on the product’s core challenges—DOM compatibility, robust screenshot rendering, and a smooth experience for users.
From early-stage hustle to professional maturity: tests, CI/CD, and Infrastructure as Code
Over the years, the team has “grown up.” Martin reflects honestly: early-stage startups often hack features, skip tests, and self-host databases—spinning up Postgres manually—fast and fine at the beginning, but costly later. Usersnap has deliberately moved beyond that.
- From self-hosting to AWS
- Fully embracing Infrastructure as Code
- Automated tests and end-to-end tests in place
- A CI/CD pipeline so releasing is no longer manual
“We’ve grown up technically.”
The outcome is a development process that blends speed with reliability—a strong foundation for a small team to deliver outsized impact.
What this culture means for engineers
Joining Usersnap means stepping into an environment that blends clarity, ownership, and learning:
- Early responsibility: shipping to production in week one is the goal
- Context over silos: cross-functional projects with product, design, growth, and support
- Open feedback: candid reviews and regular 1:1s
- Modern practices: TypeScript/React, Python, AWS, IaC, CI/CD, automated tests
- Real web challenges: code running in foreign DOMs, framework quirks, robust screenshotting
It also calls for conscious communication. In cross-functional projects, it’s easy to get lost without clear priorities and ownership. Usersnap addresses that through transparency, project focus, and a culture that encourages questions and counterarguments.
Collaboration in practice: create clarity and make handovers smoother
Martin highlights two friction points explicitly: the number of communication paths and the difficulty of handing over deep, ongoing stories. Both are natural consequences of how deeply engineers immerse themselves in projects. Practical implications include:
- Visible decision paths: who decides what and by when
- Intentional knowledge sharing: capture context, keep PRs and tickets informative
- Plan for handovers: treat them as a first-class part of the development process
- Protect focus time: batch communication where possible
That’s the price—and payoff—of a model that brings engineers closer to purpose and impact.
Why Usersnap is compelling for tech talent
From the session “Martin Sereinig, CTO von usersnap” at Usersnap GmbH, the reasons to join are clear:
- Early impact: onboarding targets a production commit in week one
- Product proximity: building a feedback platform that helps teams make decisions
- Technical depth: compatibility in foreign DOMs, reliable screenshot rendering—authentic browser engineering
- Modern engineering: TypeScript/React on the frontend, Python on the backend, AWS-first, IaC, CI/CD, E2E tests
- Culture for learners: strong opinions welcome; stronger arguments even more so
- International, English-first team with an honest feedback ethos
If you thrive on elegant engineering, pragmatic delivery, and cross-functional collaboration, this is a rare blend of professionalism and hands-on action.
How the hiring journey unfolds—and how to stand out
The process is focused and practice-oriented. To stand out, show how you think—structured, evidence-based, and open to learning.
- Substantive applications: projects owned, decisions made, trade-offs faced
- First conversation: clear communication, product curiosity, problem awareness
- Coding challenge: readable, purposeful code; well-reasoned choices
- Technical interview: explain your approach, test assumptions, compare alternatives
- Cross-manager review: fit beyond code—impact across the org
What Martin emphasizes applies throughout: hunger to learn, constructive feedback, and the readiness to revise your stance in light of better evidence.
Engineering excellence as a journey, not a state
Usersnap demonstrates how a small team can punch above its weight with clear principles: web focus, cross-functional project collaboration, cloud-first infrastructure, modern engineering practices—and a culture that combines openness with speed. The progression from “hacking” to “professional delivery” is intentional and audible in every detail.
From early startup pragmatism to tests, E2E, CI/CD, and IaC—“we’ve grown up.”
For engineers eager to solve real web problems, that’s the kind of invitation that matters. If you want ownership, early impact, and a product that puts feedback at the heart of better decisions, Usersnap is well worth your attention.
Conclusion: Clear direction, tangible impact
The session “Martin Sereinig, CTO von usersnap” at Usersnap GmbH underscores a simple truth: engineering here serves customer value above all. The team is small, the ambition is large—powered by a culture of candor, modern practices, and the expectation that every commit counts. If you want to practice serious web engineering in a human, feedback-driven environment, Usersnap should be on your radar.
