I’m Tim Semchenko, senior manager of operations and customer delivery for Raxis. As part of our Meet the Team series, I agreed to do an interview with our marketing team. Below, you’ll see how I found my way to Raxis and why I like it so much here. If you’re interested in working with an outstanding group of folks, go visit our careers page or check out our YouTube channel to get an idea of what it’s like to work with us.
Jim: Tim, tell us about your role at Raxis.
Tim: My title is senior manager of operations and customer delivery. That means my job really starts once a sale is made and the scope of work is established. My role is to make sure the customer has a great experience from the beginning of the engagement to the end.
Jim: That sounds like a tall order. What all do you have to do in order to make sure the engagement is successful?
Tim: So, my role is “soup to nuts” – making sure we have the right resources available, that we stay on schedule, that we deliver everything we said we would, and that the customers get what they’re expecting. I’m Raxis’ liaison, so, when issues come up, it’s my job to figure out how to adapt and adjust to make sure they get what they need.
Jim: What’s your favorite part of the job?
Tim: Honestly, I enjoy the challenges that come with managing a heavy workload. No two jobs are exactly the same, so there are sometimes complications that we can’t foresee going in. When that happens, it’s like triage – solving ‘unsolvable’ problems. Scheduling around the birth of a baby, for example. There are always fires to put out, but I love the fast pace, the people, and the conversations.
Jim: How do you measure success? How do you know that your customer has had a great experience?
Tim: I know because they tell us. My work doesn’t end when the penetration test is over. We go back and ask them how we did and what we can do better. As I said, I like the conversations and it’s incredibly rewarding to hear what they say about our team and the quality of our work.
Jim: Is it fair to say you came into this role in an “indirect” fashion? You didn’t start out in tech, right?
Tim: You could say it was very indirectly. I grew up south of Boston, in Quincy, MA, and was actually a religion major with minors in music and philosophy in college. Afterwards, I was a high school music teacher and football coach for a while, and even went back to school to get a master’s degree in special ed. I was taking classes during the day and tending bar at night, but a softball injury ended my bartending, so I started driving a cab.
Jim: So, you went from driving a cab to working in cybersecurity?
Tim: Not quite. While I was driving the vice president of a large investment management firm one day, we started chatting and he told me his division was hiring. So, I took a job working in foreign exchange and from there got into project management with a different penetration testing company that does a lot of work with Raxis. I really liked the company and the people, so when the opportunity opened up last March, I joined the Raxis team.
Jim: You’ve had very diverse working career. What do you do for fun?
Tim: I enjoy all sorts of outdoor activities with my wife and two kids. Going to the beach, kayaking, playing sports.
Jim: You clearly have a lot of musical talent as well. Do you still perform?
Tim: Yep. I’m not in a band, but I have several friends who are. So, they let me join in for sets on occasion. And, of course, I like karaoke as well.
When you’re on stage, everyone’s eyes are on you and there’s a lot of pressure to perform well. To me that’s what makes it exciting. That same dynamic is one of the things I enjoy most about my job at Raxis.