How a single screw can make a world of difference - by Junho Lee, Technical Operator

There are a lot of roles that go into making Elice, and our platform, work, and as a technology company, it’s really important that we have people who are able to bridge the gap between the people who are using the platform and the people who are developing it, and who are able to understand and communicate on both sides of the fence to make sure that we’re creating something that’s good for everyone. There are a lot of tech roles that have been popping up lately, but there’s one position that’s really important to us. It’s the Technical Operator.

The role of a Technical Operator may not be as well known as it should be, but it’s actually an essential role because all of our training is platform-based. They are responsible for communicating between users and developers, understanding their perspectives, and quickly defining and effectively resolving various issues.

Junho, who majored in math at Pohang University of Science and Technology and works as a technical operator at Elice, it seems that the meaning of ‘technical’ is very close to the natural science of math. How does Junho translate his major and background into his work? We asked Junho to tell us more about the job of a Technical Operator and how he does it.

Q. 안녕하세요. Mr. Junho. Please introduce yourself.

Junho Hello. I’m Junho Lee, a Technical Operator at Elice.

Q. When and why did you join Elice?

Junho I joined Elice in November 2020. I didn’t originally know Elice, but someone who knew Elice recommended me, so I interviewed and was hired.

My previous job was a loss-making company, so I thought that my next job should be in a company that is growing and making money, so I joined Elice. I also joined Elice because it is an education company, so I thought that I would be studying a lot. (Laughs) In fact, I was able to gain a lot of programming language knowledge after joining Elice.

The person behind the wheel of tech.

Q. Some people may be unfamiliar with the role of a technical operator. Can you give us a brief introduction to the role of a technical operator?

Junho Operators are in charge of operational tasks, but in fact, the range of tasks related to operations is very wide. Among such tasks, I think technical operators work by thinking about the parts that can be solved technically.

For example, if the workload generated when there are 100 customers is 10 and the required manpower is 2, the workload will be multiplied by several times when the number of customers increases by 100, and you need to think about how much more manpower is needed to handle that work. So, I think the technical operator is thinking about how to make it more efficient technically. I think you can think of it as a role that thinks about predicting how the work will be expected and how it can be automated.

Q. Why did you become a technical operator?

Junho I didn’t always plan to be a technical operator. When I first joined Elice, I was looking for a job where I could be helpful, and I realized that it was a good fit for my personality, so I naturally became a technical operator.

Q. What kind of personality did you feel was a good fit for the job?

Junho I like things that are calculated and efficient. Of course, there are many tasks in my work that are difficult to streamline, but I work with an attitude of finding things that can be streamlined and solving them, and I think this attitude can increase my work focus and produce results.

Elise is the founder of an education platform company

Q. What does a technical operator do at Elice?

Junho Elice is an education company on the surface, but I think it’s actually 80% platform and 20% content. When users use Elice, there are a lot of technical inquiries, and we need a role to deliver them to the development team. You can think of the role as a technical operator.

To use a simple analogy, the car called Elise needs the platform, content, etc. to move, and the technical operator is the screw that keeps it running. It’s a necessary role. (Laughs.) At the end of the day, the speed of the engine depends on how technically savvy the operator is. The difference between an operator and a technical operator is a difference in speed.

Also, developers and users don’t talk to each other directly, so our role is to communicate the problems that users tell us to the developers.

Q. What are you focusing on these days and what are you working on?

Junho Recently, as the number of users has increased a lot, the number of user inquiries has also increased. We are doing the necessary work to reduce such inquiries. We are categorizing inquiries so that we can quickly notify users or improve features.

Q. What is the most important aspect of your job as a technical operator?

Junho I think it’s important to communicate well with developers. Even if you don’t know how to develop, it’s important to know the terminology of the development part and understand how it works. For example, knowing or not knowing who to ask for this part already makes a big difference in the speed of work, so I think it’s important to communicate well with developers.

Q. In your opinion, what makes the role of a technical operator so appealing:?

Junho I tend to agree with the statement that machines will replace most of the jobs, and if a person only does simple work, he or she will only be able to do that, but if you become a technical operator, you can take the initiative to work with people who develop technology, so I think it is a necessary job for the future society.

“When everyone else was worried, I wasn’t.”

Q. What was the most challenging project you’ve worked on at Elice:?

Junho I would say the ‘Software Maestro Coding Test’ that we do every year, because there are thousands of people working on it at the same time, so there are bugs, and it’s important to fix them quickly within a limited time. Also, there are technical bugs, but there are also a lot of questions from users in the operational part, so we have to make sure that users can quickly master that part.

The experience is different when you have 10 people using it than when you have 2,000 people using it. I think we learned a lot of gaps and bugs that we didn’t know when we had 10 people, and I think we improved quickly with this experience.

Q. What is your proudest accomplishment at Elice:?

Junho From May to December 2021, we conducted a government-supported training called ‘NIPA’. About 10,000 people applied for the training, and about 4,000 people completed the training. In fact, at first, the team members were very worried about whether we could meet the target of 10,000 applicants. But when everyone was worried, I wasn’t worried. I predicted it was possible by looking at the data and thought it would be possible. (Laughs) And we actually achieved the target.

And while that’s a great achievement, it’s also great to see that so many people love studying on the Elice platform, so that’s very gratifying.

Q. What do you hope to accomplish with Elice in the future?

Junho I would like to see the service expand further, which means I would like to see the product grow.

For example, when we have a coding test as a big national exam, I would like to see the Elice platform used or become the official platform of the coding test. I think we can grow like that.

What matters is logical thinking

Q. There are many people who work ‘technically’ at Elice. What kind of technical way do you work, Junho, and do you see any benefits from working technically?

Junho One thing is that I download data into SQL, extract it, and organize it. Working technically is very important because our job is to reduce work that takes an hour to 10 minutes. By working technically, I can reduce and control the time it takes to work, and I can improve projects faster. I also think that by developing an eye for data, I can predict how to proceed in the future and work more logically.

Q. What hard and soft skills make someone a good fit for a technical operator?

Junho I think logical thinking is very important, and you need to be able to talk to the development team about what features to build. I also think it would be good if you are good at looking at data, especially knowing what data to look at. And I think the most important thing is to be engaged in your work.

Q. What would you say to a prospective candidate who would be joining you as a Technical Operator at Elice:

Junho You’re joining a platform company, not an education company, so I think it’s good to keep that in mind. welcome!

Technical Operator Junho, what did you think? I think you’ll enjoy your time as an Elice Technical Operator, especially if you’re interested in tech fields such as software and platforms and value logical thinking.

As an edtech company, Elice is very supportive of its employees’ technical skills. If you love technology and have the ability to quickly define a problem and solve it effectively, we want to hear from you!

Apply to be an Elice Technical Operator: https://elice.careers/#job-posting-section




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