Inside the Tech Behind On the Beach: Meet VP of Engineering Marta Jasinska

When you think about On the Beach, your first thought is probably holidays.

But behind every holiday search, destination, deal and booking is a hugely complex technology operation.

Millions of people are searching for holidays. Billions of data points are moving through the systems every day. And somewhere behind all of that, teams of engineers are solving incredibly complex problems to make sure customers find the right holiday, at the right time, with the right experience.

So, what is it actually like to work in tech at On the Beach?

Georgie Lynskey, Founder and Director of G&T (girls and tech!), sat down with Marta Jasinska, VP of Engineering at On the Beach to find out.

And if you think working in travel tech sounds like it might be a little predictable, Marta's experience might change your mind.

“I haven't been bored since I joined”

Marta has worked across gaming, e-commerce, physical products, green energy, dating and now travel. One of the biggest attractions was the opportunity to work on genuinely complex problems.

“This is not just a travel website,” Marta explains.

Behind the customer-facing experience is a technology environment dealing with billions of data points every day, while millions of people can be searching for trips at any given time. For an engineer, that's a pretty interesting problem to have.

How do you process all that information? How do you make sure customers see the right packages? How do you build systems that can handle huge amounts of demand while still creating a great customer experience? And importantly, how do you keep improving it? For Marta, that's exactly what makes the role interesting.

“I get bored so easily and I haven't been bored since I joined yet.”

At On the Beach, there's always another problem to solve. If the people challenges are under control, there's strategy to think about. If the strategy is clear, there's technology. If technology is working well, there's something to design. There is always another challenge. And for people who love solving problems, learning and building things, that's a compelling place to be.

From gaming to travel tech

Marta's own career has taken her through some seriously varied technology environments.

She started her career as a software engineer in gaming, working across Poland, Paris and Brighton before moving into e-commerce and architecture.

From there, she progressed through engineering management, senior management, director, VP and CTO roles, working across businesses including MOO, Bloom & Wild and Bumble.

Her career has given her experience across very different products and industries. So why On the Beach?

Travel is a growing market, and Marta saw an opportunity to work somewhere where experimentation and innovation could have a direct impact on both customers and the wider business.

She was also impressed by the influence technology leaders could have across the organisation.

“I am driven by impact, and I want to have a big impact on business.”

For Marta, On the Beach offered the opportunity to do exactly that.

The technology behind your next holiday

One of the most interesting things about working in tech at On the Beach is the sheer scale of complexity. Customers might simply see a search box, a list of holidays and a button to make a booking.  The technology teams see something very different.

They see complex systems and huge amounts of data. Add in constantly changing customer behaviour and the challenge of bringing all those pieces together. And that's where engineering gets really interesting. Marta believes the engineers who thrive are the ones who don't just think about the code they're writing. They want to understand the product. The customers. And how the business is performing.

“They're not just producing lines of code; they are building a business.”

It's this combination of technical challenge and commercial impact that makes the opportunity at On the Beach so interesting. It isn’t just solving problems; it’s building technology that millions of customers can interact with!

What does the future of engineering look like?

For Marta, the next chapter of engineering is going to involve much more than simply writing code. As AI tools increasingly take away some of the lower-level technical work, she believes engineers will need to think more deeply about system design, architecture and how different pieces of technology fit together. The ability to understand the bigger picture will become increasingly important.

And On the Beach is right in the middle of that shift.

Marta is particularly excited about the potential for AI to help more people turn ideas into real products. For engineers who want to experiment with new technology, solve big problems and help shape what comes next, that's an exciting place to be.

Ambitious. Kind. Creative.

When we asked Marta to describe On the Beach in three words, she chose: Ambitious. Kind. Creative. According to Marta, there's a real sense of kindness across the organisation, from the people to the processes and frameworks. And creative? Because the teams are constantly finding new ways to solve problems, build products and work around the limitations in front of them.

And there's plenty to learn.

For Marta, one of the best things about working in engineering is that you never stop learning. Her own career has taken her from gaming to e-commerce, physical products, green energy, dating and travel. She's worked as an engineer, manager, director, VP and CTO. And yet she still says she’s learning! Her advice to engineers is not to feel like they need to chase every new technology that appears.

“Don't sweat it so much.”

There will always be another technology, another tool and another trend. Instead, stay curious and keep building your foundations. Understand the problems you're trying to solve. And most importantly, look for opportunities to work on things that genuinely interest you.

Ready to build what's next?

There is a lot more to On the Beach than holidays. Behind the scenes is a growing technology operation tackling complex problems at serious scale, experimenting with new technology and constantly looking for better ways to build experiences for customers. And Marta is right at the heart of it.

For women looking for their next challenge in tech, On the Beach is currently growing its technology teams, creating opportunities to work on problems that are anything but ordinary.

If you're looking for a role where you can work on exciting technology, tackle complex challenges, collaborate with ambitious people and see the impact of what you build, it could be time to take a closer look at On the Beach.

Explore careers at On the Beach

And if you’re curious about what it’s like to work there, we’ve got you covered. Read our blog article exploring the benefits On the Beach offers its people, from enhanced family leave to wellbeing support and more.