Muzaffar relocated with his family to Denmark to join Uber’s Engineering team

Pursuing a high quality of life for his family while also being able to work on dynamic and innovative projects, Muzaffar Makhkamov was drawn to Aarhus (Denmark) and the perfect opportunity to live locally while building globally on Uber’s Configuration Platform team.

“I joined Uber 9 months ago and it has been an incredibly rewarding journey. I’ve had the opportunity to work in a dynamic and innovative environment where I can constantly learn and grow. The level of teamwork and collaboration here is incredible. I find myself engaged in challenging projects that have a meaningful impact, which adds a sense of fulfilment to my work.”

“I’m working on the Configuration Platform team. Our team dynamic is cohesive and we have a culture of collaboration, which allows us to tackle challenges together. Among other things, we’re building the platform which distributes the configuration at a large scale across Uber. If you’re interested to learn more, my colleagues wrote a very interesting post about it.”

“The decision to relocate to Denmark was driven by the country’s reputation for offering a high quality of life and safe communities, which provides a great sense of peace for my family. Additionally, Denmark has a highly regarded education system, which was a significant factor for us in considering the future of our children. So far, our experience has been very positive. My children initially had difficulties adjusting to the new environment due to the language barrier but they quickly caught up with English and are now learning Danish. Their school and kindergarten were very helpful.”

“Indeed, moving to another country is not an easy process, especially with children. They had just started going to school, found new friends, and there we were about to move to another country. So we had many questions, mostly around the education system and how easy it would be for our children to adapt. My recruiter suggested that I schedule a few meetings with my future manager and Director, who kindly provided insights about life in Denmark, answered my questions and cleared up my doubts. 

Uber covered the relocation expenses and provided practical help with the logistics of moving. Almost all the paperwork was handled for me: work and resident permits, visa applications, and more. I was in direct contact with the teams who provided clear instructions and advice on various practicalities. Overall, the relocation process was hassle free.”

“Your interviews may be a good opportunity to learn more about the country you’re moving to. You should take the opportunity to talk to your future colleagues during the interview process. You may also want to schedule extra meetings with them for a more informal conversation. I was also lucky to have a long time friend who moved to Denmark many years ago.”

“I find the people to be genuinely warm, kind and welcoming. It’s uplifting to see how strangers are friendly and polite, often casually greeting me with a smile and a warm “Hej!” even if we’ve never met before. I really appreciate this positive social atmosphere. And I honestly like the weather.”

“Almost everyone in Denmark appears to know English, so we haven’t had any difficulties communicating. My personal advice would be to learn Danish. For kids it may be more important to start learning it earlier, since it’ll be easier for them to find new friends. I didn’t believe that children learn new languages much faster until I saw my own kids do that. My wife and I started learning Danish recently – the courses are provided for free.

My favorite word is lyserød (pink) – that’s the first word that our youngest daughter translated for me and she still pronounces it better than I do.”