Anastasia Hort studied marketing in Russia; when she arrived in Germany, she could say only “Hello” and “Thank you,” and she dared to start over from scratch. Today, she develops next-generation software at QAware: AI-first and with a perspective that adds value.
In 2014, something “clicked” when Anastasia packed her bags. She was ready for a new, unknown chapter. In Russia, she had studied marketing, worked as a web analyst at a software company, and built a life for herself. And yet: “There came a point when I was ready to start a new life.”
She longed for change and toyed with the idea of moving to Moscow or another European country. Through what seemed like a stroke of fate—a ride she’d been looking for to take her chinchillas to Moscow, since there was no veterinarian for them in her hometown—she met her now-husband, who was from Germany.
Together, they decided to build a life together in Germany. When she arrived in Germany, she spoke hardly any German and knew no one except her husband. Nevertheless, it wasn’t fear that prevailed, but anticipation. She was firmly convinced that she would find her way and was highly motivated to build a life for herself in her new surroundings.
Even back in Russia, she had sensed a quiet spark. As a web analyst, she worked closely with software developers and was fascinated by their world. “It was always so quiet around them. They’d type in this mysterious code, and out of cryptic functions, amazing websites would suddenly emerge.” That moment stayed with her. Since she wasn’t familiar with the German marketing market anyway and had to start from scratch in a foreign country, it was the perfect moment for a fresh start.
What follows isn’t a straightforward career path, but something much more interesting: a story full of twists and turns and the courage to start over.
The plan: to study computer science. The prerequisite: C1-level German proficiency. When Anastasia moved to Germany, she initially could only say “Hallo” and “Danke.” Instead of taking traditional integration courses, she invested in intensive, self-funded language courses and reached the required level in a year and a half.
In 2017, when her daughter was two years old, she began her studies at Rosenheim University of Applied Sciences. The fact that the speed of speech and the dialects at the university posed yet another challenge didn’t stop her: “I’m not a natural IT genius. I had to work incredibly hard to earn my bachelor’s and master’s degrees.” What helped her: a fellow student who not only taught her programming but also helped her with the language, and whom she, in turn, helped with math and economics.
Meanwhile, her husband takes on a large share of the family responsibilities so that Anastasia can focus fully on her studies.
Today, Anastasia shares her knowledge on various platforms. Here at our location in Rosenheim.
After completing her bachelor’s degree, Anastasia immediately received a job offer: As a technical staff member at TH Rosenheim, she independently developed two web applications as part of a scientific AI project. Everything from the database to the server was her responsibility. “I developed a data preparation application that helped prepare data for AI models and make it usable for further research and analysis.”
This was followed by a year at a major German manufacturer of equipment and machinery. She had dreamed of working there even during her internship as a bachelor’s student and landed the coveted position thanks to her outstanding transcript. There, Anastasia worked in the digitalization department. She learned about real teamwork, real processes, and real responsibility in a large corporation. However, since she was maintaining existing applications there, she had less creative freedom. And she came to realize that she wanted more: more in-depth software engineering, less purely domain-specific knowledge.
Her next step led her to QAware, which she discovered through her university and a video on social media. Initially, it was for her master’s thesis. “Writing the thesis was the perfect way to get to know the company and find out if it was really a good fit for me.” What she saw confirmed her gut feeling. She gave up her previous full-time job to start at QAware as a master’s student.
Today, Anastasia works as a software engineer* on a highly innovative AI-first project at QAware, known internally as “JoSeFine (JSF).” The three-person team is migrating the existing JSF code 1:1 to Spring Boot & React. The focus is on the technical migration, while the existing functionality remains unchanged. And they do this almost exclusively through dialogue with Claude, whom the team trained in advance to handle their specific rules and architectures.
Her workday begins by opening several AI agents. She assigns migration tasks and monitors their progress in parallel. Her actual work begins with the results: she analyzes the generated code, evaluates the suggestions, decides which changes can be implemented, and, if necessary, collaborates with the AI on further improvements.
Her contribution to the team is tangible: she takes tasks off her colleagues’ plates so that project management can focus on controlling and strategy. This is of enormous importance here, since this is a fixed-price project with a calculated budget. And her other colleague can devote herself entirely to client communication and acceptance testing. A small team that achieves great things. Because each role can carry out its tasks efficiently.
Anastasia Hort shares her knowledge at Engineering Camp.
The toughest challenge at the start of the project wasn’t a technical problem. It was a shift in mindset. Anastasia likes to compare traditional programming to writing a book, where you determine the structure, chapters, and order entirely on your own.
“Suddenly, it was no longer about typing out a single task line by line myself, but about managing multiple migrations in parallel.”
Relinquishing control—to an AI that has its own logic—was unfamiliar. The code that results isn’t always the way Anastasia would write it. Added to this was the dramatically increased speed brought on by the AI, which suddenly required her to multitask. This is something that science has proven the human brain is actually incapable of, which was mentally challenging at first.
“You have to first accept and understand this change.” With time, trial and error, and by sharing best practices within the team—especially regarding how to most efficiently manage multiple AI instances in parallel—she mastered the transition. Her biggest takeaway: There’s no one-size-fits-all solution; you always have to experiment. Staying flexible is the only constant.
When Anastasia talks about QAware, she keeps coming back to one point: treating people with respect and the feeling of belonging.
Every day begins with the team having an honest check-in, known as the “Campfire Check.” “How are you really doing?” At QAware, this is a genuine tool for resource planning. If someone is having a tough day—whether for professional or personal reasons—tasks are taken off their plate. This prevents any sense of competition from arising within the team in the first place. On the contrary, knowledge is shared extremely openly so that everyone can move forward together.
“If you don’t work at QAware, you can think of it as a strong safety net: You’re thrown in at the deep end to learn, but you know for sure that the next moment, five hands will catch you if you need help.” Anastasia emphasizes that she learns an incredible amount from her colleagues every day—sometimes actively through explanations, sometimes passively by simply observing how others handle problems, even in difficult situations.
Added to this are the company’s investments in personal and professional development. Anastasia attended several industry conferences last year. She had the opportunity to write papers, attend both internal and external workshops, further her professional growth, and work on her “self-branding.” And the knowledge that her home office can be just as cool and technically well-equipped as the office.
“I feel valued here. And I feel that what I do is important. Because the code that’s ultimately produced is also incredibly important to the client.”
And it’s precisely this awareness that motivates her to keep pushing this concept forward and to become even better herself.
Anastasia at PROFES—an international conference on product-oriented improvement of software processes.
But anyone who thinks software developers just sit in front of a computer even after work will quickly be proven wrong by Anastasia. “Away from the screen, my heart beats for creativity and action,” she says.
For one thing, she loves crafting: She’s sewn nearly everything she wears herself. She’s also passionate about knitting, designing her very own custom-made sweaters. The fact that she even develops her own, highly complex knitting patterns draws a fascinating parallel to IT: using clear logic, she creates something grand and tailor-made from individual, structured building blocks.
On the other hand, there’s a completely different, extremely athletic side to her: For the past three years, pole dancing has become another major passion of hers. For Anastasia, this sport is a fascinating combination of strength, elegance, and art.
For Anastasia, these hobbies are much more than just a physical counterbalance to desk work. They are a statement. “I’m proud of these facets and want to encourage others to show that you can develop software while also being extremely creative and athletic.” After all, for her, computer science isn’t just about dryly typing commands—it’s a deeply creative and formative profession that simply uses a different set of “tools.”
Anastasia is a mother, a career changer, and a software developer—and she’s proof that even difficult starting conditions can be overcome.
Her most important advice to all women and tech enthusiasts: Give it a try. And don’t give up if things don’t work out right away at the beginning. Many in IT know this: It simply takes time for the “light bulb” to go off in your head. But when that moment comes, a wonderfully logical, systematically structured world opens up.
The world of IT has changed dramatically, particularly due to the rapid advances in artificial intelligence. Programming is no longer some kind of exclusive magic. Communication, empathy, and a deep understanding of customer problems are becoming more important than ever. “The true art today lies in thoroughly understanding a task and orchestrating the right solution.” This opens up completely new doors, especially for women from a wide variety of backgrounds.
And for anyone wondering whether having a child and pursuing an IT career are compatible: “How well it works depends above all on your own time management. But it also depends heavily on your employer. QAware is absolutely exemplary in this regard and offers incredibly flexible conditions that perfectly support family life.”
Anastasia Hort with her daughter Tami in our parent-child office.
Don’t be afraid. Break stereotypes. And create your own future. Because contrary to many preconceptions, software development is, at its core, an extremely creative and formative profession that even sharpens your logical thinking in everyday life, allowing you to anticipate solutions to problems—even when you’re just trying to hang a simple mirror on the wall at home.
* Gender, background, etc., are not factors we consider. The main thing is that you’re just as passionate about technology as we are.