Behind each price tag, there’s a problem-solver like Ian Whittle. A Technology Lead on our Pricing team, Ian has spent the last four years turning complex data into the product prices customers see every day. His work goes beyond calculations — his team builds and maintains the systems that deliver those prices at massive scale, keeping everything seamless and accurate.
Read on to learn how Ian keeps Wayfair’s pricing engine sharp and reliable for customers and employees alike.
What do you enjoy most about working at Wayfair?
I’ve come to value the amount of ownership that we have over high-volume services that impact the shopping experience of a large global company.
Wayfair has a real approach to their pricing methodology. Pricing is not always the most obviously noticeable part of the shopping experience, but it's so fundamental that it's not often thought about. In both the technical and business side, people in pricing take a lot of pride in their work even if it's not always front and center.
What’s the best piece of career advice you’ve received, and how has it impacted you?
One of my leaders at a previous company would say “Real leadership is telling people what not to work on.”
I always liked that because there are always lots of ideas and ambitions at any tech company, but really effective people decide which ones are worth pursuing and, more importantly, which ones are not.
I find that focusing on business outcomes and overall process — beyond the technology systems — has served me really well. Engineers may be evaluated on how much code they write, but the big picture of knowing where to make the smallest and simplest changes ends up being crucial.
Where do you call home and what does “home” mean to you?
I live in Jamaica Plain in Boston, MA and also spend a lot of time at my family’s original lake house in New Hampshire. In both cases, they feel like home because of the memories they hold.
My home means a lot to me because of the community that surrounds us after living here for many years. New Hampshire is home too because of the beauty of the place and the history my family has there.
What are you doing when you aren’t working?
I have always been a big fan of outdoor activities and have probably done almost all of them at some time or another. Currently my kids keep me busy, but I still get out to run and cycle quite a bit, as well as hiking and rock climbing.
I also love to travel and have been all over the world, most recently to visit the Wayfair office in Bengaluru, India.
Can you shed some light on your approach to teambuilding and maintaining effective teamwork?
I try to be as direct with people as possible, but also keep in mind that everyone generally has good intentions and are just trying to get their job done. I try to stay accessible to my team and elsewhere because pricing can get complex, and I want to make it easy for others to get what they need.
There can be a lot of pressure in pricing given the amount of money at stake in a company this size, but that is why it’s especially important to help people when you can and build strong relationships all over the organization.
What’s your favorite Wayfair product that you’ve purchased?
I occasionally purchase items to verify pricing updates, which means a few things end up staying with me. Most recently, a
Le Creuset piece in my kitchen has become a reminder of a long project successfully wrapped up.