Since he was young, Danko Miocevic has been fascinated with inventing and creating. His answer to the classic childhood question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” was always the same: “An inventor.”
That passion naturally led him to engineering. Years later, when he received confirmation of his first patent, it felt like a dream realized. “Seeing the word ‘inventor’ at the top of the document was incredibly fulfilling because it connected directly to my childhood dream,” he recalls. Today, Danko is a backend software engineer on the SpotMeⓇ team.
While there have been many defining moments through his career, for Danko, launching his own startup in Argentina stands out. “I learned so many things really fast, and not only on the technical side, but also how to deal with unexpected roadblocks, how to make decisions under uncertainty, and how to keep going when things didn’t go as planned,” he says.
From that entrepreneurial beginning, he went on to join Amazon Web Services (AWS) in Canada and then landed at ChimeⓇ. “Moving to another country and starting to work for big companies also shaped the way I am today,” he says. “Learning how things happen on that level is amazing.”
Through all of it, the most important lesson has been about people. “Helping other engineers grow is one of the most valuable things you can achieve in your career,” he says. “Projects come and go, jobs change, but the relationships and mutual growth stay with you.”
Engineering with members in mind
Danko works on SpotMe, Chime’s fee-free overdraft feature, which ensures members can withdraw cash or make purchases that exceed their available balance their accounts without incurring expensive overdraft fees. “Working on SpotMe is very rewarding,” he says. “When we hear members share their stories about how SpotMe helped them in a tough moment, it reminds me why this work matters so much.”
He pays close attention to SpotMe Boosts^—a way for Chime members to help each other by temporarily increasing their SpotMe limits—and their social impact. On the first of every month, he checks Reddit, where members often ask when their Boosts will arrive. “Boosts are very important for our members,” he explains. “We take that responsibility seriously, and I love the feedback loop we get online.”
With that feedback in hand, Danko collaborates with teams across Chime to ensure SpotMe continues to improve. “Collaboration is essential because it takes many perspectives to get it right.”
Heritage that shapes how he works
Born in Patagonia, Argentina, Danko says his upbringing shaped the way he works today. “One of the common stories across Latin America is how quickly things can change, and how you always need to adapt,” he explains. “That sense of flexibility and resilience has influenced the way I handle challenges at work. It’s taught me that there’s always another way forward, even when things don’t go as expected.”
Cultural sayings and traditions also shape his approach. “Some don’t translate perfectly into English, but they still resonate across cultures,” he says. One favorite? “What’s one more spot on the tiger?” meaning if something is already messy, one more issue won’t change it.
For Danko, Latin American Heritage Month is about that spirit of shared learning and community. “Latin America is a huge part of our world,” he says. “Even though there are common threads, there are also so many different cultures and dialects. What I like most about this month is learning more and embedding myself in other Latin American traditions, hearing how people do things differently. That’s what makes our culture so rich.”
Leading by example
When asked how he hopes to inspire others, Danko doesn’t hesitate. “I believe the best way is through example—by showing rather than telling. If people see that you care about your work, about your teammates, and about doing things the right way, then that can encourage them to approach their own work with the same mindset.”
For Danko, invention was always the dream. At Chime, he’s found a place where that passion for building connects directly to helping members in moments that matter.
^SpotMeⓇ Boost is an optional, no fee service feature of SpotMe. Boosts are available to eligible Chime members enrolled in SpotMe and are subject to limits. See Terms and Conditions.