What does day-to-day life in your role look like?

It’s a bit of a mix. There’s a lot of discussion around decisions and the trajectory of work. But most of the legwork is done solo. That being said, I’m part of a great team that is always there to get involved and help. 

What would you say is the most interesting aspect of your role?

It’s constantly evolving. The Data Services Team (DST) evolves with the needs of the product and development teams. As the company grows, the demands also grow. There is no room for stagnation, which does wonders to keep you engaged and developing. Before you know it you’ve learned a bunch of new things just by virtue of getting involved with so many aspects of the product.

What was your path to joining Vortexa? 

I got a little taste of coding during my degree, so when I left university I decided to pivot from the statistics and economics side of things. I joined a tech consultancy where I learned all things DevOps. I then worked at HMRC where I developed a host of skills and my technical ability. It was the first step in my tech career. It was a great little taster prior to joining Vortexa. After a year at HMRC, I felt it was time for the next step. After the first call with you Jessica, I knew I wanted to work here. Four interviews later I accepted the job.

What kind of qualities does a person need to have to succeed at Vortexa?

• Pragmatism. Problem solving is quite central to the nature of work we do at Vortexa. Being able to step back, analyse the situation and construct a viable plan forward is vital.
• Collaborative. There are an immense number of moving parts that go into producing our product. You need to be able to identify and talk to the right individuals for the right task.

What do you like about the culture? 

One of the best things about working here is the social feel. It’s a remarkably friendly environment all while getting some great work done. I love talking about my job when work comes up in conversation. The people team do an excellent job of fostering a modern and inclusive environment. It also helps that we’re such a diverse company, with lots of exposure to different cultures.

Who do you collaborate with?

All of the Research & Development (R&D) department basically. The Data Services Team is there to enable other developers, so we’re involved with all infrastructure. A lot of the collaboration comes from firefighting incidents with members of other teams but I sometimes work on projects they own with them.

What are the first three things you do on a Monday morning? 

For better or worse, the first thing I do is I check my phone/slack, to ensure everything is still running and/or if there have been any issues that may have happened overnight. 

The second is to determine the things I want to do on that day. What tasks do I need to achieve and where I would like to be at the end of the week?

After our stand-up meeting, I’ll have my first coffee. My first coffee feels a bit like an on-button for my work. It’s at that point I get stuck into my work.

What energises you most about working as an Associate Site Reliability Engineer at Vortexa?

It’s a constant problem-solving exercise. There are not many mundane, repetitive tasks for us to do in DST (or the whole R&D department really). I know that most days I will learn something new, even if just a small little detail. It makes such a massive difference to how I feel about working.