My role as a Senior Principal at Valcon involves steering our software and cloud efforts, a task that begins with a wake-up call at 7:30 am. Mornings are busy, helping my twin girls with their uniforms, having breakfast—anything from porridge and udon noodles in soup to warm toast with condensed milk—before we head out for the school run.
I’m mostly stationed at home, with occasional visits to our offices in Kent or London. Working from home offers flexibility, cost savings and a better balance between work and life, though it’s not without its challenges, like potential internet outages. My solution? Keeping two mobile networks on standby as a backup.
My typical workday starts by planning, prioritising tasks, reviewing emails, and organising my schedule to tackle the day’s challenges effectively. The daily standup with my team is an effective way to discuss project progress, identify any blockers, and set goals, which usually happens between 9 and 10 am.
Throughout the day, my activities vary from deep dive technical work to strategic meetings. As a leader, I balance my time between guiding the team in design and development, conducting code reviews, and ensuring we’re on track to meet our objectives. Collaboration is key, and I spend a significant portion of my day in discussions with both my team and clients, fine tuning our approach to projects and brainstorming innovative solutions.
My clients are mainly automotive related. My main responsibility is to support my team as technical lead through various areas such as solution architecture, design and the preparation of work units from requirements, guidance for other engineers andcode reviews. I occasionally like to get my hands dirty with some coding too.
The past year has been significant for personal development, earning my AWS Certified Solutions Architect certification and gearing up for SAFe training. These steps are crucial for enhancing our team’s capabilities and staying agile in a competitive landscape.
Lunch is usually last night’s leftovers, followed by a quick treadmill session if time allows. My workday typically concludes at 6pm, shifting my focus to family time, catching up on social media, watching YouTube videos on engineering or aviation, or diving into a Netflix series.
My passion for flight simulation, especially with commercial aircraft like the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320, mirrors the planning and precision required in my professional life. Weekends are reserved for family, from piano lessons to playing Mario Party and exploring London’s food scene.
Looking ahead, my goal is to expand our engineering team in the UK.
