A day in the life of a Naimuri Senior Software Engineer and IT Consultant

What is your role at Naimuri?
I'm a Senior Software Engineer and IT Consultant.

How long have you been working at Naimuri?
6 months.

What is the best thing about working at Naimuri?
There are so many to choose from... I'd say it's the optimum combination of meaningful work that makes a real difference to society, great people, amazing culture, and superb work/life balance.

How did you find the recruitment process?
I really enjoyed it. There was an initial chat on a call with someone, just to ensure that Naimuri was a good fit both ways, before then doing a technical test to solve a word puzzle (which I absolutely loved), and then a more in-depth interview where we discussed things like what I'd covered in previous roles, and what my career aspirations were. Altogether, it took just over a week from the initial call to being given an offer.

What is your weekly working pattern (i.e hybrid/remote)?
At present, I work Tuesdays in the office, Mondays/Wednesdays/Thursdays from home, and have Fridays off (I'm on a 30 hours per week contract). Sometimes I might come into the office on other days too, e.g. if there's a workshop or a social event that I particularly want to attend, e.g. Games Night or Art Club.

Describe a typical day in your role?
I work on an Agile team, so my day typically starts with our daily standup meeting at 9:30, where we all check in as a team, and discuss what we've been working on, any problems we've been having, and what we are planning to do for the rest of the day. Then I'll be working on specific tasks for the project, developing in languages such as Python, Typescript and Java, and working with Docker and Amazon Web Services. We work collaboratively, so the team will often work together in a meeting room on our office days, or on a call when working from home. On our office days, the team usually goes out for lunch together - whether that's to the pub for a team lunch, or just to get a sandwich from the supermarket.

What are the main skills you need to do your role?
First and foremost, I'd say it's the ability to learn as you go along. If you have a good foundation in software engineering and can code in one or more programming languages, then you can pick up extra knowledge as and when you need it. We're all for collaboration and knowledge sharing here, and we also have some great options available for training (you have access to things like LinkedIn Learning, KodeKloud, and ACloudGuru for online training at your own pace, as well as a £500 training budget per year for things like books, training courses and conferences). For example, I've learned a huge amount about Terraform (used for provisioning cloud infrastructure) on my current project, where a lot of that is hands-on knowledge, e.g. strategies for investigating and debugging issues.

What is the biggest challenge you find in your role/industry?
Working in tech, things are constantly changing - it never stops, and there is always more to learn! The industry is experiencing a massive expansion in the use of AI and machine learning - and working with this will be key for ensuring that one's skills stay up to date. Thankfully, Naimuri are already ahead of the game when it comes to the use of AI in our mission to keep the UK safe, including our partnerships with northern universities working in this area.

What is it like working for Naimuri?
I find it really fulfilling; the work is definitely challenging, but in a good way - there's always something new to learn - as well as consolidating existing skills to solve new challenges. It's also great to be able to share my knowledge to help other people grow. There's an amazing team ethos here - everyone looks out for each other and helps each other. There's also a real commitment to things like wellbeing, sustainability, company culture, diversity and inclusion - we live and breathe them here rather than just ticking boxes.

What do you like to do outside of work?
Travelling with my partner (especially on heritage railways), music (I play the flute and keyboards and am learning the guitar), art and photography, and religious activities at my local church, amongst others.

What are your career aspirations?
I definitely want to learn more about both Data Science and platforms engineering, to build on my software engineering skills, and possibly work towards becoming a Tech Lead.

What would you say to anyone considering doing the same role as you?
I would say go for it! It's an especially rewarding mission space to be working in, and you can really see how your work is helping to benefit society and keep the UK safe. You'll also learn a huge amount and get to work with some fantastic people.