This month in our Meet the Team series, we’re talking to Software Engineer Connor Kelly. We find out more about Connor and his role at Bridgeall.
Tell us more about your role and what it involves?
I am a Software Engineer on the Water team – working on the trevi suite of products. My job involves the development of new product features, improving existing functionality and working with clients to help them get the best out of our applications.
How long have you been working at Bridgeall?
I’ve been working at Bridgeall since I joined as a graduate in September 2014, so nearly 8 years now.
What do you like most about your job?
There are a couple of aspects of my job that I really enjoy. I really like having a tricky problem to solve, and I also like that feeling of accomplishment when you are able help a client overcome a challenge or develop something which improves their day-to-day working life.
What does a typical day for you look like?
My day starts with a team stand-up, where we discuss what we were working on the previous day and what we are planning to do today. We also use this meeting to discuss any issues and try to work together to solve them. I will then continue working on my current task or look at the sprint board and pick up a new task to work on. Part of my day can be spent investigating and responding to customer support tickets – be that looking into a possible bug, helping a customer fix their data issues or scoping out a request for change.
What is your background?
I graduated with a degree in Computer Science from the University of Edinburgh in 2014. I then decided to move through to Glasgow to join Bridgeall and I haven’t looked back since.
What is it like working at Bridgeall?
Bridgeall is a great company to work for – the projects are varied and interesting, and everyone here is approachable and easy to get on with. Having great workmates is probably the main thing that has kept me here all these years.
How have you found moving to working from home?
I’ve really enjoyed it, which has surprised me. Before the pandemic, we had the option of working from home a couple of days per week, but I never really saw the appeal of it. I live close to the office, so it was always easy for me to walk in each morning. Now, I have a proper home working environment in place which has transformed my experience of working from home. Although I see less of my workmates in person, I feel like I work more productively at home. The flexibility has also helped to improve my time out of work – I can now do more with my lunchtimes like going for walks around Glasgow Green, for example.
Favourite project you’ve worked on?
I would say the favourite project I’ve worked on was a system to monitor the real-time weather conditions and activity of birds and bats in areas surrounding wind turbines. Based on a configurable set of criteria, a signal could be sent to a controller to determine whether a turbine should be turned on or off at any given moment. The motivation behind the project was to maximise green energy production whilst ensuring that the wildlife in the area was not harmed. The project was both interesting and enjoyable to work on, and is completely different from any of the other work I’ve been involved in.
What do you enjoy doing when you’re not working?
I play badminton a couple of times a week which helps to keep me fit, and when I’m not doing that, I enjoy watching football, going hillwalking, reading, watching TV and playing video games.
Something on your bucket list?
I’d love to visit Japan one day – there is a vast array of things to see and do there, and it would be great to experience a completely different culture. I’d also like to spend some time hiking in the National Parks in the United States.
