BSc Hons Computer Science, University of Warwick
I graduated as a Computer Science student in 1996 with a BSc Hons degree from the University of Warwick.
I started working as a C programmer in London and realised I did not have enough time and patience to develop into a competent programmer so moved onto work at the Science Photo Library as a Systems Manager. My real skills and interests was shifting towards Unix Systems administration. Having started studying and working on Sun Systems Sparc workstations, I moved onto compiling C programs on SunOS 4.x servers, and started systems administration on a DEC Alpha server running Digitial Unix 4.0.
After 3 years of working and living in London, I took a “gap” year to travel around the world – with a backpack and a travel partner – we successfully traversed the globe, covering 12 countries in 12 months.
Unix Systems Specialist, University of St Andrews
Returning home, I continued my career by attaining employment with the University of St Andrews in Scotland as a Unix Systems Programmer.
I spent 13 years at St Andrews and during that time my work evolved into three progressive roles: Systems Programmer, Systems Administrator and Systems Specialist. Working in IT Services, not only allowed me to advance my skills and gain experience in running Unix systems to provide the platform for databases and related services, but also allowed me to gain knowledge of networking, software development, and service provisioning and maintenance.
Working in IT Services at the University of St Andrews, I developed my skills and experience not only in the IT field, but also recognised the importance of work/life balance, career and self development, and the often understated role that workplace culture, politics, and unconscious biases can play in professional development.
This role encouraged me to take ownership of my growth, pursue new challenges, and build confidence in both my technical abilities and interpersonal skills. I expanded my skills and knowledge from just Unix systems to Linux, Storage and Virtual systems.
Unix/Linux Technical Lead, University of Bristol
In 2014, I relocated from Scotland to Bristol, as I attained a role at the University of Bristol in IT Services as a Unix/Linux Technical Lead. This role allowed me to get involved with architecture, infrastructure, virtualisation, operating systems and platforms that had any relation with/to Linux or Unix.
The role started off with maintaining Sun Solaris M5000s systems and lead to providing a VM platforms (Hyper-V, Oracle Linux VM, VMWare) for researchers and academics to run services needed for their academic work.
This role allowed me to gain skills and knowledge of Configuration Management – starting from BCFG2 to Puppet/Ansible/Chef and together with the problem of provisioning and managing hundreds of VMs, afforded me to gain security and management knowledge and techniques for orchestration after solidifying my experience and skills, with hyperviors, Docker, Vagrant, and Git/GitLab and other modern tools used for cloud operations.
During the expansion of my skills, there was also a “mind-set” change in terms of working methods and practices – I was introduced into Kanban, DevOps techniques, and Agile working. The change in this working “mind-set” helped my personal development, and after three years at the University of Bristol, I was confident that I had the skills and and knowledge to succeed as a DevOps Engineer.
DevOps Engineer, start-up ISP
In 2018, I joined Truespeed Communications, a start-up internet service provider based just outside Bristol at the time. While I was initially drawn to the potential of contributing to a growing company, it soon became evident that the company was facing significant internal challenges, including a lack of cohesive leadership, high staff turnover, and ongoing tensions between employees and senior management—particularly with the Chief Technology Officer.
Despite the challenges posed by an unstable working environment—marked by high turnover and internal tensions—I was able to make the most of my time at Truespeed Communications by gaining hands-on experience in several key areas. I developed a strong appreciation for agile methodologies, particularly the use of stand-ups and sprints to drive team tasks and progress. Technically, I deepened my expertise in networking, including configuring routers and telecoms equipment, and advanced my skills in automation through Ansible, Git, and Python. I also worked extensively with monitoring tools such as Icinga2 and Grafana, enhancing my ability to proactively manage infrastructure.
While the organisational culture ultimately did not align with my long-term goals, the experience provided me with valuable skills and experience growth and a clearer understanding of the kind of the tools and technologies I would like to work with.
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