Throughout his impressive career, Robert has demonstrated his expertise in data engineering, machine learning, and generative AI. He is now eager to work alongside our talented team at Firemind, to deliver even more innovative, high-impact solutions for our customers.

As always, we spent a bit of time with Robert as he was settling in, running through our Q&A – to learn more about him and his aspirations working at Firemind.

Hello and welcome to the Firemind team Robert! It’s great to have you with us. For our viewers, could you please tell us a little about yourself and your professional background?

Hello! I’ve been working in IT ever since I graduated university, (we’re going back a long time now). I started my career as a Developer, before joining VMware, where I became one of the first ever Cloud Automation Architects. Not many people even knew what the cloud was back then! I spent 9 years there, and this was when I first started working with AWS. More recently, I’ve worked as an AWS Solutions Architect for Inawisdom, where I really got into data, machine learning, and generative AI.

How did you find out about us and what made you decide to apply for a role with Firemind?

Coming from Inawisdom, and being all about data and AI, it was impossible for me not to hear about Firemind. I have also met a number of Firemind’s employees before, who have had nothing but good things to say about the company! My wife wants to move to Kent too, so that’s a bonus.

What is your role at Firemind?

I’m joining as a Principal Solutions Architect.

Which areas of our business interested you the most?

The area of Firemind that interests me the most is being at the forefront of generative AI, designing and building LLM apps on AWS.

What will be your main goals/objectives whilst working at Firemind?

I would like to become better at designing and implementing innovative data and AI driven solutions. It’s also a goal of mine to achieve some further AWS certificates such as the AWS Certified Data Engineer – Associate certification.

Which aspects of your role are you most excited about?

What really excites me is the generative AI projects I will be a part of, as Firemind is doing some really interesting work in that space. I’m eager to learn about the latest techniques and advancements in generative AI, and to grow alongside the company as they innovate.

What do you hope to achieve within your first 12 months here?

I hope to deliver some great projects, establish long-term relationships with our customers and learn, learn, learn!

Outside of work, what do you get up to? Tell us about your hobbies.

I like to travel around the UK and Europe on the weekends, eating lots of pasta and gelato, or mountain biking, (even though it’s an e-bike).

What’s your favourite song on your playlist right now?

1979 Smashing Pumpkins

Any fun nicknames we should know about? If Yes, what’s the backstory?

People call me ‘Don’, as my original first name was Dominic and I’m half Italian.

If you could only choose one dish to eat every meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?

It would have to be Rigatoni Manzo, followed by Piistachio Gelato.

What is at the top of your bucket list?

I’ve always wanted to take part in a multi-day charity classic car rally, and I was actually all set to do one right before the pandemic hit.

What is one skill you would really love to learn?

One skill I would really love to learn is hang gliding.

How do you wind down after work?

To wind down after work, I like to get on my e-bike and do some light mountain or off-road biking tracks.

We’re growing at a rapid pace and are constantly looking for talented individuals to come and join our team.

Visit our Careers page for further details about the Firemind culture and new opportunities.