Sam joins us with a varied history of data engineering, senior level consultancy, analyst specialisations and project engineering experience. Making him one very capable and experienced member in his field.

He’s certainly hit the ground running since starting with Firemind. We caught up with him yesterday to find out more about his rich experience, as well as his goals for working at Firemind.

Now it’s time for the infamous Firemind Q & A, giving us a more informal opportunity to learn more about you Sam. Let’s start with some more background about yourself.

I started out in Energy Engineering, and after engineering and managing solar farm and heat pump projects for a few years, I found myself pulling more and more in the direction of data analytics and tooling. The DeepMind documentary on AlphaGo really pulled me into Data Science and by necessity, I developed a lot of the relevant skills for Data Engineering. I’ve been writing Python code and modelling data throughout my career though, and acting the role of a consultant from day 1 as well (i.e. being comfortable with being on the edge of my knowledge at all times and understanding and assuring customers).

I love a good spreadsheet as well! That’s where my data journey began with financial and engineering models.

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

One of the Managing Directors reached out on LinkedIn, just as I was winding down from another interview, and we spoke within 10 minutes of his original message. He painted a very promising picture of Firemind and it’s growth, and after speaking to a few more people, I decided to go for it!

Which areas of our business interested you the most?

I’m really interested in this part of the journey where delivery, sales and marketing, start to pull together in one direction, and really get the business ramping up. While I’m looking forward to sharing good practice on Data Management and building some robust pipelines – I’m primarily excited about playing my small part to help Firemind through the many fun challenges yet to come!

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

Building and delivering focused and effective data solutions on AWS, as well as supporting Junior talent to grow in this area.

Any highlights from your first few days with the business?

I’ve loved jumping straight into the deep end, using some of that fresh starter energy to its full potential. I’ve already been involved in pre-sales, whiteboarding and writing code for projects and getting to nudge some of the conversations around how the business will change going forward.

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

I hope to successfully deliver some great projects and see some of our junior talent graduate to the next level. I also want to spend time with the pre-sales and operations processes, helping projects run as smoothly as possible, from first inquiry to satisfied completion.

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

I tend to pick up a new sport every 12-18 months, and currently, that’s bouldering at a local indoor climbing gym (no big rocks in Norfolk to climb). I also used to play Ice Hockey for a few years, and volleyball more recently too. Otherwise, I do a lot of walking and I’m nearing completion on a 1,800 mile walking challenge (matching the journey of the Hobbits to Mount Doom).

I also love buying books and stacking them up in my bookshelf with the best intentions of reading them, but never actually making the time!

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

Probably a trail mix of nuts and dried fruit – always my favourite part of hiking!

What is at the top of your bucket list?

To climb a really big mountain and to stay for some time in some very remote northern landscape.

What is one skill you would really love to learn?

Play piano and read sheet music. I enjoy listening to movie soundtracks and I would love to be able to play the melodies of any new one I like the sound of.

How do you wind down after work?

With the many years of working from home, we have settled into a pretty steady routine of taking the dog out for a countryside walk, then straight into dinner prep (my wife and I nearly always cook together).

We’re growing from strength to strength, expanding our diverse and specialised team to enable us to work faster, smarter and have more fun along the way!

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