Before joining Alfa I worked as a research associate at the University of Cambridge, after graduating with a PhD in High Energy Particle Physics. Having spent nine years in academia, it was a daunting decision to leave and start on a new career path. But Alfa and its people made it all a seamless transition for me. Six years on and I am still faced with fresh new challenges daily.
One of the many things that first attracted me to Alfa is the variety of different areas in which Alfa consultants can feel a real sense of responsibility from day one. To date, I have contributed to various aspects of the Alfa Systems product life cycle. In one role, I gathered business and process requirements from senior business leads and translated them into functional and technical software enhancement designs. In another role, I delved into the heart of the application to develop code and test enhancements. I have also been responsible for scheduling and delivering software upgrades to our clients.
Currently I am based in Michigan, USA, leading the data migration team with one of our newest clients, a top US auto lender. I was part of the initial on-site team and was responsible for drawing up the data migration project plan. I now have the satisfaction of guiding and assisting the client in implementing the plan.
Although Alfa offers a comprehensive graduate training programme, it has been the roles on projects that have offered me the best learning experiences. I have found that my Alfa colleagues are also an invaluable source of knowledge and experience, and are always supportive and happy to help. I feel that Alfa combines the best of small company culture, with the opportunity to work with some of the largest global corporations.
Alfa’s policy of partnering closely with our clients on projects has also given me ample opportunities for travel, a passion of mine, experiencing new cultures and work ethics. This has so far included six months working in New Zealand, an international conference in Beijing, and long weekends away for the Alfa annual conference, catching up and sharing project experiences with colleagues in exotic locations such as Miami, Salt Lake City, Sardinia, Cyprus, Athens and Noosa on Australia’s sunshine coast. The company culture at Alfa is second to none, both inside and outside of work, and this is especially important when you are posted on a client site project halfway around the world.
