A day in the life of Daniel Robertson
We shine the spotlight on members of Team ai to learn more about their roles, what it’s like being part of the team, and what training and development opportunities ai offers. This month, we spoke to Daniel Robertson, ai’s Risk Development Manager.
How long have you been with ai and what made you choose this area of work?
I joined ai in January 2016, so it’s quickly coming up on 9 years. Realistically it was the challenge being worked that got me interested – and who we were working on it with. The data challenge presented by fraud as well as new projects in modernisation offered a fantastic challenge.
What does a typical day look like for you?
Every day starts with 2 things – coffee and standup! The development teams at ai work using the agile methodology, so the team(s) gather and catchup at 0915 every day. Keeping in touch with my team is the most important part of my job – as an engineering manager I need to make sure they are free to perform at their best.
After standup, I work closely with our Product and Project teams to ensure that work is flowing smoothly, and delivery is on track.
Another core part of my role is preparing and conducting Proof of Concept and architectural work alongside our Solution and Data architects as well as our CTO to make sure that we’re able to efficiently drive new capabilities and features into our development teams.
What do you enjoy most about working for ai?
I’ve had a lot of opportunities while working here – from a professional standpoint I’ve grown to the point where I’m managing a great team and getting to work on some extremely challenging projects. I’ve also had the opportunity to work with some fantastic partners across the wider payments & fraud industries.
What is your team like?
I am very lucky to have the team that I do – we have a great mixture of experiences across multiple industries and technologies. My team works predominantly within the .NET stack, but we also have expertise in Python, Java, VB6/.NET and SQL. Everyone works together towards achieving our goals and is always happy to help their colleagues out – I really appreciate all the hard work they do every day.
Recent hires in your team have lead to a 50:50 ratio of male and female developers – a high ratio for our industry. What differences have you noticed in your ways of working as a team as a result of this change in dynamic?
The current RiskNet Development team is very supportive of each other and is growing in its capabilities all the time. We have quite a wide range of experiences, cultures and backgrounds and I firmly believe that it is this diversity that makes a strong, dedicated and compassionate team.
How do you ensure you keep your training and knowledge up-to-date?
Over the years I’ve had some great opportunities – I’ve been fortunate enough to attend the Microsoft Ignite events in London as well as ISV Days with various suppliers. These have been fantastic opportunities that I’ve found very inspiring.
For most developers, staying up to date on the available technologies is vital for our career progression and for making sure we can support our products to the best of our abilities. We’re fortunate enough to have access to Pluralsight, as well as invitations to events like Microsoft Ignite to help us do that.
What’s the best part about your job?
Quite simply, it’s the challenge. We work with clients that process millions of transactions per day and require high availability and high-performance applications. Meeting this challenge requires a vast amount of teamwork and experience. I’ve mentioned earlier that I spend time every day working with our solution and data architects as a result, I’m always learning new ways to solve issues.
What’s your proudest moment at ai so far?
I couldn’t pick a single proudest moment – I’ve worked on some great projects over the years. Most recently though, the progress we’ve made within the Risk development team both on our product(s) and with our processes has been fantastic and I’m extremely proud of our achievement.
How would you describe ai in 3 words?
- Collaborative
- Engaging
- Interesting
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