Who am I?

I’m a software engineer based in Dublin, Ireland.

Currently I work for Squarespace as an Android engineer on the Unfold app!

A little bit more background

Back in 2011 I began studying electronic engineering. Learning about robotics, signal processing, automation, circuit theory, and calculus… and then I stopped. I enjoyed parts of studying electronics but a lot of it was stressful and difficult to me. When I look back on it I remember that I enjoyed messing with C++, programming robots in C, tinkering with micro-controllers in Assembly (kinda), writing data filters in MATLAB, and automating logic controllers with Ladder Logic. So basically programming is what I enjoyed!

Then in 2014 after 2 years of studying and a year on hiatus I decided to transition from electronic engineering into computer science. I went back to first year with my focus entirely on computer science so I could learn more about computers and how to sometimes be able to tell them what I want them to do.

My course was a mixture of computer science and business so on top of learning to use languages like Java, C#, and Ruby, I was also picking up some business analysis and strategic thinking skills along the way. I disliked the subjects at the time but in retrospect they were highly beneficial.

In 2017 during my 3rd year in college I began an internship in Zendesk working on their mobile SDK (software development kit) teams. This was a massive leap into the deep end having had no experience with mobile development outside of a terrible college project that didn’t work! But I ended up on a team of skilled engineers who were great mentors and before long I was up to speed and contributing to the project.

During this time I also began volunteering for Coderdojo teaching kids how to use computers. This included simple programs in Python or Scratch, web pages with HTML & CSS, and occasionally small robotics projects with LEGO Mindstorms or Raspberry Pi’s and basic circuits.

My final year in college was focused on Internet of Things and was mostly building projects with Raspberry Pi’s with the occasional server side application thrown in. My thesis project was a vehicle analytics reporting tool that consisted of a Raspberry Pi installed into a car, a Ruby on Rails web service to receive the vehicle data, and an Android app to receive the updates when needed.

I offered a lot of my time that year as a lab assistant and tutor in the college which was a great help for ensuring I had solid foundational knowledge for coding, software design, and mentorship skills. Simply knowing the information wasn’t enough to be effective as a tutor. It needed to be properly broken down and explained otherwise you would get nowhere.

After graduating with first class honours I went back full time to Zendesk where I contributed to a number of different projects spanning (nearly) all of the products the company offered. I learned a lot throughout all of my time in Zendesk but eventually after 2 and a half years I decided I needed a change of scenery.

Now we’re up to date on the story so far. I’ve been in Squarespace since February of 2021 working on the Unfold Android app. I just need to go get my coffee…