It’s important to us that our customers & audience know exactly who they’re working with. Whilst we may sit behind computers for most of the day protecting your ads against fraud, we think it’s always nice to put a face to a name.
Without further ado, meet Andy, a software developer here at PPC Protect.
- What is your name?:
Andrew / Andy
2. One quote that defines you as a person:
“The most important thing is to never stop questioning.”
3. Your favourite picture of you:
4. How long have you been with PPC Protect, and what do you do here?
As of June 2020, I have been working with PPC Protect for just under 3 years. I joined originally working in Data Analytics, and have recently moved over into a Developer role.
5. How did you come to work at PPC Protect?
I worked with Neil in a previous company, doing data analysis on digital marketing projects. Given the amount of data handled in PPC Protect, proper use of that data to improve our system was, and is paramount, hence why I was asked to work for PPC Protect.
6. What is your favourite thing about working at PPC Protect?
Every day has new and different challenges. One day I could be helping improve the platform by implementing new features, and the next I could be helping the sales team put comprehensive reports together to give to clients.
7. What do you do in your average day at PPC Protect?
My average day varies drastically from day to day, depending on what we deem as the highest priority. It could be squashing bugs, or developing new features. But rest assured I’m always busy!
8. What educational background do you have?
I have an integrated Master’s Degree in Physics. My theses were in the area of theoretical computation physics and my final year thesis used computer simulations to analyse nonlocal nonlinear interactions between coupled waveguides using a discrete nonlinear Schrödinger (dNLS)-type equation. This is where I took my first steps into big data and programming, both skills which I use every day working at PPC Protect.
9. What work did you do before starting at PPC Protect?
I worked briefly in digital marketing as a Social Media and Outreach Manager before moving into the Data Analytics role that led me to my current place at PPC Protect.
10. Where do you see yourself in 5 years from now?
I am working towards improving my development skills to the point where I can take on bigger challenges when it comes to optimizing and improving our platform for the benefit of our clients.
11. What do you want to achieve at PPC Protect?
Improve my development abilities and expand my knowledge to be able to quickly and effectively overcome unforeseen challenges we may experience.
12. What advice do you have for prospective candidates applying to PPC Protect?
Be open to new ideas and be willing to accept input from where you can. Everyone has a unique perspective and all of them are worth consideration.
13. Describe your working culture in three words?
Adaptive. Challenging. Innovative.
14. One random fact about you?
I have experience in 6 languages (5 for you purists). Fortran, MatLab, Python, JavaScript, PHP, and SQL.
15. What’s the best holiday you’ve ever been on?
In 2018 I went on a trip to Budapest to watch Great Britain’s Men’s Ice Hockey team play at the World Championships Group 1A. Going in, we expected them to lose every game having just been promoted from Group 1B. As a pleasant surprise, they ended up winning in gold, securing the gold medal from the Hungarian team, on their home ice, with just 16 seconds in the final game.
16. How do you define success?
If the platform was faster, more efficient, or more stylish than it was compared to the previous push, I’d call that a success.
17. What is one thing you can’t live without?
My dog, Ted. He’s a total menace sometimes, but he’s very chilled out and that can help when I’m burned out at the end of a long day.
18. Who would play you in a movie about your life?
Danny DeVito, because it’s Danny DeVito. Or if I could choose an actor as they were in a specific time, 1984 Arnold Schwarzenegger, because I would love to see that giant of a man mashing out lines of code on a tiny 60% keyboard.
19. Recommend something to do in Bolton?
If you’re into it and willing to nerd out a little, the Steam museum is great. Having a close-up look at the machines that powered British industry is amazing.
20. If you could learn to do anything, what would it be?
Paint. I spend so much time with code and numbers that sometimes I crave to do something creative, but I am so very bad at it!
If you’re interested in a career with one of the UK’s most exciting tech startups then head on over to our careers page here where we have a selection of roles available.
