1. Describe your job as if you were explaining it to a five-year-old.
I am an operations manager in SL Controls, so I am responsible for ensuring our portfolio continues growing through existing and new clients. I work with the commercial team to onboard new projects for our engineers to work on.
2. What types of projects are you working on at the moment?
I am currently working on an MES implementation for one of our longest-running customers. The project is to eliminate manual paperwork in the creation of pharmaceutical batches, instead capturing all the data in an electronic format. Alongside the client, we are designing and formatting the MES recipes, and we are working with them on everything from requirements gathering to system development to implementation and testing.
3. How did you get into the industry?
I graduated from Sligo IT in 2008 and was lucky enough to join SL Controls on its first graduate program. It came about by complete random chance. I had finished my degree and was in the process of closing down my email account for the last time when I received an update email from the job’s website Monster. The email showed current open roles, and I saw SL Controls was hiring for systems engineers.
To be honest, I put in my CV not thinking I would get far. But I got a call that evening to come in for an interview the next day, and I started in the job the next week.
It was great and by joining SL Controls at that time it meant I was exposed to many different industries throughout my 15 years of service.
4. What is your proudest moment (work life or personal life)?
Beyond anything, it is becoming a dad to my children and now having the ability and time to see them grow up.
5. What’s the best advice you could give to someone thinking of coming into this industry?
The advice I would give is to push your boundaries and constantly try new things. Try not to become complacent as things in this industry are constantly evolving and changing. You need to evolve with them to stay at the top of your game. So, keep pushing and educating yourself as much as possible.
6. Outside of work, what are you most passionate about?
I live in Galway City, so where I live is close to the sea. I love going into the sea for a swim, to relax in the water and semi-meditate. At all times of the year too – I love the cold water.
7. What’s the best thing about working for life sciences customers (pharma, MedTech, etc)?
It’s the new challenges every day. There is always a push from our customers to improve productivity, processes, or methods. This allows us to be constantly innovating and coming up with new technologies to solve those problems. It’s not a stagnant industry as it is ever-changing, so it is always interesting.
8. What is the best thing about being on the SL Controls team?
Even though we are in excess of 100 employees now, it still does have a small company feel where you can approach your manager very openly. They are very supportive which allows us to have honest conversations. You also know your opinion is taken into account and is used to drive decisions.
There is also a great sense of camaraderie in the team. There is a lot of support too. If somebody is having a tough time on a project, everyone is willing to jump in and help.