Senior Project Engineer Qas Talks IT Thrills, Climbing Hills And Disastrous Coffee Spills.
You just spilt a latte over your beloved laptop. It’s completely fried and you feel a bit foolish. But there is some good news. Aztek Senior Project Engineer Qas isn’t going to judge you for it. ‘Everyone’s done it at some point or another,’ he says. ‘Even IT people. We never make anyone feel bad about having a hot drink ‘incident’.
Qas is one of those Aztek people who brings a very human and relatable touch to his technical skills. In our chat, we talk about making IT truly accessible to clients, the role of AI in recent projects, why IT people still discuss the Matrix, long Cornish walks and, yes, hot liquids and motherboards.
So, pour yourself a cup of coffee and read on – preferably ensuring mug and keyboard don’t get too closely acquainted.
The Best of Both Worlds
Hi Qas, what does a senior project engineer do?
It’s a hybrid role that combines project management and senior technical engineering. So, I lead projects by developing the broad vision and plan, but I am also hands-on with the tech, along with colleagues. This has huge benefits for clients, because I see things from the point of view of what they actually want and need – and can then put the technical processes in place to make that happen.
Is this a well-established role in IT?
To be honest, it’s quite niche. The individual roles are well-established, but combining them into a single role isn’t something I’ve seen before. It really works for us and our clients. They get the ‘vision’ exactly according to their needs – and precise technical implementation.
A Guy in Tech
Can you give us some real examples of the kinds of projects you work on for clients?
AI-themed projects are a big one right now. I worked on an AI integration with a finance client, automating repetitive tasks and improving information gathering, for instance better indexing and searching of internal databases via AI. It’s a clear example of AI automating the areas where time is wasted, so users can be doing more productive work.
My work can also involve things like helping clients make use of the full capabilities of a CRM, or integrating cyber security best practice into IT systems for Cyber Essentials or compliance frameworks.
There are also more widespread transformations such as, say, where everything is paper-based and a client’s systems don’t have cloud backup or storage. We turn that around and completely transform their day-to-day processes for the better.
What skills does it take to do your job well?
Essentially, it’s more about the people and less about the tech. I say that because, ultimately, the tech has to serve a purpose, and the people are where the purpose is.
I’d class myself as not an ‘IT guy’ but a ‘guy in IT’, looking at it from the outside in. I’ve always managed to have that understanding and ability to translate tech into non-tech.
A good tip is to know the person before the project, and understand where their need for a particular change comes from.
Where does your day-to-day job take you?
It varies quite a bit. I’m based in our Birmingham office, which gives me easy access to clients across the Midlands and London. I visit clients often and occasionally work from our Cornwall office too.
Personally, I like to keep home and work separate, so you won’t find me working from home. A bit ironic, really, as a lot of what I do is designed to help other people work from home. We do everything we can to make remote working easy for end users, but it does mean the IT guy has to be on the premises from time to time, tucked away in his ‘IT cupboard’ and ready to physically press the button if something goes wrong!
IT Thrills
How has Aztek helped with your career development?
I wouldn’t be in the role I’m in without Aztek encouraging my strengths and essentially creating this position for me. It evolved based on what I enjoyed, where my skills were strongest and the direction I wanted to take my career. Aztek gave me the flexibility to follow that path and then supported me with the training and certifications to get there. I really appreciate them for that.
What do you love about working at Aztek?
I love the nerdy jokes. There’s always plenty of gaming, film and TV chat, whether that’s in or outside the office. It’s a place where everyone feels comfortable sharing the latest fan theory or debating the finer points of the Star Wars sequels. The Matrix is practically a bible at Aztek, given how much it seemed to predict!
Disastrous Coffee Spills
You were recently dealing with a computer that was doused in coffee. How’s that going?
Once electronics get a taste of coffee, they’re never the same again. Don’t caffeinate your tech!
If you’re lucky, you’ll spill your drink on a separate keyboard plugged into a PC and get away with replacing the keyboard. In this case, though, the coffee went straight onto the laptop keyboard. Once I opened it up, it was clear the liquid had made its way through to the motherboard.
And that’s usually where the real trouble starts. Once liquid fries the motherboard, you’re done for. You can often salvage some of the internal parts, but the rest is never quite the same.
Everyone’s done it at some point, even IT people, so we never make anyone feel bad about it. We just do our best to see what’s recoverable and get you back up and running as quickly as possible.
Climbing Hills
What else do you love to do out of work?
I’m a bit of an outdoors person and, since I’m surrounded by it, I try to get away from tech as much as possible outside of work. I play football and paddle once a week. I also like hiking and the mental freedom that comes from nature and animals. I really like the Shropshire Hills, the Malverns and Cornwall, exploring on my own and shutting off from the world. I’ll walk for miles along the South West Coast Path – a favourite is a three-mile or so hike to Kynance Cove. It’s a challenging walk, so you don’t see many people. The ocean breeze, the water on one side, land on the other – it’s just me and the world…
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