I’m an Engineering Manager in the Sky Personalisation team, part of Global Streaming Technology.
We look after content recommendation systems on the Global Streaming Platform for Sky, Peacock, SkyShowtime and ShowMax. I manage two teams of talented software engineers, who are responsible for building tools, which have the purpose of enabling the data science teams to deploy Machine Learning models that power the logic behind our recommendations. This way, customers get recommended personalised and relevant content to them.
Describe a project, or career highlight where you were able to make a difference.
Sky hosted their first Labs Week in 2020, which was an opportunity for anyone at the company to submit an innovative idea that could make Sky better – regardless whether it’s customers, colleagues or general tools.
From all the submissions, they chose 20 finalists to then give a 60-second pitch in front of senior leaders on campus. The final 10 who would get a week off from their role to focus on making this idea happen.
I was one of the finalists with my idea; Shadowing@Sky idea. A personal development tool to help colleagues meet new people around the company and learn about their roles. The tool aimed to improve cross-team collaboration, understand what other teams do, personal development and progression within the company.
I was delighted to have the opportunity to dedicate a full week to make this idea happen. Together with a group of passionate volunteers, we made a plan of action.
In the following weeks, we started to engage with different stakeholders to promote the idea, which later on lead to a successful launch of the tool for everyone at Sky to use.
At Sky we’re always challenging ourselves to deliver the next big thing. Describe what that’s like and why it’s exciting?
I have been working for Sky for over 9 years now and I’ve always found it a very exciting place to work. After I joined the company as a Media Operator, my career path took an unexpected turn towards Software Development through the Get into Tech coding course, organised by Sky.
Following that, I got to be part of several teams, building very exciting products. From internal monitoring tools to ensure customers don’t see any disruptions to our platforms, to teams responsible for the development and release of the NOW streaming app to a multitude of big-screen client devices.
There are always opportunities to learn and grow within Sky. If you have the passion and desire to learn, there is definitely no time to get bored!
I am the type of person who also loves to get involved in outside-of-my-role initiatives. Sky is a great place for those types of opportunities too!
How is Sky an inclusive place to work where you can be yourself?
Throughout my time at Sky, I’ve had the privilege of working under the guidance of supportive managers.
Sky have offered me the time to explore various volunteering opportunities. These opportunities enabled me to enhance my professional skills, broaden my knowledge and expand my network.
These opportunities ranged from being a Sky Forum representative for my business area, leading one of the Better Work/Life initiatives, and looking into management training & mentoring programmes etc.
Sky has also been very understanding when I enrolled on a two-year part-time Masters in Data Science, while still juggling all my responsibilities at work. I am very grateful for that.
