ABOUT

So what do you actually do?

In my current role as Platform Engineer, my responsibilities at a high level is ensuring the infrastructure on which TopCashback sits on is stable and scalable.

I also ensure the systems and services the development teams utilise daily is always up to scratch and take on the responsibility of making sure we have no downtime in these areas.

As a Platform Engineer, the communication between myself and the development teams is paramount, from the start of a new project and designing an infrastructure layout to assisting and troubleshooting potential issues.

What has your career path been?

Unconventionally, 6 years ago I took the path of an Apprenticeship in IT Telecoms.

IT and technology has always been an interest of mine and when I’m not working, it’s usually reading up on the latest tech the world has to offer.

After completing the initial stages of my Apprenticeship, I was offered a place at TopCashback. Between the job being offered and my interview taking place, it was over the course of a week and I haven’t looked back since.

I initially started as providing internal support to fellow staff members, covering multiple office locations remotely such the UK, US and India. As my apprenticeship progressed, my role at TopCashback developed, growing into the Platform Engineering role and taking on more responsibilities.

What is the best part of your job?

Seeing that process transform from mere text to infrastructure on which millions of members visit the website on.

Modern-day infrastructure requires it to be scalable and repeatable. So a lot of the work we do including the creation of servers is done through scripts and writing lines of code.

Why do you do your job?

What started as a technology hobby and interest, rapidly grew into wanting to understand the workings of everything technical. The hobby has grown into my day job and for that reason alone the motivation isn’t hard to come by.

One piece of advice for someone starting in your role?

No one knows everything. You may think it starting in a new role but more often than not, it’s specific business knowledge built over time.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions, we’ve all been there and it’s much more appreciated asking rather than going away and breaking something.

Check out Mohammed’s socials below!

DAY IN THE LIFE

Morning

Mornings always start with the same hesitation as every other day, check to see if anything has broken overnight.

Once we have passed that hurdle, as a team we’ll ensure the first thing we do is have a daily stand-up. The stand up consists of the team going through what they’ve managed to achieve recently and what they’ll be working on for the day. It’s also a good time to catch up with teammates, something that happens a lot less frequently with the present lockdown situation.

I will then proceed to work off my ‘board’ in which we have different columns including: Ready to be Picked Up, In Progress and Awaiting Sign Off.

We strive to achieve as much planned work as possible in the mornings to allow us time to pick up any inevitable issues that come up throughout the day.

It is our team’s responsibility to deploy the code onto the site which has been signed off and tested. This is aimed for the mornings to ensure we have enough office hours for the developers to discover any potential issues.

We have 4 sites in regions, UK, US, Germany and India so ‘quiet’ time on 1 site may not be the same on another.

After being at TopCashback for over 6 years, I’ve built up a lot of domain knowledge and with that comes the occasional questions of how a particular area works.

I always aim to take time out of my day to ensure my co-workers are not struggling with any tasks of their own so will discuss over a call usually on where I can help.

Afternoon

TopCashback is an online cashback site so we treat this time of the year, with Black Friday fast approaching as our ‘peak’ period.

It’s the time of the year where we’ll see the most numbers at any given time on the site.

It’s therefore important to ensure as a team that the infrastructure is robust and is prepared for any sudden spikes of traffic. We’re currently preparing a new TV ad as a company, so marketing via the ad or a mention from money saving guru Martin Lewis on TV can quickly drive traffic to our site.

We’ll have occasional meetings with the other development teams and the business to ensure everyone is aligned on what is required and what we’re looking to achieve. During this time of the year, we’ll try not to ‘experiment’ or implement anything new as the main goal is stability.

My day usually finishes once I’m personally satisfied with what I’ve achieved and tend to not leave tasks half-finished. I will then run through making sure I’ve not forgot to reply back to someone and once that’s done, it’s time to call it a day!