One year at Worldsensing
A few weeks ago it has been a year since I joined Worldsensing and I would like to share the things that I think are interesting within the department in which I work. I must clarify that this is not a marketing post ;)
In Engineering there are several working groups: software, hardware, firmware and R&D. In WS we build sensors (IoT) of various types: parking control, traffic control, construction and mining sensors, etc.
I am a member of the software development team, which mainly focuses in Mobility, a platform that manages all the information sent by our sensors, as well as other application data from the city’s third parties data-sources. By combining this information into a single view, we allow them to make faster and more intelligent decisions in real-time.
Besides having a team of people with a very high technical knowledge (engineers, physicists, mathematicians, data scientists, you name it) I believe that in WS we have a team of great human quality.
Below, I’m going to list a few items, events and cultural choices that I believe make Worldsensing a great place to work:
Hack Weeks
Hack Weeks are events in which, for a week, the engineering teams are dedicated to developing solutions that can be either new products or improvements in existing products. The solutions are ideas presented by the members of any department at Worldsensing.
Once approved, the teams are formed, having total freedom of movement regarding the planning and execution of the tasks and the fun begins. The only condition is that, after the week, a demo is performed in front of the company showing the results.
Here you can find some images of the first edition, and if you want more details here there is a blog post about our Hack Week 1.0.
The only thing worse than training your employees and having them leave is not training them and having them stay. — Henry Ford, Founder, Ford Motor Company
Communities
In Product Engineering we work using agile methodology, more specifically Scrum. We have two week sprints and the last Friday of each sprint we have Communities.
The Communities are presentations of one hour, where any member of the company is welcome to attend. The topic to be discussed in the presentation is freely chosen. We usually talk about the latest technologies or interesting items that can help us improve as a team, although we also find time to discuss other non-tech items that might enrich us somehow . The important thing is to consider that you have something to share with the rest of the team that can be useful. All this in a frame of relaxation with beers, soft drinks and a snack…
Chapters
A few weeks ago we began to implement the Chapters. As we grow, communications amongst teams doesn’t happen so naturally, so we are trying them.
Chapters are one-hour meetings specific to each group within Engineering, although anyone can introduce themselves to one. There are Software, Hardware, Data, Firmware and Systems Chapters. Each Chapter may have a different objective depending on the needs of the moment or the nature of the group.
For example, from Software we seek to share know-how in a horizontal way. Many times we do not know, but from another department or team a workmate is struggling with something that someone else has previously spotted. We also seek to open a channel of communication and thus spot problems that may otherwise be difficult to detect.
Engineering forum
In WS we have accounts in different eLearning platforms to make sure we can keep up-to-date and have training courses when we need them. That is why from Software we have sought to make a systematic use of these tools and get the most out of it. Each sprint we define a topic to study (performance problems in database, evaluation of Open Source tools for the next implementation, etc). Then, we define the resources (videos or books) available and each member must choose the resource to study (it can be a chapter of a book or a module of a video). Finally, the second Thursday of each sprint we meet and share notes. From here, we define actions and create tasks for the next sprints.
Show and Tell
At the end of each sprint, all the Engineering teams get together to share demos of their progress in the last two weeks. Each team shows what considers is most significant of the sprint that ends.
Is important to note that everyone else in the company is open to attend the meeting and see the progress and new features that we will be delivering soon.
This meeting is important because it brings us closer to the work of other colleagues that we do not see on a daily basis. Throughout the months we have been giving more importance to the Show than to the Tell, which is good.
Family life
I recently read a tweet from someone who said he did not understand how there were companies looking for Senior Engineers, noting that they offered Ping Pong tables or PlayStations in their offices.
In general, a Senior profile will not be found in people under 30 or 35 years of age. It is normal that at this age people have children, so having a PlayStation in the office is not as important as the company offering some flexibility in the schedules to manage the classic problems of parents: sick children, especially during the first years of life.
During this year we started sending our son to the nursery. As expected, he soon began to get sick. Having no more family in Barcelona, our alternative is to stay at home. Fortunately at Worldsensing they understand this need and have been extremely flexible with my schedules. Honestly, it’s priceless!
Work from home
Another point to note is the flexibility offered in terms of working from home. It is true that we do not have colleagues who work 100% remotely, but it is always possible to do it in case of needing it and that the work allows it.
While the highlights are many, not everything is perfect. For example, in the Engineering department we have an important gender gap, which we will have to reduce.
And that’s all from me, I definitely invite you to look at the open positions we currently have at Worldsensing and join us! Careers
