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    A Day in the Life of.. a System Engineer at Cerba Research

    Meet Fabian and Dion, 2 enthusiastic System Engineers at Cerba Research

    Although at Cerba Research no day is the same, Fabian and Dion tell how a typical day looks like at the office in The Netherlands. Can you please introduce yourself?

    I am Fabian, 30 years and living in The Hague. Before joining Cerba Research I worked as a Consultant System Engineer, where I had different assignments in different types of companies. I choose to become part of a company where I could build a department and learn new things at the same time. I choose Cerba Research because of the growth and dynamics of the organization. There is a lot to discover, what makes it great for me to work here.

    And I am Dion, 24 years. I have been working here for 5 years already. Time flies.. I joined as an intern – the youngest person in the organization at that time- and I wanted to experience a laboratory environment and combine this with learning more about system engineering. And I am still here, fully enjoying it!

    Whereabouts do you sit within the organization? What does your team look like?

    Fabian: “the growing team of System Engineers is part of the bigger IT team, with different locations in different regions. Our system engineering team in Rotterdam currently consists of 3 colleagues. Within our team we get the freedom to work on a variation of software and hardware projects. We do a lot of things in-house, we have many ideas to further build out our capacities and automate.”

    Dion: “the work of System Engineer is way more than servicing through help desk support. We maintain and build the infrastructure of the company, the various systems and we support all end-users. In Rijswijk our team currently has 3 colleagues, but we also support in Rotterdam if needed, and vice-versa.”

    Tell us about a typical working day…

    Fabian: “I guess there is no typical working day. Our focus is to continuously improve and support our colleagues with a broad spectrum of hardware and software solutions. We work on dynamic network, infra and security projects, we use Azure to work in the cloud, we solve tickets, we improve server capacity, we train our colleagues and so on. Like a spider in a growing web.”

    Dion: “my typical working day starts with a nice cup of coffee. From there every day varies; from daily system back-ups and/or controls, support the help-desk to work on the systems integration of the Rijswijk site to the Rotterdam site. We also work closely together with facilities, for example monitoring the software for the cooling systems of the labs. And then all of a sudden I find myself on the rooftop of the building.."

    What do you love about your job? What don’t you like?

    Fabian: “I like the diversity of my work, the freedom to come up with new ideas and initiatives. Every day is different. At Cerba Research there is an informal working culture, where we can take ownership of specific tasks and projects and at the same time we work as a close team. We can be flexible when to do what, and what to focus on. And we have fun together.” “What I like less is the admin side of my work. Working in a biotech environment also means working with validation and being compliant to some strict regulations.”

    Dion: ”I like working on the different tasks and projects, I learned and keep learning a lot, but what I like most in my job is helping my colleagues – who I see as friends- across different departments to be able to better do their work and simply make them happy with my help. It is really fulfilling to have this impact. When it comes to working times, there is a lot of flexibility, it is a matter of taking ownership and get the work done, but the times you work can be flexible.” “What I sometimes find frustrating is that we are not always able to help our colleagues as fast as we would have liked to, or being understaffed at some moments. So, it is good that our team grows.”

    What kind of skills do you need to be effective in your role as System Engineer?

    Fabian: “working in a fast growing company means that you need to be willing to learn a lot, adapt, take initiative and role up your sleeves. As a System Engineer you need to like helping your colleagues, dare to ask if you don’t know something, cooperate and find ways to solve issues.”

    Dion: “you need good communication skills in order to explain in a clear way. You also need to be solution oriented, you don’t need to know everything, but willing to ask other people or deal with certain unknown situations.”

    What kind of goals do you have? And where might you go from here?

    Fabian: “I am a generalist, but at the same time I would like to further specialize working in the cloud (Azure) and Office 365. As part of the Microsoft community I can follow courses. I also want to professionalize in security. The good thing about working here is that you can choose your own direction and further growth.”

    Dion: “I have good perspectives for further growth and development, I keep learning every day. I like to get official certificates for cloud solutions. There is a development budget available for everyone to learn and grow. I want to grow towards a senior and get broader responsibilities. And that is the great thing about working here: there are growth opportunities for everyone.”

    In a few words, how would you describe the company culture?

    Fabian: “I would say a dynamic and informal atmosphere. As a team we work hard, but we also like to laugh and have fun together. As long as you do what you need to do, you can define your own working schedule. It is inspiring that the team grows, more to learn and collaborate, more fun!”

    Dion: “take ownership, be flexible – it is like ‘give and take’, and there is an atmosphere of collaboration and fun.”

    Excited? Please check out our System Engineer job openings