I am a T-shaped engineer with a life-long passion for the creation of elegant solutions to challenging problems. I am a skilled self-learner, constantly growing with my field. I excel in creative problem solving, drawing from a broad range of experience to think outside the box. Quality is very important to me, and the solutions I deliver are accurate, effective, robust, fast and secure. I am an excellent communicator who is able to bridge the gaps between disciplines to foster a holistic approach to technical and business challenges. I believe strong documentation is key in sharing and retaining knowledge. I am a self-starter, always keen to take on responsibility where this gives me an opportunity to drive positive change.
My story
Ever since I was little, I liked making things. Whether it was with Lego or QBasic, it was the act of manifesting my ideas into reality that has always been attractive to me. With computers being accessible, a lot of this attraction was channelled into the digital realm.
The first program I wrote was with the help of a magazine when I was quite young. The simple QBasic program would ask you to enter your name. When I entered my name the computer told me I was great, but my younger brother would get insulted.
As I grew up I played with many different things. I built simple websites with HTML/CSS and eventually PHP and JavaScript. I built tools and little games for my graphing calculator and modded Morrowind and the Half-Life games.
After high-school I went off to the Delft University of Technology to study mechanical engineering. In the end my life took a turn and I never worked as a mechanical engineer, but engineering is engineering, and I still use the skills gained in my formal education every day.
In university I started using Matlab extensively. Then, in 2009 after a course in discrete simulation using Delphi I started working part-time as a software developer at Evry, a provider of software for healthcare professionals. Under the supervision of the Lead Developer there I formalised my skills in a business environment. Throughout the years I designed and implemented various sub-sections of the software, as well as a number of in-house web-based tools.
In 2013 I was diagnosed with cancer. This changed the course of my life and was a large contributor to who I am today. It forced me to quit mechanical engineering a few months shy of finishing my bachelor’s to fight for my life and - after that - start on the long road to recovery. I talk about this journey on a website I created: Gevecht over leven.
Still recovering from treatment but in need of a new challenge I joined a start-up called EVSmart. I was responsible for all software past the firmware level as well as the systems this software ran on. I designed and developed a group of applications running on the charge-points and back-office infrastructure. This system was responsible for everything from tracking usage, monitoring hardware and troubleshooting to billing and maintenance tracking. After three years, and having learned more than I ever have before in such a short period of time, I realised the lack of work-life balance that came with being part of a small start-up was not what I wanted from life.
In 2018 I moved from the Netherlands to the United Kingdom, and joined Cirencester Friendly Society as a developer. My responsibilities within Cirencester Friendly quickly grew as I successfully took on various projects, and I am currently the lead developer working within the rapidly expanding technology department on bringing the Cirencester Friendly Society into the future.
Personal
I live in the Cotswolds together with my fiancé Heather and our rabbit Wilfred. I enjoy tinkering with software and electronics, general DIY, wood- and metalworking and staying active.