Profile
Rob Husband
Ready to answer questions on railways and software
Curriculum Vitae
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Education:
De Ferrers Academy, Coventry University
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Qualifications:
GCSEs: Maths, Physics, Biology, Chemistry, English Literature, English Language, Religious Studies, Drama, German, Product Design, History, ICT OCR Nationals. A Levels: Physics, Maths, ICT, History. Degree: Bachelor’s of Engineering in Electronic Engineering with Honours
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Work History:
Siemens Mobility Limited as an Intern Engineer, Siemens Mobility Limited as a Graduate Engineer
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Current Job:
Graduate Software Engineer
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Employer:
Siemens Mobility Limited UK is a sub company of the Global Siemens brand, known for creating products such as washing machines, MRI scanners and even at one point mobile phones.
Siemens is split into several businesses and each of those has several divisions as part of that. In Siemens Mobility there as several divisions:
- Rail Infrastructure – Involved in Rail Signalling, Rail Electrification and Rail Control systems
- Rolling Stock – Build and maintain the trains that run throughout the country
- Intelligent Traffic Systems – Design, build and maintain traffic systems in the UK
I work for the Rail Infrastructure division within the CIS business based in Ashby de la Zouch. The CIS (Customer Information Systems) business is responsible for designing, building and maintaining control systems for the railway. Our systems are responsible for controlling the railway stations and the power to railway lines (the cables over the lines).
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About Me
I am a science, tech and fantasy geek with a love for Rock or Metal music, video games, animals and the environment.
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I live in a flat by myself in Tamworth. At my parents house we have a dog who is very funny and she generally does silly things everyday which makes us laugh. I can play guitar and own 3 guitars, an acoustic, a sunburst stratocaster electric guitar and a ‘silent’ practice guitar. My spare time is generally spent playing guitar, playing video games or watching TV shows such as Agents of Shield or The Good Place.
I also spend some of my time outside work, working on personal software and robotics projects which is a hobby as well as a job. This is important to me and as a result i enjoy the work i do and the challenges that come with it.
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My Work
I write and test software for large scale control systems that Siemens creates and uses to control railway systems across the world
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As a software engineer, more commonly known as software developer, my job is to work within a small or medium sized team to write and test code written for railway control systems.
In the case of the large project which i am part of, there are several teams. There is a Systems team who design the tram stations and have conversations with the customer. I am part of the Software team which is split into three sub teams:
- System testers – They test the system in the factory lab against a small version of the full system
- Front End Developers – They design and build the user interfaces for the software
- Back End Developers – They design and write the code that performs actions that will be seen on the user interface
I am part of the Back End team and involved in fixing defects or problems. These are problems that the testers have raised that must be fixed before we ship the software to the customer (we can’t send broken software to the customer, that just looks bad).
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My Typical Day: I start work anywhere between 7:30am and 8:30am, check my emails and make a coffee or tea. Then i sit down to start working on some code using a programming language called C# (pronounced c-sharp). I continue to code in between various meetings till lunch. Lunch in the office is normally bought from a Local Tesco and at home it is whatever I fancy that is in the fridge. After lunch i continue coding until it is time to stop working at around 4pm
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Each day can be vastly different from the previous day which keeps the job interesting and engaging. A typical day includes writing and testing code, participating in daily meetings where we discuss as a team, what we are working on and if there is anything blocking us from completing that work. Following on from that meeting is continuing with coding at my desk or testing the code in the lab where we have a test system setup to test the software we are writing until i finish work for that day.
Other tasks that i may do at work include:
- Meetings with my manager
- Meetings to organise STEM events
- Admin tasks – Timesheets, Expenses etc
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Quiet, passionate, kind
What's the best thing you've done in your career?
Developed an app for railway construction workers to use to fill out a daily site diary document
What or who inspired you to follow your career?
My late dad and late paternal grandma
What was your favourite subject at school?
Physics
What did you want to be after you left school?
An engineer
Were you ever in trouble at school?
A couple of times for not doing homework
If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?
Guitar Tech for a touring rock band
Who is your favourite singer or band?
Cjrissy Costanza - Against the Current
What's your favourite food?
Sushi
What is the most fun thing you've done?
Go Ape high ropes course in Grizedale forest, also scary as i'm afraid of heights
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
1. Sometimes I wish I was more focused on tasks. 2. Be willing to show my work to others.
Tell us a joke.
What cheese would you use to hide a horse? Mascarpone
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