An ever evolving tech career doesn't stop at Tesco.

 

Discover when Catherine realised she wanted to get into tech, and how she got to where she is today. (It’s quite a journey.) Learn what first attracted Catherine to Tesco, and why she’s loving the team and really liking where she is.

 

“Straight out of school, I knew I wanted to get into technology. Everyone seemed to be going into finance or marketing, and I didn't know many people in this field. It seemed impossible, but that’s why I decided to do it. If I'm being honest, I wanted to prove something. I wanted to prove that, if you put your mind to it and work really hard, you can do anything you want.

I’d worked in nursing homes, pie shops and retailers, where I learnt how to interact with all kinds of people. That customer experience is fundamental to any tech role, because you have to deal with customers every day. For the path I wanted to go on, I also needed that hands-on tech experience.

First, I went and did a BTech in computing. My college course was male dominated and I was studying every night, but I didn’t mind. I completed my CompTIA A+ and N+, right through to my SSCP ISC2 qualifications. That’s the thing about technology – you have to keep learning, because it’s ever evolving and changing.

In the end, it paid off: things didn’t just land into my lap and it felt like a badge of honour to be able to say I’m a techie. I’ve worked in several industries in my career, touching loads of different technologies and I’ve really enjoyed the opportunities to learn and develop my skillset.

I was looking for a new role which focused on the area of technology I enjoyed most whilst working with a range of tech experts. I already knew people at Tesco, and I had heard they had a really great team who were approachable and were getting things done. The big thing for me is the people. That’s what will keep anyone at a company, as well as the attitude about the work. At Tesco, it was: ‘check, check, check’. They sounded like the kind of people I wanted to work with, and I joined in March 2020.

Fundamentally, my role is managing a team of engineers who are working across a vast number of projects. I have nine direct reports and they're the brains of the mission. Right now, we’re have around 30-40 different projects. Essentially, my day consists of project calls about the new solutions we’re delivering, ensuring things are running on time and people have the support they need.

There’s such a mix of personalities and nationalities on the team. Every day, they’re constantly challenging each other and finding new ways of doing things. It's just ingrained in them. They’re really dedicated to the company, and they’re just a joy to work with. I love my team.

One of our most recent projects was replacing Tesco’s VPM (virtual process management) remote access solution to help our colleagues more easily and securely connect to Tesco’s infrastructure from home. The previous solution had performance issues, so we were tasked with finding an alternative. It was a big project with strict timelines, from designing the solution to getting it signed off, implementation, and migrating everyone over to the new solution.

Everyone here has the same ethos and we always try to do the right thing. From a technology perspective, that’s about questioning whether we’ve adequately considered the security elements, the impact on our colleagues and customers, and what the change is from their perspective when we implement something new. We’re very conscious of where we can save money and what's best for the business. People here operate as if Tesco is their business.

Tesco understands that technology is fundamental to everything. And joining us gives you the chance to get your hands on loads of different and cutting-edge technologies. We make sure people get exposure to the projects they want to work on, which is vital for their growth and great for Tesco, because we’re expanding knowledge across the team.

We’ve got a career framework that really supports our engineers. Whether you want to improve in your current position or advance to a new role, we’re able to help – whether that’s putting you on the right project or in front of the right person. There are plenty of tools to improve from a management standpoint too. Right now, I want to stay where I am and focus on being the best manager I can be."

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