Meet the Team: Archie Judd, Junior Data Engineer

Archie Judd, Junior Data Engineer

For this week’s Meet the Team, we caught up with Archie Judd, Junior Data Engineer at Moixa.

Archie has been working with us for three years. At first, he joined the team as a performance analyst, and then, after a six-month break working at the Home Office, he came back and moved into the world of data engineering. His current role focuses on supporting the data team and other teams with data-oriented tasks and projects.

With a Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering and a strong interest in technology and sustainability, Archie discussed all things software and AI while giving us an insightful overview of his role and life at Moixa.

Hi Archie, thanks so much for taking the time to chat with us today. First of all, we wanted to ask you, can you describe your role? What do you like the most about it?

My role is varied. A healthy mix of fulfilling ad-hoc requests for colleagues and clients, fixing bugs, creating data access and monitoring tools, and contributing to longer-running infrastructural work.

I love the variety and the endless learning curve! It’s also really stimulating to be surrounded by really smart, collaborative and friendly colleagues and learning organically from them is a joy.

What skills do you think your role requires the most?

I think tenacity is especially useful for any software-oriented role, particularly for a junior.

How do you keep up with the latest technology trends?

I organically keep abreast of technological developments in the renewables space via my colleagues. Outside of work, I am mostly interested in developments that have a bit of a climate change narrative.

I’m pretty fascinated by any innovative use of technology to reduce waste. There’s lots of interesting work being done to create waste-free alternative products, such as water-soluble circuit boards, hemp-based concrete and sunflower-based polystyrene etc.

Tell us how you and your team have played an active role in solving a business problem through the innovative use of existing data. What did that involve?

As a team, we have been developing functionality to simulate cost savings for a variety of electricity tariffs or installed battery and PV scenarios. We can use the planner algorithm of our GridShare software on historic or synthetic data to generate battery instructions that can then be simulated as if performed by a real battery. The insights this sort of analysis provides are great. It’s very satisfying to be able to give a prudent recommendation that has the potential to significantly reduce an electricity bill without behaviour change.

Do you think software and AI can support countries’ transition to 100% renewable energy?

Yes! There’s a rapid shift to renewables and a huge escalation in grid-connected batteries and EVs. Adding more renewable energy to the grid comes with a greater risk of unpredictability due to the intermittent nature of renewable energy sources, like wind and solar. Therefore, grids need to be smarter to balance supply and demand.

I love that software and AI can do this effectively by aggregating distributed energy resources (like smart batteries) into virtual power plants (VPPs) to deliver flexibility services.
These VPPs can store clean energy across smart devices in people’s homes when it’s not needed and send it back to the grid when it is, keeping the grid in balance while allowing for more clean energy to be used.

How important is communication between teams in your daily work? How do you work together to find solutions to new problems and challenges?

Very important! My team is constantly aware of what each of us is working on. We are all exposed to a wide variety of tasks, which helps keep us versatile as a team and stimulated.

It’s a dynamic atmosphere to work in; there’s lots of ad-hoc problem-solving, which is fulfilling. We’ll generally brainstorm as a group for bigger challenges, agree on a plan of action and go from there.

Is sustainability a big driver for you in your work?

Yes! As a teenager, I set my heart on designing wind turbines, which led me toward mechanical engineering at university.

After graduating, I really wanted to find a role in a sustainability-focused company. My thesis involved wind turbine performance analysis, so when a performance analyst role at Moixa appeared, I jumped at it! Finding an environmentally conscious role is not the easiest thing, so I feel very lucky.

What are your top tips for someone considering a career in software engineering in the renewable energy industry?

I can only speak from experience, but I would really recommend trying to find a role in a smaller, growing company. As someone with minimal coding experience, working as an analyst in a small tech company provided the perfect environment to naturally learn a lot of the skills I needed to transition from analytics to data engineering. Getting a foot in the door is the most important thing!

A huge thank you to Archie for discussing his role and life at Moixa. You can connect with Archie on LinkedIn here.

Do you want to join a talented team that is committed to creating a more sustainable world? Visit our careers page and see if there’s a role that suits you, or get in touch directly with our Talent Acquisition Manager Gail Solomon.