Meet the Herd: Carl Harri
Hi Carl! Tell us a bit about yourself.
I’m Carl and I’m a Cloud Engineer at BlakYaks. I have been working in the Technology space for over 17 years, yet this is only my third company I’ve worked for which is a rarity these days.
I first started my career working at a managed service provider working as a sysadmin setting up and supporting anything deemed technology for companies from all walks of life, from large telecoms companies to a handful of people on a ship. A highlight from that role was I was able to do a bit of travelling with it, taking me to South Africa, Hong Kong and Maderia, though there was never any time for sightseeing.
I then moved on to a financial software company in the commodity and back-office reconciliation space dealing again with all things technology as well as supporting the software we developed. Working with heavily regulated companies you find everything you do to be security first which I feel is useful in any role you do. I try to keep my personal life fairly stress free, I’m an avid AFC Wimbledon supporter (COYD!) and I’ve recently gotten into running in the attempt to keep fit which I try to counteract by sampling all the ales at my local, but you have worked that out by the beard!
What is your role at BlakYaks?
I am part of the professional services team which is more project-based work. This can consist of deploying one of our accelerator packs, working on assessments/migrations or getting stuck in and writing and deploying Terraform modules and Ansible playbooks. In-between project work, I look at internal work to help improve our Terraform child modules to ensure they are kept current and match our latest standards.
What does a typical day look like for you and what are you currently working on?
It varies depending on the project, it usually involves attending internal/external standups, testing/labbing scenarios, writing documentation, writing Terraform Modules and Ansible playbooks. Currently I’ve been working on an Azure migration assessment as well as deploying our landing zone accelerator pack for a new client.
What drew you to join BlakYaks originally?
When I first saw the posting for the role, I felt it fitted what I was looking for perfectly. I've spent a fair few years building my knowledge in the infrastructure space as well as having working closely with development teams which makes me more familiar with idea of CI/CD but had yet to fully embrace IaC which is what BlakYaks excels in! Also, with BlakYaks being a service provider I would have the chance to work in different environments which is more interesting and can provide more challenges.
How did you find the onboarding process when you joined BlakYaks?
The onboarding was very no nonsense and straightforward. It was a two-interview process, one with Dirk followed by a follow up with two members of senior management team. The process took around three weeks, and they were flexible with three months’ notice period.
On the first day at the office, I was warmly welcomed by the team and provided my equipment along with a bit of BlakYaks swag which is always welcome. From there I was shown the ropes, given some training material and got stuck in. Overall, it was a solid experience.
How has the company/team changed since you joined?
In the grand scheme of things, I've only been working at BlakYaks a short while (under a year) but it's grown quite a bit. I'm normally used to working with small technical teams but it's hard to keep track of everyone here!
What do you like most about BlakYaks?
Everyone is welcoming and very knowledgeable which is good for bouncing ideas off. Also, the standards and processes put in place are here to help and keeps things consistent. Like with other development, if people write code to a similar standard, then it's easier to understand and use.
How do you maintain a good work-life balance?
I feel with the hybrid working model is useful as I can utilise the time used for travel or lunch to fit in activities such as fitness or housework giving you more time in the evening to relax and be refreshed for the next day; But overall I feel the job that you have largely dictates the balance, if you're in a role with large workloads with unrealistic deadlines the balance is going to be off especially when your passionate about your work. Luckily, I've had no issues here so far.
What are your goals and aspirations for the next 6 months?
Over the next few months, I’m hoping to get more hands-on experience with Ansible and work on some more complex playbooks. Knowledge/certification wise, I'm looking to get my AZ-700(Azure networking) exam shortly then I'll be looking to dive into Kubernetes and containerisation.