Interviews

Bazaarvoice’s Danielle Topping looks forward to NI Dev Conf

  • The Northern Ireland Developer Conference is back in Belfast on Saturday 9 June with an inspiring day of talks planned along with development showcases and opportunities for networking. 

    The organisers aim to widen the horizons of everyone who attends, whether they’re still a student or whether they remember back to the days of sorting punched cards.

    Sync NI recently caught up with Danielle Topping, a Software Engineer II working in the Belfast office of Bazaarvoice, a platinum sponsor of NI Dev Conf.

    Danielle is a fan of the conference. “Having a full and focused day that is developer-driven and developer-organized creates a great environment where everyone can get together, learn about what’s going on in Belfast from people sharing awesome technologies and techniques.”

    After nine years working on software for the insurance industry, Danielle moved to Bazaarvoice in 2017. The company’s mission is to create the world’s smartest network of consumers, brands and retailers for a better, more relevant shopping experience, so consumers buy the right product at the right time. Technically, the consumers, brands and retailers are connected together with information and data flowing through a highly-scalable cloud-based Software as a Service-based infrastructure.

    Danielle works on the Connections application which allows brands to answer questions about their products and respond to reviews that have been written on a retailer’s website. She’s a back-end Java developer, very comfortable with Spring services and getting to grips with the cloud infrastructure that supports her code.

    “I’m getting a lot of exposure to Amazon Web Services and working towards certification. At this point, six months into the job, I feel like I know what I’m doing, but I have a lot more to learn.”

    Does she enjoy software development?

    “My official answer is ‘most days’! They wouldn’t have to pay me if it was always fun and roses. I do really enjoy solving the challenges. You get frustrating days where you just want to shake your keyboard when things won’t work, but when you get a breakthrough, there’s nothing like it. People joke that it’s one of those jobs where you can go from feeling like an absolute idiot to feeling like a god in the same day when you get something working or hear how what you’ve done has made someone else’s work quicker or more productive.”

    Unlike other companies in which the IT department is supporting other business units, Danielle appreciates that at Bazaarvoice “tech is what we are selling.”

    “I love that engineering is at the heart of this company and as a result we are listened to. We’re respected and our advice and recommendations are taken on board and hugely appreciated. It feels like a partnership, working as one team to get something done.”

    Danielle knows that continual learning is critical to her success, whether through conferences, courses or certification. Her employer’s ‘20% time’ is an important way to keep absorbing new information.

    “You really can’t stay up to date with new technologies and development in your own time and keep a proper work-life balance. So I really appreciate that I can stick my headphones in on a Friday and watch a tutorial and learn more about AWS or Elasticsearch and the other tools we use.”

    Danielle’s career wasn’t what she expected to do when she left school.

    “I didn’t start off wanting to work in IT. I wanted to be a psychologist but I messed up my A-levels, didn’t get into psychology and my backup choice was computer science. I sat on the phone in tears to my sister telling her that I didn’t want to sit at a computer for the rest of my life.

    “In Lower Sixth I had some exposure to programming: old school Turbo Pascal and some developing in Microsoft Access. So my first exposure to coding wasn’t the most inspiring.”

    Having started Computer Science at Queen’s University, Danielle began an evening course in A-Level Psychology.

    “I discovered that I did not like psychology. While I liked Maths at school, it was more statistical than I was expecting. And the more I got into programming the more I realised I was no longer just being a user but was creating the thing to be used. That was a revelation.”

    As a STEM Ambassador, Danielle wants young people to have exposure to what IT professionals “actually do day-to-day because I certainly didn’t know and I might have started along the path a lot earlier if I had known.” She adds that it’s just as important that some people learn that a career in IT is not for them.

    She set up one of Northern Ireland’s first code clubs in Cairnshill Primary School, helping P7 children make games in Scratch and develop websites. She now helps with Django Girlsand Women Techspace

    A couple of times a year Django Girls organise full-day workshops to introduce coding to people who have no prior experience. Women Techspace grew out of that, filling the void after Django Girls with a monthly event that is set up like a code club for adults. You can drop in with a problem you’re working on and we’ll find someone to help coach you. Recent sessions have included looking at chatbots and Python automation. It’s totally informal and driven by the needs and interests of people who attend.”

    Looking ahead, Danielle is keen to stay technical.

    “I don’t think management is for me. You get those frustrating days in development, but I enjoy the wins too much when you solve difficult problems. I enjoy the scale of Bazaarvoice. We’re handling a lot of data which is both challenging and rewarding.

    “I came from insurance. I’m now in Bazaarvoice. In theory I could go on and work for NASA or Pixar. Doors are opening and software development is only going to become more important and more integrated into industries.”

    Following an open call for volunteers, the thrilling line-up of speakers for Northern Ireland Developer Conference is now available on their website. https://www.nidevconf.com Tickets for the conference have sold out.

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