‘Make a career out of the thing you enjoy and are good at. Always push yourself outside of your comfort zone’<\/p>\n
Danny Cranmer, Senior Software Development Engineer at Amazon Web Services (AWS), studied MEng Electronic and Communication Engineering and graduated in 2011.<\/p>\n
What are your main responsibilities and tasks at Amazon Web Services?<\/strong><\/p>\n My team and I look after the engine for Amazon Kinesis Data Analytics. I am responsible for the end to end development of the service, from idea to development to delivery to maintenance. I am also an active committer of the Apache Flink open source project, which is the foundation of Kinesis Data Analytics.<\/p>\n Are you working on any exciting projects that you can share?<\/strong><\/p>\n Right now I am working on a generic asynchronous sink base to simplify integrations with Apache Flink, including Amazon Kinesis Data Streams, Amazon Kinesis Data Firehose and Amazon DynamoDB. More info can be found here<\/a>. Last year my team delivered a brand new service, Kinesis Data Analytics Studio<\/a>.<\/p>\n How do you feel your time at Kent prepared you for working in the industry?<\/strong> What did you learn in your degree that has been beneficial to you in your role?<\/strong> What are your plans for the future?<\/strong> What advice would you give to someone wanting to follow the same career path?<\/strong> What was your favourite memory from your time at Kent?<\/strong>
\nBefore University I had no idea what I wanted to pursue in my career. While studying at Kent I had the opportunity to taste a broad set of technologies across hardware, software and management and discover what I enjoy, and what I am good at. I also learnt how to learn. The engineering industry is continually evolving, we never stop learning.<\/p>\n
\nMy degree taught me the foundations that underpin a diverse range of technologies, allowing me to quickly learn new skills while appreciating how it works under the hood. To complement the technical skills, I also left with a solid grasp of the project lifecycle, and general business strategy. These skills have come in useful on numerous occasions.<\/p>\n
\nI graduated almost 11 years ago and have been in technical roles ever since. I plan to stay technically focused, rather than jumping into management. I would love to start my own business in the future, but do not have any immediate plans.<\/p>\n
\nMake a career out of the thing you enjoy and are good at. Always push yourself outside of your comfort zone. Talk to people! Building a network is the key to success and most people are happy to grab a coffee and talk about what they are working on.<\/p>\n
\nWhile studying, I used to enjoy using the PCB fabrication facilities to pursue personal projects. Particularly creating mirco-controller based boards and developing the software to drive them. Of course the social life too. House parties, Woodies, The Venue and college bars. I made a few lifelong friends that I am still very close to.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"