Profile
Paul Stallard
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About Me:
I live in Chichester on the south coast. I work as a software architect and have twin boys who are both now at university. Apart from an interest in technology (and repairing things in general) I’m a keen runner and cyclist.
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Away from work I really enjoy being outside – walking, running, or cycling. I live near the sea and try to keep swimming all year round (I normally struggle between December and April though!).
I started playing with computers when I was at school and have worked in that area all my career.
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My pronouns are:
he/him
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My Work:
I’m a software architect working for (mostly famous) streaming video services. I focus on using data and AI to make these services better for customers.
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Streaming services collect a lot of data – they store information about every video you watch, every button you click and every page you view.
That data is used for many things, from making sure the platform is robust and reliable, to creating personalised recommendations.
In my role, we design and build the systems that collect and clean that data, and feed the various systems that rely on it. It’s a fun job – very technical at times, but it also requires me to work with lots of other people to understand their requirements.
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My Typical Day:
I work from home and have done for several years. My team is distributed across the world, with most in America. I can normally be quite flexible in the morning (before America is awake!) but sometimes work later in to the evening. I spend a few hours a day on video calls.
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A lot of my work is designing ways to solve business problems with data. That means working with lots of parts of the business, and also closely with the development teams who are writing the software.
Occasionally things go wrong and I’ll spend a few hours trying to work out what happened. Did something go wrong in the client application, or somewhere else in the system?
Machine learning and AI is playing an increasingly important role in what I do. Although I have lots of experience with it, I still have to dedicate time to learn about the latest developments. I really enjoy this self-directed learning to keep myself up to date.
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What I'd do with the prize money:
I really enjoy spending time in local schools talking about my job. That always works best with a good demonstration or activity that everyone can get involved with.
I think I’d spend the money on buying equipment for those activities. Perhaps some Raspberry Pis, some robotics kits and some cameras. I’m sure I could devise some exciting machine learning/AI activities with those parts – how about a self-driving robot?
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Education:
Wilson’s School, Wallington, Surrey
University of Bath
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Qualifications:
10 ‘O’ Levels
3 ‘A’ Levels (Maths, Physics, Chemistry)
BSc(Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering
PhD
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Work History:
In chronological order:
Lecturer in Computer Science, University of Bristol
Senior Solution Architect, TANDBERG Television
VP Technology, Ericsson
Principal Architect, Merapar Technologies
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Current Job:
Principal Architect
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Employer:
Merapar Technologies
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
life-long geek
What did you want to be after you left school?
electronic engineer (ended up in software, not hardware)
Were you ever in trouble at school?
No
If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?
University Lecturer (my previous job!)
Who is your favourite singer or band?
Eric Clapton
What's your favourite food?
Italian
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
Play the guitar well enough to be in a band, travel the world, be fluent in another language
Tell us a joke.
Two bytes meet each other in the street. One says to the other "you don't look quite right". The other replies "I'm just a bit off"
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