Name: Hugo Vazquez
Position: Senior Systems Engineer
Worked at Orange Business since: May 2023
Based: Stockholm, Sweden

Can you tell us about how you first came in contact with Orange Business?
I first came into contact with Orange Business when I was approached on LinkedIn by an external recruiter regarding the specific position that I have today. I was given a brief description of it which caught my attention and made me interested in knowing more about the opportunity. I got to meet with Dan Hansen (Manager of the Core Platform Services department) and a couple of the guys in the department. They all made a good impression on me, and the position looked very interesting and challenging so I figured that it would be a great opportunity for me. And it has in fact been challenging and the team are indeed very nice, so I was not wrong about that.

How would you describe what the Core Platform Services department you belong to does and are responsible for?
I am still a relatively new member of the team and would describe it as we are divided into different smaller teams within our department, where I am part of the Linux team. We maintain and support the Linux servers in the company regardless if it is internal infrastructure or customer platforms. Briefly described, we are responsible for providing support to our customer teams and take care of the internal infrastructure. We update the infrastructure, make sure to keep it secure, up to date and compliant. In addition, we also do improvements and enhancements when there are new versions released which could either be a good idea to make use of or even a necessity at times due to security reasons or requirements from customers. So, we need to make sure that we stay on top of news and trends.

Tell us a bit about your work as Systems Consultant and how you work?
Since I started, I have been doing a lot of training together with other members of the team. A lot of the training has been focused around understanding the internal infrastructure and how it is built as it is a bit complicated and something you need to get used to by learning and working within the environment. Therefore, I have been spending a lot of time with my teammates learning the work and the daily duties and following the recommendations based on documentation. In general, I have worked with a lot of Linux related support, doing migrations, and updates next to the learning.

What do you enjoy the most about your position and technologies that you work with?
I have been working with Linux for a while now and it caught my attention a long time ago when I was studying. Ever since then I have enjoyed the Linux environments. To begin with I was only exploring it as a hobby and eventually I found a way to get to do it on a more professional level and work with the technology. If I look at my position in general, I enjoy that it is a very dynamic and challenging environment. That I must keep myself updated on the latest trends and that there are several ways to find solutions to the challenges we face. That there is no absolute truth and the whole team contributes, which is an environment I enjoy working in.

What education and background do you have to be able to do this job?
Even though having a degree in computer science can help, nowadays it is not as necessary as everyone has access to the information and to learn over the internet. The field is constantly evolving and there are new technologies emerging that you do not learn in school and everything you do learn in school you can indeed learn yourself on the internet as long as you are interested and put some effort into it. A lot of the knowledge is also gained by working with others where you support each other and share your expertise. So, you do not really need a specific degree, you only really need a genuine interest. However, having said that, I have studied and have a degree in Computer Science and then experience from different jobs within the field in which I have learnt a lot. I started at a helpdesk doing Linux tech-support, moved to a monitoring team, became a developer and then before starting here I worked as a System Administrator supporting the company's internal employee tools on both Windows and Linux.

What do you personally think is the best thing about working at Orange Business in Stockholm?
I would say, after not having been with the company very long yet, that its biggest asset is the people! Ever since I started, I have felt welcome, people are very friendly, they say hi and approach you even if they you do not know each other or have worked closely together. I also work in a team spread across Sweden and Norway, having a lot of my close colleagues in Oslo. Despite the fact that we work in different locations they have always been available, very responsive and extremely supportive in helping me with my learning. When I have been to Oslo, they always make sure to come into the office so we have a proper opportunity to sit together. This is something I appreciate as it could be the best company ever but if the people are not nice, supportive, or welcoming it is not a place I would enjoy working at.