Women in tech: Meet Umaima

Could you please share your journey into the tech industry and what inspired you to pursue a career in this field?

I started off in university in electrical and electronic engineering because my parents were quite keen on it. I hated it, so I made the switch to computer science!  

The reason I picked that was because I did one programming module in my Engineering degree and really enjoyed it. I knew I made the right decision. From there I went into development, and from there I gradually moved into solutions architecture. 

Could you tell me a little bit about your role at Datapharm? 

I am a solutions architect at Datapharm, which is very interesting. I find it can mean different things for different organisations but, essentially, you are more involved in the systems design from a high-level perspective. A lot of my day is spent understanding what the various impacts are of changes across multiple Datapharm products and providing guidance to the development team and the Quality Assurance team around impacts. So, for example if you change something here, please be aware that this is going to cause problems that might need to be retested. You end up seeing a big picture view of Datapharm’s digital estate.

What recent project are you most proud of? 

My first project was the change dashboard. It was my first foray into cloud infrastructure, so it was quite a steep learning curve, but it was extremely interesting. I learned a lot from the team because I was new to cloud infrastructure, but I had the support from the people around me in terms of guidance and advice, and they pointed me in the right direction. It was a great project for me.  

What has surprised you about working at Datapharm? 

The amount of change has been wonderfully refreshing. Prior to Datapharm I spent 12 years working in financial services so medicines information as a domain was completely new to me. And Datapharm at the time had transformed a lot. Reflecting where the company was two years ago and where we are now as a tech team, it has been quite the journey, and a very good one at that. We are now able to proactively handle issues and build new things. For example, considering different aspects such as monitoring and security.   

What would you say to someone considering a career in tech? 

If you are keen on considering a career in tech and like it, do it. No one goes into tech knowing everything. I certainly did not, I learned a lot on the job. I have been lucky with the people that I have worked with. I have had talented team leaders and people who I have learned a lot from. There are fantastic people in the tech industry. I know there is a stereotype of people who work in a particular industry being a bit crotchety and not very sociable, but there are also many more people who are authentically giving their time. It’s a great industry to work in. 

What words of wisdom or advice would you give to someone considering working at Datapharm? 

I would say you should be open to change and quick on your feet, because the company's growing and things are changing very quickly. We have a wonderful team at Datapharm who are supportive, you never feel alone as everyone is on the same journey together.  

Datapharm is committed to creating an outstanding workplace which is underpinned by its culture of care, courage and collaboration. If you would like to become part of the Datapharm journey, or see our current list of vacancies, visit our careers page.