Challenge, opportunity, fun, and the chance to make a difference – CluePoints has everything a talented software engineer is looking for.
That’s according to Philippe Thiran, who became the clinical trial technology company’s Engineering Manager just four months ago. As part of a series of blogs by our subject matter experts, he tells us why CluePoints is proving to be such a great place to work.
The Challenge
At CluePoints, we build pioneering SaaS technologies that help Pharmaceutical companies to run more effective, safer, clinical trials.
It means we are all united around a common purpose of using our skills to get life-saving, life-enhancing medicines to the people who need them as quickly as possible.
CluePoints is something of a rare beast in Belgium, where our Software and SRE/DevOps teams are based. We are a fully scaled-up company that builds its own SaaS application.
But we are still facing new technical challenges as the business continues to grow. Customer numbers have grown substantially over the last year or so, and it is down to us in engineering to scale up the applications and create more enticing useful features.
Working at CluePoints isn’t about maintaining the current system. We are fully agile across development and operation, working in squads to build new solutions and new features. The team thrives on the challenge of facing new technical challenges and coming up with the right solutions.
Recent projects on our core platform, which is based on statistical algorithms, for example, have included improving ease of use on the front-end visualizations.
On the back end, we are moving towards implementing full microservice architecture, requiring a full roadmap on moving from the current application to a more flexible, scalable model.
Opportunity
There is always something new to work on and learn about here. And because we are solution-focused, we get involved in investigating, designing, and building new solutions. This offers huge opportunities in terms of technical development.
Our solution-based model means we work with the newest, most cutting-edge Tech Stack. As such, our squads are learning all the time and the career development opportunities are huge.
While we use Python as our main programming language for the back end, for example, we train new starters who have experience in all object-orientated languages, such as C++, C#, or Java.
At the front end, we use Angular. Currently, everything is in Docker, though we are fully moving over to Kubernetes, which will be another interesting project.
CluePoints is getting bigger all the time, and, with an international team we talk English at work, growth translates to opportunity in any language.
Just in the time I have been here, we have gone from three to seven squads, and the company is now looking at opening engineering bases in Flanders and Brussels.
Great Open and Friendly Culture
It’s not just the work that makes my role at CluePoints so enjoyable – it’s also our culture.
The team respects each other, working in full transparency with compassion and trust with the understanding that we are all in it together. Allowing us to listen to each other’s feedback and ways to improve the way we work.
We are passionate about what we do. We constantly challenge and empower ourselves and each other to do the very best job we can. People can take responsibility and complete ownership of what they are developing. You can invest time to explore and experiment with new ideas to have your input on the bigger picture.
As a workplace, you are constantly learning and being coached by experts in the field. Surrounded by smart people means new tech knowledge is quickly learned and new skills are acquired, no matter what level you join at.
Our motto is to work hard and play hard because we understand how important it is to have a fun, creative environment. The squads all organize gaming sessions, nerf wars, and social events, which adds to that team atmosphere and camaraderie.
Crucially, we understand that a fun environment can be highly motivating and productive. When smart people work on problems, and they enjoy coming to work, they can accomplish great things together.
Join Our Team
CluePoints is expanding rapidly and as such, we’re looking to add to our Engineering team. Here are our current open positions in the Engineering department:
Data Engineer, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
Front-End Software Engineer, Lovain-la-Neuve, Belgium
DevOps Engineer, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
Backend Software Engineer, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
