Why I Chose Sensat

With exam and results season just behind us in the UK, we are excited to hear from Lauren Durnin, our Data Operations Intern, who has just joined Sensat permanently as a Processing Engineer. Lauren opens up about her experiences as a Sensateer so far and why she decided to stay with us, putting her Master’s on pause. Lauren’s experience at Sensat so far demonstrates that you never know when a career path may present itself, and that there are always opportunities around every corner, and it might not be the one you necessarily think it is.

What drew you to Sensat?

At university, I studied Geology where a key focus was directed towards climate and its effects on the landscape, which is why I always wanted to go into something appreciative of the sustainability side of things. I wanted a career where I could be making a difference, and Sensat’s mission,to provide industries with the understanding to shape a sustainable world, does exactly that.

Although I knew I wanted to go into something involving sustainability, I never thought I would end up in the construction-tech side of it! However, now that I am here and the more I learn about the industry, it is apparent that construction has a long way to go in terms of reaching net-zero and the sustainable goals set. As one of the most polluting industries in the world, I can see that the opportunity of digital adoption throughout the industry, and using technologies like ours has the potential to make a substantial impact, while also helping to transform civil infrastructure. I feel like I have joined the journey at a really pivotal moment in construction and I look forward to being a part of what will hopefully be a game-changing sustainability story.

Before joining Sensat permanently, I joined the Data Operations team as an Intern for the summer, with the intention to return to university after to do a Master’s in Environmental Engineering at Strathclyde in Glasgow. However, once Sensat offered me a permanent position as a Processing Engineer I knew it was not an opportunity I could turn down!

How does your degree relate to what you do at Sensat?

Whilst completing the last year of my degree over the pandemic, like many, I had to find new and different ways of working. Before Covid, my degree was very practical and we were out in the field and doing lab work for a majority of my assessments. As we adapted to working from home, it meant that this was all done as best we could online. As a result, it pushed me to pick up more GIS and explore other technical areas of Geology. Picking up these technical skills at university has given me a really useful understanding which I have been able to build upon at Sensat as a processing engineer.

Coincidentally my dissertation involved using drones and GIS to gather and analyse data of my site which, if it were not for the lockdowns, I would have been able to explore in person. Using drone imagery I was able to look at an area of various fossils and rock features in great detail, so I could then analyse all of the different fossils, sizes and spatial distributions through my laptop. Little did I know just a few months later drones and processing data would be central to my job and my new career!

What has made you want to stay at Sensat?

The short answer is everything.

As for the longer answer…I love the people here and have made some great friends in my team and across the company. I did not expect Sensat to be so sociable, but with the regular Friday quiz, coffee mornings and general office chit chat it was an easy offer to accept.

I also really enjoy my role in the Data Operations team. I help to process data that we receive from the drones, where we get thousands of images that have been captured, then we process these images to upload them into the platform. It is very satisfying once clients can access a 3D digital twin of their project which I helped put together from files of scrambled images! I get to see the whole journey of the data, what we can do with it, and how our clients use the data which I find super interesting!

To add to this I have also been able to learn so much, not only from my team but from everyone around me. What took me by surprise was how willing anyone and everyone is to teach you something new, despite everyone’s busy schedules which have meant I have been exposed to lots of different aspects of the business—from software engineering, product design to marketing—which I would not have experienced in a large corporate role!

I have also really appreciated the importance of one of Sensat’s key values, transparency, which is something exercised every day here. We are not only able to access higher-level decision making, such as board meeting minutes, but we are also able to make an impact on them and put forward ideas, even from myself as an intern, which I really value and think is something very special about Sensat.

What are you most looking forward to now that you are staying at Sensat?

I am looking forward to learning more from my team, developing my career further and contributing to a more sustainable future. Following the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report which came out last week, it is evident that we need to be making radical and immediate efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and greenhouse gases, especially within the construction industry, this decade to try and help limit the effects of climate change.

At Sensat I am proud to be working towards a mission that is making a difference within the industry. I can see first-hand how innovative technologies are improving productivity and helping the industry to make smarter, more sustainable decisions. In addition, I am also excited to see what more technology has to offer as it continues to get smarter, especially in terms of computer vision and AI within the construction industry.

If you would like to hear more about what it is like to work at Sensat check out what others have to say about working at Sensat. Alternatively, get in touch with our Talent Team who can give you more information about our latest opportunities talent@sensat.co.uk.