Pierre R. - Senior Software Engineer, Service Now, San Diego

MINI PORTRAIT

I'm from Tours, where I completed the first two years of my engineering studies. When I arrived at Centrale I joined the BRIO project as a tutor, then was elected president of the Student Association and elected to the Student Council. I was also involved with the school’s corporate partnerships and Centrale Nantes Alumni.
I spent a year in industry in Bangkok, Thailand, before completing my studies with a double-degree in the United States at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

YOUR CURRENT POSITION

I'm currently a Senior Software Engineer at ServiceNow in San Diego, California. We are developing a platform to automate business processes to the maximum. It's fascinating to see the pace of development in the US, we've gone from 400 employees in 2010 to over 5,000 today with a billion dollars in revenue. I love my job, I work with a team of 8 people on an encryption technique, I am in regular contact with clients, I get to travel from time to time: Las Vegas, Orlando, London, Amsterdam, Tel Aviv, Sydney ...

One aspect that I really enjoy is the variety of our customers. From Google and Facebook to LHC in Geneva and JP Morgan to BNP, I am constantly impressed by the breadth of our platform applications and I love working with some of these companies to solve their security problems.
At the moment, I'm preparing for a move to San Francisco where we also have offices. Already acting as a team leader in San Diego, I will head up a new team in the Bay area. Working on the same encryption product, I want to concentrate more on theory than on integrations (I miss mathematics a little) and develop new algorithms to expand the product offer.

WHAT ASPECT OF YOUR TRAINING PREPARED YOU THE MOST FOR YOUR CURRENT ROLE?

What helps me the most in my work is a way of thinking, an approach to work that I acquired at Centrale Nantes and then at the University of Pennsylvania. Theoretical learning, of course, contributes to this approach, but also an open mind and the ability to confront new and varied problems, always moving forward whilst learning along the way.

WHAT DID YOU LIKE AT CENTRALE NANTES?

I enjoyed the freedom I had at Centrale Nantes to be able to get involved in so many different school and associative projects and to build a fairly atypical course. The relationships formed with students and teachers, but also with companies, graduates, as well as during my stays abroad, have been of incredible added value.

ADVICE FOR PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS

Centrale Nantes can give you the means to do what you want, where you want to do it. Leaving one’s comfort zone, exploring the world and being confronted with more and more challenges is what Centrale Nantes has given me and I wish the same for you.

CENTRALE NANTES IN THREE WORDS

Openness, Opportunities, Challenges