Our stories
Working with a range of technology, clients and industries is just the beginning of a long list of things that makes being at Cambridge Consultants so excellent. My CC journey is coming up to six years and I have made my way through a few promotions as a physicist. The constant support that has been given to me both at work and in my personal life has been exceptional, so let me share some of my experiences regarding this.
Over the past year I have been privileged to be given 13 weeks of fully paid paternity leave. This is just one of the many company benefits that CC provides, and it has enabled me to support my family in the best way possible. The bond I have built with my baby is incredible and being able to see her change and grow over her first year has been a blessing. Without this extended time off, the input I would have been able to put into my baby’s development would have been much more limited. And leaving my wife so early on with a new-born would have been difficult.
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I was able to fit the paternity leave around family commitments and project work to make sure my involvement wasn’t impacted. This was important to me so that I could carry on leading teams and being included in exciting new opportunities.
It has been rewarding to have had the chance to help my wife in the early stages of parenthood. And CC has looked after me throughout the process. Some people in my department even purchased baby books for when I came back into the office which was a lovely gift. My transition into becoming a dad has been much more manageable due to this smoother return to work. The benefit is fantastic and is a benchmark that other companies should aim for. CC‘s forward thinking approach and the depth of care it provides employees is next level.
Life at Cambridge Consultants
During my time at CC, I have had the chance to travel to various academic and industry conferences. In January, I attended a set of photonics conferences in San Francisco to identify new markets for us to be operating in and connect with potential clients. We were able to identify industry trends and determine key areas to invest in to unlock new technical capabilities in photonics. I particularly enjoyed attending an augmented reality conference to find out the latest technical and commercial developments in this space. Going to this type of event has helped me keep up to date with academia and develop new commercial skills.
One direction in which we are advancing our photonics capabilities in the industrial, consumer and energy division, is in new imaging techniques for seeing through things like fog, or murky water. We’ve also investigated approaches for ‘looking around corners’ by making sense of scattered light from rough surfaces. Solving these imaging challenges is important for technologies such as autonomous robotics, driver/pilot assistance systems, mechanical inspection, and medical imaging.
Over the course of this year, I have led a project to design a holographic imaging system to address one of these challenges. This included running collaborative workshops with team members to solve problems creatively, as well as a lot of tough maths!
I enjoy the exposure to a breath of industries and the opportunity to work cross functionally through departments. Also, the chance to engage with clients is endless and gathering experience from doing so is something that is difficult to find elsewhere. The technology we use to help solve real business challenges is out of this world.
Expert authors
James is an algorithm developer in our applied science group.
