Meeting with Bertrand Madet, Software Engineer at Safran Analytics

What is your role within Safran Analytics?

Bertrand Madet: As a Software Engineer, or software development engineer, my role is to manufacture or adapt software to solve specific problems. You also need to know how to store and organize data adequately to meet the needs of Data Scientists: this phase is called "data preparation". Another aspect of my work is to help implement the algorithms, that is, ensuring that the mathematical process present in the software is correct.

The Software Engineer must know how to code, know to assess their code and test it.

 

What training did you undertake to become a Data Engineer?

B.M.: I received a degree from an electronics engineering school: Phelma - formerly Enserg. That's where I discovered software development and I started my career by following this passion. This career direction was helped by a good knowledge of how computers work, which I gained during my studies.

I began my career at Safran with Sagem (now Safran Electronics & Defense) where I was responsible for developing solutions in optronics and computer systems security. I then joined Safran Analytics in January 2016: It gave me the opportunity to continue in the field of software development.

 

What qualities do you need for this job?

B.M.: You have to be both creative and disciplined. Since there are often several ways to solve a problem, you need to be able to find the one that is both the simplest and the easiest to understand by the people it's intended for. As everyone involved must be able to find their way easily with it, it requires a certain amount of rigor.

Curiosity is also essential, as it's an area that's constantly evolving.

 

What do you like most about your job?

B.M.: There are always changes, many things to be learned, new approaches to be discovered... It would take more than a lifetime to show you every aspect of the job. Reflecting the modern society in which we live, it's a changing profession, and that is its appeal.

It's also a job that enables you to understand how everyday things that may seem mysterious work, such as a smartphone, for example.

 

Doing this job in a group like Safran also means applying it to demanding areas such as aeronautics, space and defense: so you learn a lot.

 

Where do you see yourself in a few years from now?

B:M.: I'm currently finding it a very rewarding experience, and in all honesty I'm not really asking myself that question for the time being. This job will only grow in the years to come; I have no concerns about its development within Safran.