Get to know the Pragmatiq Team: Jake Middleton

Jake Middleton, one of the Technical Consultant’s here at Pragmatiq, has been a part of the team for over two years, and is a driving force behind many of our client projects.  

To find out a little more, we caught up with Jake to ask some questions regarding his role, life at Pragmatiq, his favourite company perks, proudest accomplishments, and more…

How would you summarise your role at Pragmatiq?

In my day-to-day, I work closely with the rest of the technical team to build custom business solutions, using Dynamics 365 and the Power Platform. Each day is quite varied, as I am involved with different client projects, so I could be overseeing some design work, or working on system configuration. Sometimes, my role also involves me creating demonstrations to support the pre-sales process or responding to clients on the Managed Service Helpdesk. 

What is your favourite part of the job? 

My favourite part of the job is definitely designing solutions. Bringing together different skills and concepts to create a system that solves the complex problems that our clients face is something I particularly enjoy, then seeing how that design comes together through the build phase and eventually being deployed; it’s really rewarding. 

What do you like most about working for Pragmatiq? 

We have a fantastic culture at Pragmatiq; everyone is so helpful, open and collaborative, and I always feel comfortable asking questions or sharing any feedback. The office always has a nice buzz too, and I enjoy being able to go in a couple of days each week, whilst being able to work from home on the other days.  

What do you think to the learning & development at Pragmatiq?

Since joining Pragmatiq, I have had the chance to develop many skills and have gained a lot of confidence both personally, and professionally. When I joined the team, I had recently graduated from University, having completed my Undergraduate degree in Mathematics, and Master’s Degree in Artificial Intelligence & Adaptive Systems. Apart from tutoring and part-time jobs at University, I had limited professional experience, and was nervous about entering the world of work.  

As soon as I joined Pragmatiq, I was made to feel comfortable and learnt how to apply my knowledge and skillset to the role. I had a structured training programme to follow that enabled me to develop my understanding of Dynamics 365 and the Power Platform, and gained exposure to projects that would enhance my technical skills. During this time, I also significantly improved my soft skills, such as conversing with clients and presenting ideas back to the team.  

Since then, I have continued to be supported through my progression and have accomplished several Microsoft certifications, as well as working on many more client projects. I look forward to continuing to progress within the company and supporting more recent hires that are in the position that I once was.

What’s the best advice you can give to someone who wants to work for us? 

Be driven, open to learn and willing to collaborate. A key part of the job is collaborating on things with rest of the team, whether it’s on a problem you’re trying to solve or sharing an exciting feature that you’ve found.  

What has been your biggest accomplishment while working at Pragmatiq?

It’s hard to pick but one of my proudest accomplishments was in the earlier days of my role, when I designed and developed a custom solution, that automatically finds and populates key data into the background database, from survey submissions. It was really rewarding to see how game-changing this was for our client, and brilliant to see how much it supports them day-to-day. 

What is the most interesting project you have worked on? 

Our clients at Pragmatiq span a wide range of industries, so each project brings something new and it’s always interesting to learn about a different industry, or develop my understanding of one I have worked in previously.  

However, the most interesting and rewarding project for me so far, was working with one of our charity clients; a charity working to support disadvantaged young people aged 15-25, to lead happier, more inclusive and productive lives as young adults. 

It was really interesting to learn about the background processes of the organisations, about the brilliant work they do, and how Dynamics 365 enables them to support more young people and make a real difference.  

Which is your favourite ‘perk’ from the company benefits package?

This is a tricky one! It would have to be between the Employee Self-Improvement Scheme (£500 a year to spend on anything you like, that nurtures physical or mental well-being outside of work), or the quarterly paid-for socials.  

The get-togethers are always great fun and we’ve done some pretty cool stuff during my time here (like the hovercrafting at Whittlebury Hall!), but the self-improvement fund has definitely opened my eyes towards new activities, such as rock-climbing which I had never tried before. The £500 pays for my climbing membership and I now go climbing a few times a week and love it! 

What three words would you use to describe Pragmatiq?

1. Collaborative 
2. Supportive 
3. Progressive 

Find out how you can join the Pragmatiq team by checking out our current vacancies.