For almost 60% of our employees, AMC Bridge is not the first place of work. And although the company’s specialization requires deep expertise and profound knowledge in the domain sphere, we have people who have come from completely different fields. The team comprises doctors and engineers, university professors and hydrologists. And we decided to ask them how such apparently different experience helps them solve daily tasks. Further, read the stories of eight AMC Bridge employees.

Developing an add-in for document coordination at the design office Pivdenne

Oleksandr Kravchuk, Software Development Engineer

I am a computer engineer by education. And before joining AMC Bridge, I had worked at the Pivdenne design office for five years. At first, I was engaged in the work with various documentation, then—in system administration. And later, I began developing software. My main task was the development of an add-in for document coordination. Quite a lot of people worked at the office. Therefore, the add-in should have been designed in a way so that several hundred employees could work with it at the same time. And it was really not easy.

Then, my acquaintance from AMC Bridge advised me to send a resume here. That way, I changed a job. The experience of working at Pivdenne helped me a lot, especially—the technical knowledge. Besides, it was there that I learned to work within tight deadlines when something is required “for yesterday”. I had to perform all tasks quickly and accurately not to break something that was already working fine.

At first, it was hard to switch to another work. I had a great team at the design office, with which it was difficult to part. But if to talk about the complexity of work processes, now I understand: that was a kindergarten. At AMC Bridge, we do much more serious tasks. That’s why it was hard for me at the beginning, but then I got involved.

Initially, my work at the company was very similar to the one I did at Pivdenne. Yes, the tasks were more difficult, but I was familiar with the specifics. Then I started working on a big project, and it was more frontend than backend. I hardly came across it at the design office and had to figure everything out. But I like to gain new knowledge. And although usually there is not much free time, when I get some, I always try to learn something new.

Modeling groundwater filtration

Maryna Tokar, Finance Manager

I have worked at the Research Institute of Mineral Resources for 15 years. I met Olha Zamkova there, with whom I am working in the Finance Department now. It was a very interesting and necessary profession. We modeled groundwater filtration and flooding rises, groundwater pollution and its influence on the environment.

What did we do? When mines were closed in Kryvbas and Donbas, they were flooded. And we analyzed how those processes would affect the territories, how much the groundwater level would rise, and where it would go outside. Then there was a huge work when the Southern Mining and Processing Plant was working, and the so-called tailings dam was created. Production waste was accumulated there, and the groundwater level rose because of it. As a result, Novoselivka village was flooded. The village residents sued the plant. We testified in court as independent experts and proved that the landslide that occurred in the village was the result of the flooding caused by the plant. It was scary then, honestly. But we won.

After a while, our institute began to fall apart. At the end of my employment there, we generally worked once a week. For two years, there was no heating in our office, we wrapped computers in jackets to warm them up, and we worked in ski suits.

When I came to AMC Bridge, there were not many of us, about 70 colleagues. Such a family company and a very good atmosphere. To be honest, I was always, and still am, thrilled about how everything works and how everyone reacts if someone has problems.

Perhaps, Olha and I could become good testers, given the experience we had. We processed information and analyzed errors. But I am glad that we got to the Finance Department. There was so much unfamiliar to us here; everything was new! But the company grew, and so did we.

Olha Zamkova, Finance Manager

Maryna Tokar and I graduated from the National Mining University with a degree in hydrogeology. I created mathematical models of groundwater filtration for the assessment of drinking groundwater reserves in Ukraine.

Maryna and I worked on different projects. I dealt with Crimea and was involved in the assessment of drinking water supplies and the waters of the peninsula. Due to seawater, the soil is constantly becoming saline, and, accordingly, there is always a shortage of drinking water. We calculated where and how much water should be pumped out so as not to reach saltwater from the sea.

The most important thing in this work is information analysis. It was necessary to collect large amounts of data and analyze them in a single model that considers all factors and numbers. That is, it was necessary to recreate the situation that existed 30–50 years ago. So, we got a real situation and then added various stress factors and watched how it would behave.

I remember another interesting project. Turkish businessmen built a pumping station in Zaporizhzhia, and multiton tanks and treatment facilities began to float and flooded neighboring lands. We built a model that proved that this particular contractor was to blame for the flooding. And since it was a foreign performer, the hearing of the case had to take place in the international court in Zurich.

When the institute began to fall apart, I was on maternity leave, and Maryna Tokar got a job at AMC Bridge. And then, she offered me to join the team. Switching was not difficult at all. An analytical mindset helped us a lot. And in general, we were happy to take on all the tasks. They said, “Do it”, and if we didn’t know how, we studied and performed the tasks. Team members helped us a lot. Everything was unfamiliar to us. But we were motivated and really enjoyed the process.

“My first job was as an engineering technologist at Motor Sich”

Dmytro Barannik, Quality Assurance Engineer

Before I came to AMC Bridge, I had worked in Zaporizhzhia at the Motor Sich JSC for eight years. That enterprise is engaged in the production of aircraft engines and power plants. I am an engineering technologist by education, and my specialty is related to aircraft engines. It was my first job. I worked as a technologist, as well as a programmer of numerically controlled machines. My department was engaged in the development of programs for computer numeric control (CNC) machine tools for machining parts. If some workshop had an order where the processing was very complicated, and the workshop adjuster could not write the program him- or herself, we took care of it. With the help of CAD/CAM systems, we modeled the processing itself, then generated the program that would conduct it, and then launched it in the workshop together with adjusters.

I liked when, after modeling, I saw the finished part, which was made with the help of my program. This, of course, was very nice, especially if it was a paddle or monowheel. And during my work at Motor Sich, I learned a lot. Those skills were useful at AMC Bridge too. Particularly, in modeling and creation of 3D models in CAD systems. At AMC Bridge, I have a project in which we create three-dimensional parts for testing those systems. Also, it was at my first job that I learned to stick to deadlines and became disciplined, so to speak. But I had to work a little on improving my soft skills.

“When you translate a series, you don’t want to watch it afterward”

Lorina Zubkova, Marketing Specialist

For almost ten years, I worked at a company that was engaged in the distribution of foreign TV channels. We bought content (documentary films and series) from right holders abroad, voiced it in Ukrainian, and sold it to regional channels. The most interesting thing for me was going to specialized exhibitions—which took place mainly in Europe, sometimes in Kyiv—and talking to representatives of companies that sold the content we needed. And so, you take catalogs, flash drives with movies and series there. Then you come back, and you have piles of products in front of you, and you sit and choose what to buy so that our audience would like it.

At first, when I got that job, I only translated those catalogs. Then they started giving me a certain amount of money and entrusted me to choose and buy content and contact suppliers. Then I had to look for studios that dealt with dubbing and did the turnkey translation. Then you didn’t need to look for a studio, translator, editor, announcers, sound engineers, and so on separately. That’s how I found a studio with which we had a very good relationship. At some point, they lacked translators, and we urgently needed the content. So, I offered my help with the translation. That is really very interesting! When translating game series, for example, it is important not only to translate a phrase perfectly but also to stick to the same duration so that everything sounds natural. And curiously, then you don’t want to watch those series at all, you already know everything! And with documentaries—on the contrary. Difficult vocabulary, and you have to research lots of terms in parallel and read the context carefully. You concentrate so much on the translation that when you watch it later, it seems to be the first time you do it. In total, I translated about five series and plenty of documentaries—entire cycles.

For many years, I worked for a very small company—15 people. And when I came to AMC Bridge, it was not easy but interesting: many departments and complex specifics. It took time to get involved, and a lot of information had to be remembered immediately. But it so happened that I had a planned vacation right after the probation period. And I remember well how everything that was in my head—those huge amounts of information—fell into place during the vacation. And then everything went easier. I was very lucky to have a team that was always there to help, explain, and support me.

“I have taught at the university for 17 years. Now I work together with my former students”

Roman Makarchuk, Software Development Engineer

After graduating from Chernivtsi National University, I got a job as an assistant at the Computer Science Department. And I stayed there for 17 years. Initially, I conducted laboratory work in many courses. Later, I gave lectures on the basic subjects of the specialty, as well as the subjects related to programming.

At the same time, I worked in the admissions committee of the university for ten years. And it was during this work that I came across a really big project. It was written in Java and was based on many technologies. The system often had to be updated and expanded; database types had to be changed to support and integrate with other systems. In the end, I became a programmer, administrator, tester, and manager of that system. Then I gained a lot of management experience.

In addition to teaching courses, which I tried to change every year, I worked a lot with students’ diploma and master papers. It required constant development and acquisition of knowledge in other areas as well. My record of the courses number I conducted in one year is 14 courses.

When I first came to the AMC Bridge office, I entered one room—“Good afternoon, Roman Ivanovych,” I entered another one—the same. And our HR Specialist then asked, “And who should I introduce you to?” Many of my students have become my team members. And of course, it’s very nice.

When I joined the AMC Bridge team, my communication skills helped a lot. But, of course, the technical skills that I acquired while working at the university were most needed. Especially knowledge of Assembler, where detail is very important, and where you have to follow every bit of information not to break anything.

I am currently working on a large and long-term project. Our client has been cooperating with the company for a long time. There is a lot of code, a lot of everything. Even after working on this project for several years, I still occasionally find code parts that I didn’t see before. It is very stimulating; you have to understand all the nuances. I had several projects with different technologies, but I prefer Java. Also, I have always wanted to try my hand at machine learning and IoT, but I still need to brush up on the basics.

“Working as a doctor, I learned to communicate with very different people”

Iryna Bulhakova, Office Administration Manager

I got an education in the medical care specialty and received the specialization of obstetrician-gynecologist. Like all doctors, I studied for six years. I finished my studies having a daughter already. At that time, it was very difficult to get a job in my profession—there were few places and many interested professionals. But I managed to pass the competition and get allocated to obstetrics and gynecology. I worked at the 9th clinical hospital in Dnipro. That work is interesting and very responsible; it is necessary not only to have good industry knowledge but also to be able to work with people. And it is an operating specialty, so I studied a lot.

Later, I gave birth to a son. And my profession, although very prestigious and exciting, was very difficult for a woman who has two children of her own. In the end, I decided to quit my job and take care of my children, home, and devote time to my family.

When the children grew up, I realized that I wanted to be useful to people. I had time, I had knowledge, and I tried to find myself in that field. But it was a difficult time in medicine: cuts in medical facilities continued. And I understood that I would not work in my profession. Therefore, I began to look at other spheres. It was then that I was invited to the administrative team of AMC Bridge. The company was planning rapid growth, which resulted in many new tasks. In particular, health insurance. That was almost nine years ago. I knew very little about health insurance at the time. Back then, IT companies probably used such services most often. Therefore, it was necessary to delve into the specifics of this work.

The ability to communicate with very different people is a skill that turned out to be useful for me and which I managed to acquire exactly in the medical field. Instead, I had to get knowledge in the field of health insurance almost from scratch. And even the ability to confidently work with a computer was something that I had to learn because I was more of a home user at that time.

And then the tasks were very different. My team and I were engaged in the administrative work, development and arrangement of the office—first, in Dnipro, then in other locations—team buildings, and organization of holidays. So much was happening! At the stage when the company was actively opening offices in new locations, we were furnishing the premises. And it was very interesting and creative, especially when you got feedback from employees that they felt comfortable in the office. And the word “renovation” doesn’t scare me at all—it’s cool when you see the result.

But the most important work I am in charge of is health insurance. And it is my favorite part of the tasks. I know how difficult it is sometimes to share what worries you about your health in order to receive an adequate answer or advice. And I enjoy talking with my teammates and am happy if I manage to help.

“I monitored the quality of the cabin production for locomotives. And now I test software”

Dmytro Taranukha, Quality Assurance Engineer

I graduated from the railway institute in Dnipro, majoring in mechanical engineering. And for six years, I worked at an enterprise in Dnipro that was engaged in the production of modular cabins for locomotives. We made the cabin, and then we put it into the locomotive itself. Products were mainly delivered to russia, partly to Kyiv and Luhansk. Therefore, it is logical that in 2014 the enterprise practically closed down.

Why was testing close to me at the stage of the job change? As a workshop manager, I was responsible for the quality of manufactured products. After working in manufacturing, I realized that it wasn’t really my thing, plus I didn’t like all the bureaucracy inherent in such enterprises.

I learned testing on my own; it took about 7–8 months. Yes, it was difficult to switch, but it was also exciting. When I realized that I could apply my knowledge and skills in IT, my eyes lit up. I was studying days and nights; I found freelance resources and was very enthusiastic.

The main difficulty was that I had to keep a large mass of information in my head. And my English had to be improved. Until that moment, I actually never needed it. I have been working at AMC Bridge for over seven years. All the time on one project. And for now, I do not have the desire to change it.