A new blade for Idiap’s Swiss knife

A new blade for Idiap’s Swiss knife

The system and infrastructure team is Idiap’s Swiss knife. They work on optical wire installation; they manage computing hardware; they plan our energy supply… Samuel Aymon just joined the team.

Idiap is constantly welcoming new people. It implies to plan and organize new workflows. To get to know our new colleagues is part of the process, especially when it comes to the crucial system and infrastructure team. So, we met with their new recruit Samuel Aymon for a short interview.

Why did you decide to apply to Idiap and what is your background?

I always loved computers, electronic and science. But my main interest is in IT networks. After my diploma at the School of Engineering in Sion, I worked in the private company where I had my apprenticeship. I was working as an electrician engineer and taking care of the programming of home automation. After a few years, it was time for a new challenge. Not only was this Idiap job opening a bit like a dream come true, but I was very impressed during the job interview with the whole system and infrastructure team! They were very open and I felt that sparkle.

How is your integration with the system and infrastructure team going?

Very well! The team is very welcoming. I am still discovering the scope of our activities and learning about Idiap’s infrastructure. For example, we had to change a switch in the data center and, unexpectedly, it ended up by a whole day of work to make it function properly. It was a good learning opportunity. I like to keep my mind open to new skills. Moreover, my colleagues have really impressive knowledge to share. We usually sit around the table to discuss a specific problem and to find the best answer together, using all our skills. It’s pretty unique.

Do you see any difference between a general audience customer and our Idiapers?

Researchers are obviously much more aware of what they want and what they are expecting from us. It is interesting to offer my services in such an environment. Of course, their needs can also be very different, when it comes to ensuring that our services are working properly for highly demanding computing requests, as well as for daily routine needs. But we also have small issues to fix such as a computer improperly wired to the local network.

More information about the system & infrastructure group.