Blu Wireless Technology

Meet a few of our Engineers

Why I chose to work at Blu Wireless

I first heard about Blu Wireless Technology four years ago, when they were just a small new start-up. They were, and still are, one of the very few companies who provide low cost solutions for the 60 GHz WiGig market and the technology they were developing seemed very innovative and promising. Six months ago I was looking for new carrer opportunities and came across BWT again. The company had grown to approx. 25 people, they were already into the 4G backhaul market, and with several big investments in the past few years seemd to be getting bigger and better every day. I immediately knew this was the perfect time and opportunity to become part of this exciting start-up.

The type of work I have done since joining Blu Wireless

I joined BWT as a DSP engineer in their wireless DSP team. Since it is still a small company the type of work varies a lot. Until now I have been involved in algorithm design and optimisation in Matlab, fixed-point implementations in C/C++ and custom interface implementation in Verilog for the silicon bring-up and baseband-RF integration. Our joint research with the University of Bristol means I get to visit their labs frequently and work with their staff and students to carry out certain tests.

How I have been supported as a young engineer

One of the advantages of working for BWT is that I know everybody who works for the company. Everyone is very friendly, always willing to help, give advice or just have a chat. It gives me the opportunity to meet a lot of professionals from different fields and backgrounds, with years of experience in the industry. Frequent talks with my manager and team leader ensure I get and give useful feedback and am happy with what I am doing.

Social activities at Blu Wireless

BWT provides many events for its employees to socialise and relax. Company celebration days always involve different new activities and are lots of fun. Beer and pizza nights and nice dinners followed by drinks are often organized and everyone is keen on socializing and enjoying the time outside work together. Being based in Bristol, the city voted by the Sunday Times as the best place to live in the UK, makes social life very vibrant and diverse.

I strongly recommend this job to anybody in the field of hardware or software engineering and wireless communications who has a desire to become involved in the design of cutting edge communication systems.

Why I chose an Electronics degree

I took up both Computing and Electronics at A-level and have been fascinated with them ever since. The ability to make something incredible and change the world is something I want to be part of. Yes, it’s complicated and at times difficult, but the exhilaration of getting a piece of technology that you’ve created to work is one of the best feelings. Also, great salaries!

My time at the University of Bristol

Experiencing both Computer Science and Electronics is a unique experience that Bristol offers. Both go hand in hand, and a knowledge of both is necessary to compete in today’s world. The option of taking a placement in third year or a year abroad, both as part of the course, is an opportunity that can’t be missed. I have just graduated from University in the summer of 2014.

Why I chose to work at Blu Wireless

After meeting some of the people and learning about the fascinating technologies and the boundaries being pushed at BWT, I was hooked. Communications have always been my strongest subject and greatest interest throughout University and I wanted to be able to put them to good use. The disruptive nature of startups mean they are far more interesting and exciting places to work at, compared to established brands.

My experiences at Blu Wireless

I undertook my final year project in collaboration between BWT and the university, looking at optimal implementation of signal processing algorithms on the hardware. I worked on all levels of the product, from the lowest hardware level, to the software controlling the device, to high level models and development suites. Everyone at BWT is extremely knowledgeable and approachable. Being a small company means you’ll be pointed in the right direction and it’s up to you to devise the solutions.

What is your role at Blu Wireless and what does it involve?

I am a Junior Front-End Design Engineer working for Blu Wireless on System on Chip (SoC) HYDRA multi-gigabit wireless baseband IP, 60GHz WiFi mm-Wave technology for consumer and telecom backhaul applications. My role involves coding at both RTL and System-C level from specification, building test-bench models and performing block level RTL synthesis.

When did you first become interested in Electronics and how did you pursue this?

I have always had an interest in the way things work, and since I was young, science has been one of my favourite subjects. My interest in sciences, particularly physics and maths, developed throughout my school years, and I enjoyed the challenge of using scientific and mathematical ideas when solving everyday problems. In 2003, my family and I moved to Madrid, Spain, where I completed my Baccalaureate in Science and Technology.

My interest in the Telecommunication industry and its growth has led me to do my undergraduate study in Telecommunication Engineering at the Technical University of Madrid (Spanish: Universidad Politecnica de Madrid). First year was really hard; your academic mind-set needs to get used to the changes from school to university, it is more centred on understanding as opposed to memorization. The more you understand the better you will see the bigger picture of the modules. I was also fascinated by how experiments, observation, and working in teams allowed me to develop my critical thinking. I learned how to solve problems via numerical methods and training in the reasoning, abstraction of the calculations.

In my third year, due to family reasons I moved to the UK. Although I had to repeat the years I had done in Madrid, I took it as an opportunity to learn more. I completed my undergraduate degree in Communication Network Engineering from Brunel University with a first-class honours and a master’s degree in Mobile and Personal Communications from Kings College London with first-class honours.

What particular challenges have you faced being a woman in the Electronics sector?

I never felt being a woman has disadvantaged me or held me back to become a Telecommunication Engineer. I am respected for my education, my contribution at work, and the value I add to the company as a junior engineer just as much as my male counterparts. I was raised to think that there are a lot of diverse work environments for engineers and no job is too harsh for a woman. The emphasis should be on finding what you enjoy doing, and what you are good at doing, rather than your gender. Any challenge is psychological, so you just have to be confident and persevere.

What advice would you give to girls who are interested in Electronics?

If you do find something that interests you, then you should go for it. The skills you learn in Electronics and any engineering degree are extremely useful and are welcomed by all kinds of different employers. Choose work that you are enthusiastic about, then grab any opportunities that come your way. Electronics is creativity and process; creativity to be able to think in another way to solve challenges, and process to do the job in a proper way, learning from your mistakes and progress.

What do you think about the future of Electronics/your career in the sector?

Developing and delivering systems to accommodate the exponential growth in the number of connected devices and the enormous data demand. The mmWave bands can support the higher data rates required in future mobile broadband access networks, novel antennas which exhibit high gain as well as wide spatial coverage capacity. We are already talking about and developing the Internet of Things; from Smart Home and Smart Store to Smart Office and Connected Cars. In the future a device will be able to maintain network connectivity regardless of time and location, and open the possibility of connecting all the connected devices without human intervention.