Les Hopkins

I’ve been a database administrator for over 15 years, working for a number of different companies, and have been with Cintra for a year and a half, based in our New York office. I get involved with all aspects of the role, from dealing with various incidents as they come along, liaising with customers to resolve them, to project management work.

I’ve really enjoyed the challenge of the role. Working on projects is particularly satisfying, and recently I’ve been involved in some of the pre-sales tasks, which is great for learning the infrastructure and commercial aspects of the business. Everywhere I have worked before, I’ve been part of a database team, but at Cintra I’ve been encouraged to expand my horizons and become involved in elements that are slightly outside of my comfort zone. It makes it more challenging, and much more enjoyable.

It’s the kind of job where you need to be really interested in what you’re doing. Oracle is a fairly big topic, and you need to be keen on reading up on the new technologies and new ways of doing things if you want to get on board. Plus, you have to be quite comfortable talking to other people and dealing with them on their level, whether they are technical experts or not.

In the New York office, I work with a large and experienced team, and if I ever need any help or feedback, there is always someone I can turn to. Cintra has people all over the world, and they can always point me in the right direction. And it seems as though there is no limit to the scope of the job, either. It’s a varied position within a growing company where you never know what’s going to come your way next. It certainly makes things interesting!