Meet Andrii, Electrical Engineer Data Centres

An amazing growth mindset

“After working for two different local companies in Kyiv, I joined the Ukrainian branch of an international (originally Dutch) company. That’s where I understood how exciting it is to be an engineer, to develop projects in different countries with their unique cultures and mindsets. A great opportunity to get familiar with the western European engineering approach. But after a while, I felt like the time has come for the next step. So, when a recruiter from Royal HaskoningDHV contacted me via LinkedIn, I was already prepared for the change. I had one long call with the team lead and travelled to Nijmegen for a second interview and a tour of the office. I immediately noticed there was an amazing mindset of growth. Both the company and the team wanted to grow, and I wanted to grow with them. Therefore, the decision was made quickly: I packed my bags and moved to the Netherlands to join the team.”

From design to construction

In the projects Andrii is working on, he is taking on the role of Electrical Lead Engineer. He is involved in all project phases, from design to construction and commissioning. “When I started working here, I spent some time on getting to know people and I was quickly dragged into two projects. At that point, I was first introduced to the construction phase of projects. Together with a senior colleague, I was doing quality assurance walks on site. And because this was new to me, this sometimes resulted in difficult questions coming up. Luckily my colleagues were always ready to help.”

And now, 4 years later, Andrii has done over 10 different data centre projects, varying from small to big ones in the Netherlands and abroad. “When we start a new project, I start by understanding all the requirements and already forming a rough idea of a design in my head. Together with the other disciplines, such as mechanical, fire, civil and architecture, we work on making a final, most optimal design. As the Lead Electrical Engineer, I’m responsible for the design of electrical installations and coordinating my ideas with the client and authorities. Is the design finished and is it in the construction phase? Then I am the linking pin between the design and the construction. This means that I am the first point of contact for anything related to the electrical installations during the construction and site testing & commissioning activities.”

International projects

With our team, we design and build data centres for various clients in various countries. With all countries having different requirements, this can sometimes be challenging. “The more countries you do projects in, the more difficult it is. That’s why I keep my focus on projects in the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland. Once you start working in our team, you will discover various markets through different projects, and you will get acquainted with local standards and best practices along the way.”

“A big plus of doing projects in multiple countries is the travelling that goes hand in hand with it. One of my projects in Frankfurt is in the construction phase. This means I go down to the construction site once every few weeks to make sure everything is built as designed.”

Rapid learning

As Electrical Engineer you are engaged in projects for some of the most demanding customers in the world and we won’t deny that we sometimes have to deal with tight deadlines. “The high demands of the customers, combined with deadlines, can sometimes cause high pressure. This might sound like a disadvantage, but there is also a bright side: because when you go quickly, you learn a lot. In the past 4 years of working at the data centres teams, I did more projects than I did in the 8 years before that. So, if you want to learn and grow, there is no better place than Royal HaskoningDHV.”