Meet the latest addition to our team: Paul Cooper!
As a Software Engineer, Paul Cooper is focused on delivering high-quality, reliable and performant code for the VAPAR platform.
To share a little more about Paul, we asked him to answer some questions about his background, interests and more.
Tell us a bit about your background.
PC: I was born in the South West of England in a town called Plymouth. I came to Australia when I was two and grew up on a naval base in Darwin and then South East Queensland. Since leaving school, I’ve lived in Sydney, Paris and Berlin. I’ve always been interested in technology, especially software development. There is beauty in solving problems digitally because (almost) all variables can be controlled. You can remove almost all randomness and subjectivity and create a solution that will work every time.
Then there is the ability to scale the solutions almost infinitely. When a product is built in 1s and 0s rather than bricks and mortar, it can be copied and shared endlessly. This allows technology to solve global problems via what is essentially just the communication of ideas and information. I’ve always felt this way, and so I first taught myself to code, then built video games, and then built software that optimised digital ad campaigns. This introduced me to the magic of machine learning. Now I’m here.
How did you come to join VAPAR?
PC: Infrastructure is really fascinating part of our society because it is both essential and often invisible. Until it isn’t working. The number of moving parts and variables to consider, the complexity of the issues involved and the massive benefits to everyone if we can get it right are all reasons that drew me to VAPAR. Start-ups are places where you will get to work with the most cutting-edge technology, solving the most important problems – and often with the most interesting people. That’s definitely the case here!
What are your interests outside of work?
PC: Although a lot of my life revolves around technology, I also love reading/watching/listening to podcasts and books surrounding philosophy, history and culture. Economics and psychology too. I think all these areas of interest stem from a desire to understand how everything works, why we do the things we do and what the common threads are across cultures and times. I also enjoy hanging out with my black and white border-collie Maverick.
For more information about the latest developments at VAPAR, you can connect with Paul via our Contact page.
