Life at Fuzzy Labs: Tim Carr

We do a lot of great engineering work on our customer projects, and each project has a full team of engineers behind it. In this blog series we’re peeling back the curtain so you can get to know more about our engineers, and find out what a typical day looks like for a Fuzzician.

Tim Carr: Operations Manager

6:00 AM

The alarm usually sounds at 6.00 or 6.45, and I’ll be honest, I’m not the type to leap out of bed in the morning! I’ll usually snooze for a few minutes before I’m ready to make the move, especially at this time of year. If I’m up at 6.00ish then I'll head to the gym (in the summer months I quite like a run). Once up, or back home after the gym, I’ll catch up on the news while I’m having breakfast and getting ready for work. I’ve always had an interest in current affairs so I like to know what’s going on in the world before I head out. And I can’t skip breakfast. 

8:15 AM

Time to head to the office, which at the moment is just a 10 minute walk. I joined Fuzzy Labs a couple of months ago, and my previous commute to the office was a 40 mile drive across the M62, so it’s fair to say that I’m loving a 10 minute walk! It’s great to get some fresh air on the way in, even just for a few minutes.

8:30 AM

As Operations Manager, and the first operations role in the team, my responsibilities are varied, but like most people I start the day with a coffee, checking email and slack messages to get up to date. Then it’s time to review my to-do list and check my progress so far this week, and make sure I know my priorities for the day. I try to start with tasks that require focus and a clear head, so anything that involves writing and attention to detail. 

Today there’s an update to create for the board report, which also includes working with Tom and Robbie to pull data together to update the forecast.

11:00 AM

Later in the morning, I spend some time catching up with the team, following up on actions from meetings, and working through some smaller tasks. I get a couple of invoices sent out for new customer projects, update the plan for our next MLOps.WTF meet up and write a short post for LinkedIn announcing the date. 

12:00 PM

Time for lunch! Since working in the city centre I’ve been enjoying all sorts of different food - Turkish, Greek, Japanese, to name a few. I’m definitely spoilt for choice, but I do love a sandwich and a bag of crisps! (Got to be salt and vinegar).

1:00 PM

After lunch I’ll review where I’m up to and make sure I’m still on track, or review what’s come up in the morning and what my priorities should be for the afternoon. Today, I have a meeting about the People plan for 2025, with a focus on the learning and development plan. There’s a regular Lunch and Learn programme in place to share knowledge across the team, so we’re looking at how to build on that. One of the topics we’re looking at early in 2025 is public speaking and communication, so I take away actions for that. 

3:00 PM

For the later part of the afternoon, I’ll run through some smaller tasks and follow ups. One of the best things about Operations is the variety. I’m supporting the planning of a hackathon with a customer, reviewing our insurance needs, and how our scheduling processes and tools need to evolve as the team grows. I’ll be ready to head off sometime between 5.00 and 5.30, hopefully leaving a list with plenty of things ticked off. 

8:00 PM

I’m home and ready to enjoy the evening. I really enjoy making dinner with my partner, it’s a great way to catch up and look forward to the evening. At the moment a lot of our conversation revolves around renovations we are doing to our house, and what we need to plan and do next. We’re approaching the final stages now, so we’re looking forward to getting things completed soon, and being able to talk about other things in the evening, like planning our next holiday! 

After dinner and house discussions, we wind down with a bit of TV. Right now we’re working our way through the second season of Silo and The Day of the Jackal, and maybe the late news.

10:45 PM

If I’m not already in bed, then it won’t be much longer before I am…