Customer Stories: An Interview with Nomad Digital
Haystack is working with businesses like Nomad Digital to hire tech talent for their growing engineering teams. Find out more.
Hello Samantha, thank you for joining us! Can you introduce yourself, your role, and tell us a bit about what Nomad Digital does?
Hi. I’ve worked at Nomad for almost 6 years now as part of our global HR team.
My role initially focused on improving recruitment and setting up effective management processes to retain, develop, and promote talent across Nomad. Those processes are now embedded, even through all the changes we’ve experienced, from major acquisitions to global lockdowns, they’re part of how we work.
Now, I focus more on engagement, wellbeing, and transformation projects that keep us connected to a high-performance culture.
Nomad Digital is a fast-paced technology company with our head office on Newcastle quayside. We specialise in intelligent transport by improving connectivity for passengers and operators.
Our integrated solutions cover on-board passenger WiFi, journey information and entertainment, and operational efficiency tools. We have around 320 people in over 13 countries and our teams include engineers, developers, project managers, bid specialists, procurement, sales and service experts, as well as business support functions.
And we’re lucky enough to be owned by Alstom, a multinational leader in the transportation sector, dedicated to bringing greener, smarter mobility to the world, so we get access to some of their best tools and resources.
How would you describe Nomad in three words?
Fast, fun, and empowering
In your own words, what’s the culture at Nomad like? Give us a sense of what it’s like to work in the office?
People are really focused on doing great work - everyone seems to love what they do and it’s fascinating talking to such a wide variety of experts. Before lockdown there was always a buzz in the office… it’s open-plan with our kitchen right in the middle so lots of fun water cooler moments! Everyone is really friendly and helpful too; the most common theme in our people surveys is the positive, diverse, and supportive culture we have. People are always busy but because teams are so interdependent they get to know each other quickly, and we organise lots of opportunities for people to connect socially and professionally. We’ve maintained that during lockdown and it’s actually improved how we connect globally and adjust to different time zones more flexibly.
What makes your company unique and why do your people love it so much?
Everyone comments on our ‘people’ and how much they enjoy working with the different teams across Nomad. Our R&D teams in particular also love the variety - as system integrators they get exposure to so much more than a traditional developer. They get to work with passionate people on multiple projects across different countries, often gaining exposure to the latest technologies.
Is there anything really cool your tech teams working on at the minute that you want to shout about?
We have loads of exciting solutions on the go; from trackside to 5G, AI to big data, as well as expanding into new markets taking our connectivity from rail to other forms of transport, such as the connected bus. You’ll find insights about our latest solutions on our website - Insights - Nomad (nomad-digital.com)
Do you offer any formal training and development opportunities?
Everyone that joins Nomad receives their own LinkedIn Learning account and our tech teams also have the option of a Udemy account. We also organise external training and certification as needed, for example we ran a programme last year to upskill our tech teams in Zabbix.
Every year we also run Learning@Nomad events to drive internal initiatives; colleagues from across the business deliver interactive sessions on our products, customers, and the tools we use. We also run a programme of optional educational talks on wellbeing across the year.
And last year we introduced an Apprenticeship Academy for some of our Developers to complete technical and management Masters programmes.
Basically if there’s something our people want and need for their development, we find a way to provide it.
Do you have anything else you 'd like to highlight about Nomad Digital that we haven’t already covered?
For anyone passionate about their work, keen to gain exposure to global teams and huge amounts of learning, Nomad is a fantastic place to be. Our values are Expert, Innovative, Collaborative, and Trustworthy, and if you feel you embody them (and you love Linux) you will fit right in with us at Nomad - please take a look at our vacancies or join our talent pool and we’ll be in touch.
Nomad Digital is always on the lookout for top tech talent, so even if they don’t have any current opportunities suitable for you, just join their talent pool.