Andrei Vasilcoi

Technical Lead, Orbital

Tell us about your current job. Describe what you do on a typical day.

I'm a Technical Lead at Orbital Ltd, where we build bespoke web applications that help law firms in the United States and United Kingdom carry out property transaction due diligence. Our platform takes complex legal documents and extracts meaningful data from them. One of the core challenges I worked on was turning written legal descriptions into actual geospatial plots on GIS maps, which lawyers can then cross-check as part of their reporting process.

My day usually starts with stand-ups and planning sessions with my team of five engineers. We work remotely most of the time, though we come into the office for interviews or when cross-team collaboration calls for it. After planning, I get into the deep technical work, which could mean anything from analysing system performance in our system logs and debugging issues, to hands-on feature development on our AI-driven systems. I'd say a typical week is around 70% code and 30% people, though some weeks flip almost entirely to people management when there's a lot of alignment needed across teams, one-to-ones, and refinement sessions.

The most satisfying part of my job is seeing our systems deliver exactly what the customer needs, knowing that lawyers are completing their due diligence reporting because our platform gave them the right output. But what's surprised me most about being a Technical Lead is the human side: helping the people on my team achieve their personal goals while also pushing the company forward. Growing the domain and growing people at the same time, that's something I didn't fully expect to enjoy as much as I do.

What were the best things about your course?

The best thing about my MSc in Electronic and Computer Engineering was that it taught me how to think. Not just technically, but in terms of designing solutions, starting from a high-level understanding of the problem, considering the end goal and the customer, and then working down into the detail without losing sight of quality or system limitations. That way of thinking transfers directly into my career in software engineering, and it's still one of my biggest advantages today, even in the age of AI-assisted coding: being able to plan everything from a very high level and break it down into manageable packages while respecting real-world platform constraints.

Two modules stood out in particular: Applied Machine Learning and Digital Design were both exceptional because they struck the same balance, deep technical rigour paired with the need to communicate output clearly. Whether it was an AI model or a digital circuit, you had to be able to explain your work in a way that a professor, a client, or any non-specialist could understand. That skill of translating complexity into clarity is something I use every single day.

I also really valued the teaching culture. There was a strong balance between self-directed learning and genuine support from staff. What made it special was the conviction the lecturers instilled in you, and there was an unspoken expectation that you were the next generation of engineering leaders. When you watched a professor explain something with real depth and passion, you felt compelled to work towards that same level of proficiency. It set a standard that pushed you to take everything seriously. On top of all this, I was working in autonomous driving as a start-up alongside my studies, which meant I could apply what I was learning in lectures directly to real-world problems in my day job. That overlap made the course feel incredibly relevant and rewarding.

How do you feel your degree helped you get a job after graduation?

My degree didn’t directly land me a job in the sense that an employer hired me because of the specific title on my certificate. What it did was open doors, and more importantly, it shaped the way I work. Having an MSc with Distinction from a competitive programme showed employers that I could consistently push myself in a demanding environment surrounded by passionate, talented people. It signalled that I never took my foot off the pedal.

I do think a Master's makes a meaningful difference compared to a Bachelor’s alone. It operates at a greater level of complexity and demands more self-direction, which prepares you for the kind of autonomy employers expect in technical roles. What truly helped me, though, was the combination of things the degree enabled: the research I published, the hands-on work I was doing alongside my studies, and the interactions with teaching staff who held me to a very high standard. Those experiences gave me the confidence to move across industries, driven more by curiosity about where my skills could take me than by following a rigid career path.

What skills from your degree do you think you use most in your current job?

The planning discipline and the ability to communicate with non-technical people, both of which I described in my earlier answer about the course. But if I had to pick the one I use most, it’s the seriousness the degree instilled in me towards every piece of work. My course taught me to treat every problem as something worth doing properly, from initial scoping through to delivery. That mindset shows up daily: when I’m reviewing architecture decisions, explaining a technical trade-off to a sales team, or making sure our AI systems produce output that lawyers can actually rely on. It’s not a single technical skill, it’s a standard of rigour that I apply to everything.

What are your top tips for securing a job in the United Kingdom or your home country?

The biggest tip I can give, whether you're applying in the UK, Romania, or anywhere, is to show how you think, starting from your CV. Focus on what you achieved and how that helped the company or team succeed, not just the technical skills you have. I made this mistake myself early on: I leaned too heavily on listing technical details rather than communicating impact. The shift from "here's what I can do" to "here's what I delivered and why it mattered" makes an enormous difference, and it starts with how you present yourself in writing, because the CV screening stage is where most people get blocked.

For the UK specifically, I'd say the interview culture has increasingly shifted towards understanding what you can bring to the specific team you're joining. If there's a role you really want, do your research beforehand, understand the company's challenges, think about how your skills map to their needs, and be ready to articulate why you're the right fit. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't, especially for competitive roles. But every time you go through that process, you're practising something invaluable: learning how to sell yourself. And that's a skill that compounds over time.

How has your career developed since graduating from the University of Birmingham? Did you need to take additional training on top of your degree?

Since graduating, my career has moved through several industries and roles, from autonomous driving, to geospatial intelligence, to legal technology, and the trajectory hasn't always been a straight line upward. I've gone from software engineer to technical lead, then back down to a more junior position when switching domains, and climbed back up again, eventually reaching VP of Software Development and Applications before moving into my current Technical Lead role at Orbital. Going back down was never something I saw as a setback. It's actually a powerful exercise because it forces you to test whether your skills and processes genuinely transfer across domains. When you step into a new industry at a lower level, you quickly see what holds up and what you need to rebuild. It's a very visible way to practise and prove your transferable skills, something most people don't get the opportunity to demonstrate.

Each time I switched industries, I had to learn a new domain essentially from scratch. Moving into geospatial meant understanding satellite imagery, earth observation, and how that data serves finance and insurance. Moving into legal tech meant learning how the due diligence process works for property transactions in the UK and US. My approach was always the same: a lot of reading and a lot of watching customer sessions to understand the problems from the end user's perspective.

What advice would you give to current and prospective students looking to work in your sector?

The most important thing is to understand why the customer wants to solve the problem. Not at a surface level, but deeply. If you can answer "why" at least three times; why does this problem matter, why does the current solution fall short, why does your approach make a difference, then you're in a strong position to make a real impact. In legal tech especially, the technology only has value if it genuinely serves the people using it, so developing that curiosity about the problem behind the problem is what will set you apart from someone who just writes good code.

What advice would you give to current students studying on your degree programme?

Keep an open mind. Just because you’re studying electronic engineering doesn’t mean your career has to stay within that exact field. The engineering mindset you’re developing is far more portable than you might think, and it will serve you in places you don’t expect. Stay curious about what’s happening in parallel to your domain. Look at how software, AI, data, and product development intersect with what you’re studying. Try to remain a generalist rather than going too deep into one narrow sector too early. The domain knowledge matters and it travels with you. The specific sector you end up in will take care of itself.

What would you recommend students should do at university, over and above their academic study, to make them more employable in the graduate market?

Do something creative alongside your technical studies, whether that's design, art, music, product thinking, or anything that develops you as a whole person rather than just an engineer. For me, it was Salsa and Latin dancing. It might sound unrelated to software engineering, but it trained the same muscles in a different way: focus, memory, curiosity, and passion. Having something that demanded the same level of dedication as my studies but in a completely different domain gave me a breath of fresh air. When I finished something deeply technical, I could switch into something equally focused but entirely different, and that kept my mind sharp. I think this matters for employability more than people realise. Employers aren't just hiring a set of technical skills, they're hiring a person. Having interests outside your degree shows you can commit to something, learn through practice, and bring a different perspective to your work. It makes you more rounded, more resilient, and frankly more interesting to work with.

Did you take advantage of support services offered by the University, for example Careers Network and Wellbeing, and if so, what impact did they have on you?

I used the Careers Network to help refine my CV and to understand how the UK job market thinks about different roles. Coming from Romania, that was genuinely useful. The way you present yourself on paper and the expectations around applications differ between countries, so having that guidance helped me bridge the gap early on. It wasn't something I used extensively, but that initial support gave me a practical foundation for approaching the UK job market with more confidence.

What are your fondest memories of the University and what would you say to anyone currently considering studying at Birmingham?

My fondest memories are really about the people. My programme brought together students from all over the world. My core group included people from Germany, India, and the UK, and we went through everything together, helping each other on projects, pushing through deadlines, and then unwinding afterwards over a beer or two. It was a genuinely multicultural experience, and those connections formed naturally through the shared challenge of completing the programme together. To anyone considering Birmingham, I'd say that what makes the experience special isn't just the academics, it's the people you'll meet and the perspectives they'll bring. You'll be working alongside talented, passionate individuals from very different backgrounds, and that shapes you just as much as the course itself.

What were your favourite things about Birmingham the city? How did it compare to your expectations?

The multicultural side of Birmingham was brilliant. You could have Korean food one evening and Indian the next, and it never felt forced, the diversity of the city just flows naturally across different areas. There was always something to discover, whether it was a new neighbourhood, a new restaurant, or a new cultural experience. Coming from Romania, I wasn't sure what to expect, but Birmingham surprised me with how genuinely diverse and welcoming it felt. It's a city where a lot of different cultures coexist in a very organic way, and that made it a really enjoyable place to live as an international student.

What extracurricular activities did you get involved in as a student?

I got involved in two main things outside of my studies. The first was Salsa and Latin dancing, which became a real passion and gave me a creative outlet alongside the technical demands of my course. The second was serving as a student representative for my engineering cohort. This meant gathering feedback from my peers and leading meetings to raise issues with the department; things like course support, lab accessibility, and making the practical elements of our programme more workable during the COVID pandemic. It was a small but meaningful role that gave me early experience in understanding people's problems and advocating for practical solutions, which is something that's carried through into my career.

Please tell us about your experience studying and living away from home.

Moving to Birmingham was my first time living in the UK, and my first big move abroad from Romania. It's hard at first, especially if you stay within your comfort zone and don't push yourself to communicate beyond your closest circle. But it gets easier the more you put yourself out there. What made it an empowering experience was learning what I could handle on my own and where I genuinely needed help. There's real growth in being able to step back and say, "Can someone help me with this? I had no idea it was this difficult." That honesty with yourself, knowing when to push through and when to ask for support, is something I carried into my career just as much as anything I learned in a lecture hall.

Why did you originally apply to Birmingham?

I considered a few universities, including TU Delft and the Technical University of Munich, but Birmingham stood out for a few reasons. First, the MSc Electronic and Computer Engineering programme had a course structure that really appealed to me. It was designed to be generalist, with a wide range of optional modules that you could combine to create a personalised study package spanning embedded systems, machine learning, digital design, and communications. That flexibility to go across sectors rather than being locked into one narrow specialism was exactly what I was looking for. Beyond the programme itself, Birmingham just made practical sense. It's a great university with an IET-accredited engineering department that has over 40 years of unbroken accreditation. It sits right in the middle of the UK with excellent transport links, which mattered to someone moving to a new country.