Meet Neil

Hi Neil (Chunks, Chunky, Chunkster for short). What’s your role at Punch? 
N: Senior Website Developer

Tell us, what did you want to be when you were little?
N: I wanted to play video games for a living. At the time it wasn’t really an option being seen as a hobby for kids. Today with YouTube, Twitch streaming, eSports, and gaming being widely accepted by the mainstream it would be possible. I was just born too early for that opportunity and too late to be a bedroom coder in the 80s.

What a shame! Hopefully you still get to indulge your passion. What are some of your responsibilities as Senior Website Developer?
N: I’m the line manager for the web team, and manage production, training, and project management – as well as my development duties. I was actually the first developer at Punch, back in 2013.

What do you love about your job?
N: I love working for Punch! Projects are varied and interesting and there is always the opportunity to develop and learn new skills.

That’s great to hear. What do you think is the thing you’re known for?
N: My ability to boil down complex projects and developments so they’re easy to understand.

What’s been your favourite Punch project to work on?
N: I really enjoyed the Stoneacre project where we developed online software to allow them to track part returns through their part centres across the country.

As this was a completely bespoke system, we had to use extensive planning, database design, security considerations with a purely HTML, CSS, Javascript, PHP, and SQL build. It was fun to come up with solutions to what the system needed!

Sounds very complex, but very impressive. Where’s your favourite place?
N: Filey. Perfect place to spend a long weekend and always nostalgic since I used to go on holiday there as a kid. Closer to home I always enjoy spending time down at the Arcade Club in Kirkstall trying to beat those high scores.

If you were going to be an animal, which animal would you be?
N: A sleepy old bear.

What’s the life of Neil like outside of work?
N: I love video games – I play Xbox online with friends, and colleagues, a few nights a week. I’m heavily into retro-gaming and collecting older games and consoles.

I also enjoy reading, and I’ve been a member of several book groups across the years. I like movies of any genre, and I have a big interest in filmmaking in general.

Lastly, do you have a saying you love to live by?
N: “You should know… I can’t be killed with conventional weapons.” But, seriously, I don’t really have any sayings to live my life by. I just try to do the right thing and help other people out where I can.

I do have a mantra for my work though which is “Always assume everything you do is wrong until you see it working.” Great for making sure projects are tested and functional.