Niall Donnelly
Software Engineer Tech Lead
Limerick
We are the engineers of possible: Software Engineer driven by BD Purpose.
Azure DevOps, SQL, DevOps, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), REST APIs, Linux, Object-Oriented Programming (OOP), JSON, Git, .NET Core, Angular, C# -- these are just some of the skills that Niall Donnelly has learned during his work as a software engineer over the past decade.
The physics and computing university graduate loves to learn and continue building on the rich competencies and experience that BD provides him. However, it’s the company’s purpose of advancing the world of healthTM that truly motivates Niall.
“My initial career in technology was based in Cloud Services and Enterprise Software, but when BD approached me with an opportunity to work in the R&D Center as a software engineer, I found the idea of helping write code for flow cytometers really interesting,” explained Niall. “My father had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and needed to get his cancer markers checked every six months at the time, so being able to work on such an enormously powerful tool really became quite personal for me.” Niall reports his dad is now cancer-free.
At BD, we are People who give Possibilities Purpose
When describing the culture of BD, Niall notes that it’s very collaborative, caring, and engaging.
“I think I was surprised given the sheer size and number of businesses within BD at how much everyone pitches in to help one another, support one another, it’s really been quite amazing,” said Niall who has been with BD for nearly three years. “If you are curious at all about science and the technology that is being researched and developed, then BD is the place for you. I am still blown away by just how many medical solutions we have in the market and how much care the organization demonstrates for its associates.”
In considering what traits or attributes are helpful to a software engineering role with BD, Niall cites two: curiosity and initiative.
“There are so many software engineering tools available to us and as we consider what med tech solutions the world will need in the future, we need to be curious about how we work, new ways of working and the impact to the software development process overall,” said Niall. “Technology is constantly evolving so we need to consistently challenge ourselves to learn more about it and then how to apply it.”
BD in a Word
Inspiring is how Niall would describe BD. “I consider myself lucky that I get to have an impact on helping patients through the work that I do,” commented Niall. “And it’s even more notable because BD truly supports your continued learning and leveling up of your skills.”
As an example, Niall has a keen interest in learning more about software architecture. He wanted to expand his skill set so that he could understand the relationship between designing code and how it can support a larger, more complex system. As a result, BD paid for his coursework in this area.
When not working on software engineering projects at BD, Niall may be found reading up on the latest in space exploration, renewable energy, documentaries, shows, and YouTube clips featuring future technology and technology trends.
“There are enormous technology resources on YouTube alone that are so interesting regarding where technology is heading,” said Niall. “I also read C# Digest and enjoy reading everything I can about Open Source and the potential it could have for an organization like BD. There are just so many possibilities to do meaningful and inspiring work at this company, it’s incredible.”
About Flow Cytometry
BD Biosciences introduced the first-ever commercial FACS1 instrument in 1974 and has remained at the forefront of flow cytometry since2. Flow cytometry is a technique used to detect and measure physical and chemical characteristics of a population of cells or particles. NOTE: FACS is an abbreviation for fluorescence-activated single-cell sorting, which is a flow cytometry technique that further adds a degree of functionality.
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