Zoom on the Team : ScaleFlyt Tech Lead

In today's Zoom on the Team congratulations are in order for Xavier-Alexandre who has just been promoted to the role of Tech Lead! Succeeding from our most esteemed and respected Remy, who has been with us for nearly two years, this is a major milestone in Xavier-Alexandre's career and a testament to his excellent work, dedication, and expertise in the field. As a Tech Lead, he will be responsible for leading the technical direction of the team and ensuring the quality of the development to guarantee the platform's availability and performance. Xavier-Alexandre brings a vast experience of digital technology and has been at Thales for a considerable time! To get to know Xavier-Alexandre, we asked him a few questions. Here's our Q&A with him.

Q: Xavier-Alexandre, can you briefly describe your career to date?

I graduated in computer science engineering in 2005 and since then I have mainly worked in the aeronautical industry in Toulouse, but in various fields. I have worked on embedded development for the A400M Flight Management System, web development for telecommunications, and have led the development of simulated avionics solutions to test our products in operational-like conditions for ATR, A320, A400M, S76, and SSJ. I have also worked on developing training tools for our customers and supported our sales team by preparing demos sometimes in Virtual Reality capabilities. Most recently, I returned to web development, mainly to work in the drone industry on the Scaleflyt platform.

Q: Can you briefly describe your new responsibilities in the ScaleFlyt team?

As the Technical Leader  (Tech Lead) on Scaleflyt, I have the responsibility of ensuring the smooth running of the application, serving as the technical interface with the outside, having a medium to long term vision for the platform, and motivating and energizing the team while supporting continuous improvement. In addition to my role, I am involved in all stages of feature development, from working with UX/UI designers to establishing technical architecture, front and back-end development, code review, and deployment. This is all done in collaboration with the rest of the team using an Agile approach. My area of expertise includes architecture, implementing new technologies, best practices, optimising performance, and sharing technical knowledge with the team. Our strength lies in our cohesive team that knows how to effectively share and collaborate.

Q: You’ve been working on avionics (and other) projects for a while, what motivated you to join ScaleFlyt and become Technical Leader?

The drone market is rapidly growing, and like aviation, it needs to be regulated. I see so many possibilities offered by drones and i would like these activities to develop without being hindered by the constraints related to these regulations. The main goal of our platform is to support drone operators by making the regulatory process easier and providing useful features that enhance their operations. What I appreciate about this project is the opportunity to be close to our customers, listen to them, and develop all the features that will make them more efficient in their activities.

Q: Can you share with us what accomplishment(s) you are proud of, in your capacity as Tech Lead ?

As a technical leader, I have achieved great success in integrating significant new features into our application. The process was challenging but fulfilling, often requiring a significant overhaul of the platform's architecture. Some of these features include managing permissions, flight planning, and real-time drone tracking, all of which will be available in future releases. These accomplishments wouldn't have been possible without the contributions of the entire team. The team's collaborative efforts are essential to our success. Also, the team’s high standards of quality allow us to approach these projects with confidence and ease.

Q : We hear that ScaleFlyt is developing some BVLOS features, what do you find most exciting about this new ScaleFlyt adventure ?

One of my hobbies is participating in coding challenges where I develop Artificial Intelligence (AI) that competes against AI developed by other competitors. To address the issues of drones flying Beyond Visual Line of Sight we need to develop pathfinding algorithms to help the operator prepare his/her flight plan while avoiding areas where flying is unauthorised or suggesting alternative secondary flight plans to quickly land in case of an emergency. These new features allow me to merge my hobby with my work, and I believe that AI will be a great help for operators to analyse images or videos taken by their drones. These are topics that I am passionate about and that we address at work.