Our staff spotlight is our blog series where we get up-close and personal with our amazing team members at Sophos.
Up next is Ismail Jaweed, Senior Professional Service Engineer.
Let's Talk Career
1. Can you tell us about your role at Sophos?
I’m a Senior Professional Service Engineer for the MDR team. We provide professional services to customers. The best part of this role is working directly with customers in planning the deployment of Sophos endpoint security solutions.
2. How did you get to the role you're in now?
I used to be part of the Sophos Support team before I went to explore other external opportunities. With a keen interest in working on endpoint detection and response, I returned to Sophos when the opportunity arose. It’s great to be back.
3. What inspired you to get into IT and security?
I didn’t choose the cybersecurity life, the cybersecurity life chose me. My first role at Sophos got me started with cybersecurity and my curiosity pushed me further into the cybersecurity world. The enthusiasm will never burn down because of the inspiration from all the cybersecurity experts in the world.
4. What do you enjoy most about your role?
When I get a chance to create something technical, specifically for our customers. For example, if the customer needs to automate the deployment of Sophos endpoint security solution, then I create a customized automation script, depending upon the platform they use. I enjoy the very moment when it is successfully built and executed. The real joy is when you hear positive feedback about the work you did. 
5. What's something you've done during your time in the organization that you're proud of?
A customer with a large environment had signed up for a professional service engagement to migrate Sophos endpoint from one central to another central dashboard.
Imagine having all the endpoint security software uninstalled and reinstalled. That would take a lot of time and effort. I was assigned the task of automating it. As the customer’s environment is a multitenant organization, there has been a lot of work put in to create something extraordinary which made the customer’s life easier and that is what I take pride in.
6. Describe a typical day in your Sophos life.
- New or existing customers sign up for MDR service
- Kick-off the onboarding procedure
- Provide rapid deployment service
- Schedule update calls with the customer
- Help to transition the customer to monitoring from Rapid deployment and Rapid Response
7. What's the best advice you can give to someone who has just started their career?
If you’re starting a career in Cybersecurity, don’t stop learning about Cybersecurity at any cost.
It might look like you’re learning the same thing repeatedly, but trust me, you are not.
If you don’t know something, don’t even think twice about asking. If you don’t get the answer, do your own research. By that way, you’ll learn.
8. What would you do (for a career) if you weren't doing this?
I would be owning a chain of restaurants.
Role in the Sophos Community
9. What's a fun fact about you that you could share with the Community?
I built a complete home automation to an extent where my bathroom door opens and closes automatically only for me. Others have to open and close it manually. 
10. Have you posted any Recommended Read guides on the Community?
Yes, you can find it here: Sophos Protection for Linux: Script to verify the installation of Sophos SPL components.
Who is Ismail?
11. What are your hobbies outside of work?
I love doing woodwork. Sometimes I cook. Lastly, I love building home automations.
12. What’s something you’re planning on doing in the next year that you’ve never done?
I always wanted to try sky diving, indoor sky diving at least.
13. What's one thing you're really good at?
Problem-solving. Be it technical or non-technical, I can create a solution or an idea depending on the situation.
14. If you could learn how to do anything, what would it be?
Road skating - I feel it’s a cool skill to have.
15. Tell us about where you live (and your journey getting there - if applicable).
I am from and live in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, which is in the southern region of India.
16. What's your favorite thing about where you live?
Chennai has the second-largest urban beach in the world. Beaches in the coastal line of the city are incredibly beautiful and are my favorite spots to spend my leisure time.
17. Tell us something that might surprise us about you.
I’ve watched the TV series “Person of Interest” 5 times. I never get bored of this show, I could still rewatch it many times over.
I recommend this show to everyone. It’s the most underrated series ever, amazingly crafted by Jonathan Nolan.
18. Any favorite line from a movie?
They’re both dialogues from my favorite TV series, Person of Interest:
“Everyone dies alone, but if you mean something to someone, if you help someone or love someone, if even a single person remembers you, then maybe you never really die at all.”
“No one ever said we are gonna win, but it doesn’t mean you stop fighting.”
19. If you had a superpower, what would it be?
A superpower to understand and communicate with computers.