People @ Proxiad: Meet Martin Penchev, Biomedical Engineer
Martin is someone with a unique job description and the only specialist of this kind here at Proxiad. He works as a biomedical engineer, a profession that requires in-depth knowledge of both medical sciences and information technology. Learn more about what he does in our newest People @ Proxiad interview.
Martin, your current position is somewhat of a unique intersection of medicine and information technology. Could you tell us a bit more about what you do?
Being a part of a multidisciplinary team for medical software development, my duties include bringing expertise on medical data by means of data integration and data analysis. My role intervenes on all stages of the software lifecycle from development to testing. To give an example, my day-to-day tasks may vary from implementing a complex data analysis algorithm to working with the QA engineers on medical data integration testing strategies.
What kind of educational and professional background does someone need to have to work as a biomedical data engineer?
My main education is in clinical medicine. I received my medical degree in France. During my clinical training, I became interested in medical devices and technology. In addition, I signed up for a Medical Device Engineering degree program, where I studied core engineering subjects such as signal transmission and electronics but also neuroprosthetics and robotics. Later, I enrolled in an additional master’s degree in Medical Humanitarian Sciences in order to further study the impact of information technology on the medical world. Finally, I got a post-degree diploma in medical device clinical evaluation methodologies with an emphasis on the evaluation of medical software that incorporates artificial intelligence.
After you got your medical degree in France, you came back to Bulgaria. What made you decide to come back home?
Coming back is a conscientious choice of my wife’s and mine to settle down and work in Bulgaria.
Were you looking for opportunities specifically in the biotechnological field and is this how you ended up at Proxiad?
After my return, I finally had the time to hone my programming skills so that I could keep up with the latest technologies. I passed several trainings and learning paths in order to build upon my initial university knowledge of computer science and scientific programming. My initial training was mainly in full-stack Python and JavaScript with an emphasis on big data and machine learning techniques. Later on, I got in touch with one of the recruiters here at Proxiad who offered me my current position.
I know that you’re currently living and working in your hometown, Plovdiv. Everyone who’s been there knows just how special it is, but what makes it special to you?
Plovdiv is the second-largest city in Bulgaria and it’s on the path of becoming a major center for the information technology industry. It shines with its unique cultural heritage and rich history, but to me, it will always stay my birthplace.
And finally, it’s easy to see that you love your job but tell us a bit more about Martin outside of work.
When I am not working, I love spending quality time with my family, planning for a trip, or simply going sightseeing.
