Gentrack
Building Software for the UK Energy Market
At Junifer Systems, later acquired by Gentrack, I worked on software used by energy suppliers across the UK and Europe.
This was not “nice to have” software. It supported core utility operations across electricity and gas, including billing, customer management, market processes, switching and data flows between suppliers and the wider energy ecosystem.
The platform was used by major energy providers such as Bulb, So Energy, Engie, SSE and nPower. So the work had to be reliable, compliant and delivered properly, because any mistake could affect real customers and real market operations.
From Robotics to Utility Software
My background is in Automation Control and Robotics Engineering, so I naturally approached software as a systems problem.
Utility software is not just about building features. It is about understanding complex processes, regulations, integrations, edge cases and operational dependencies.
Electricity and gas markets have a lot of moving parts. Suppliers, regulators, switching services, billing systems, smart meters, data flows and customer records all need to work together. That made the work technically challenging, but also very interesting.
Central Switching Service and Faster Switching
One of the key projects I worked on was related to the Central Switching Service and the UK Faster Switching programme.
The goal of Faster Switching was to make it easier and quicker for customers to switch energy suppliers. Behind the scenes, this required major changes to how suppliers exchanged data, validated information and coordinated customer transfers.
I led work on modules connected to this programme, working with a team to deliver critical functionality under tight deadlines.
This was a good example of engineering pressure in the real world. The system had to meet regulatory requirements, integrate with industry processes and be delivered on time, because the whole market was moving in that direction.
Leading Delivery Across Core Teams
After Junifer became part of Gentrack, my role expanded further.
I worked across multiple core teams and projects, helping to deliver new functionality, improve existing systems and support large-scale utility operations.
Some of the key areas included:
- Faster Switching
- Central Switching Service modules
- machine learning initiatives
- data replication
- core utility platform improvements
- integration-heavy energy market workflows
This required more than just writing code. It meant coordinating with engineers, product teams, domain experts and business stakeholders to turn complex requirements into working software.
CleanTech, But in the Real World
People often think about CleanTech as solar panels, batteries or electric vehicles.
But a huge part of CleanTech is the software layer that allows energy markets to function more efficiently.
Better switching systems, better data flows, better billing, better customer management and better operational tooling all help the energy sector become more flexible and more competitive.
That is what made this work meaningful. We were building software that supported the infrastructure behind the energy transition.
What I Took From It
My time at Junifer Systems and Gentrack taught me how to build software inside complex, regulated industries.
It also reinforced something I still believe strongly: great software is not only about clean code or modern technology. It is about understanding the system you are operating in.
In energy, that means regulation, reliability, deadlines, integrations and operational impact.
This experience shaped the way I approach product and engineering today: build systems that are practical, reliable and useful in the real world, especially when the environment is complex and the stakes are high.