Ivan Angelinin is the Chief Technology Officer of Cosmos Thrace and the backbone of our team. He is both a great professional software engineer and an inspiring leader.
His background is very interesting as he grew up in a small mountain town in Bulgaria, later went to study in Scotland and Switzerland and had an opportunity to continue his career in one of the top Software companies in Ireland. Nevertheless, his inner passion brought him back to Bulgaria and his hometown.
The Growth of an Interest in a Professional Career Development
Coming from a small town in Bulgaria – Bansko, Ivan’s interest in mathematics and computer science sparked way back in the days when he applied for the Mathematics and Computer studies program at the Mathematics High School in Blagoevgrad. He remembers this was the time when he was introduced more closely to the specifics of the computer science world, making him want to enter the field and experience the life of a software engineer.
After graduating high school, Ivan continued developing his skills in the field by applying to the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. He got accepted with a Bachelor of Computer Science where he was exposed to Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence.
When it comes to Ivan’s experience in ML and AI processes, it goes a long way through several internships and projects at the university he studied. According to Ivan the practical classes in Edinburg are one of the very well-developed programs in contrast to other places that offer this major. He recalls assignments that required the students for example to build robots that play football. Due to the competitive essence of the classes, students were devoted to staying up until late to build the best-performing robots. Captivated by this specific area of computer science, he wanted to further develop his skills.
For his thesis for his bachelor’s degree, Ivan worked with a professor on a project to monitor air quality on campus. His goal was to use sensors that were spread around campus and build a map that tells users what the pollution at a certain point on campus is. Moreover, the app was giving predictions of what the pollution will be like in the next six to twelve hours. He developed it into an algorithm that suggests a route that can minimize the intake of polluted air.
Simultaneously with his studies, Ivan did a few internships in different areas. First, he did a General Software Engineer internship in Sofia. Later, he proceeded with an internship in Toshiba Medical Systems (which is now Canon Medical Systems) in their Edinburg office. In that office, they were building the software for big medical scanners like CT scanners and advanced X-Ray scanners. Back then he was working on the front end of complex rule-builder algorithms and technology solutions. Thirdly, Ivan did two internships in Ireland in a company called HubSpot.
He shares that what he enjoyed the most in doing the internships was the various tasks in the different companies because of their diversity both in technical and cultural aspects
Where Two Roads Met
As his career progressed, Ivan started becoming way more passionate about the managerial side of the business. He did a master’s in management technology and Economics in Zurich. While working on his thesis, the Covid wave hit, which made him stay in Bulgaria for a while.
That is how it all started. Stuck in Bulgaria, Ivan met Viktor Elevterov, the founder of Cosmos Thrace. Viktor started telling him his ideas and that he wanted to create a company that provides AI and ML services. They instantly felt the formation of the perfect fit as Ivan had the experience and background Viktor was searching for. On the other hand, Ivan wanted a job position that offered a good balance between the technical and managerial world.
Currently, Ivan feels happy about his decision to join Cosmos Thrace. He shares that spending a lot of time abroad caused coming back to Bulgaria something he really longed for. Ivan claims he found his place as the company is currently giving him the freedom to both develop his skills and work on projects he enjoys doing.
The one he relished the most was the creation of an internal course on ML. Ivan has been creating lectures and teaching them to the team. This experience enabled him to pass his knowledge to his teammates using workshops and discussions. Another project Ivan values at Cosmos Thrace has been for a big automotive company that started one year ago. Additionally, Cosmos Thrace started working in data management and business intelligence, which helped him take a closer look at the complexities of the field.
Ivan shares that working with young, motivated people but also experienced professionals builds the perfect mix of a successful business. This combination makes going to work not an obligation but a way of life.
When Work meets Hobbies
When Ivan is not in the office, you can find him either skiing, hiking, or rock climbing. In general, he enjoys outdoor activities except for practicing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and some combat sports. He really loves that the company is not limiting him in any way. He feels that strongly in the balance he holds between his work and hobbies.
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