Proximetry Poland

Overview

Proximetry Poland Sp. z o.o. was founded in 2006 as the research and development unit of Proximetry, Inc.

The Proximetry Poland team is composed of 50 highly-trained professionals: engineers, programmers and other specialists in the field of electronics and telecommunications as well as several PhDs in computer science.

The team in Poland continues to be responsible for all of Proximetry's research, development and engineering, and takes great pride in the quality of its software innovations and the world-class wireless solutions helping Proximetry's global partners and customers in the energy, transportation and broadband industries.

Fields of Activity

Proximetry Poland focuses its efforts on the following fields of activity:

The complete life-cycle of software development:

• Research work in the fields of computer sciences and telecommunications for developed products;
• Functional specification and system architecture design;
• Software development, testing and verification, user documentation development.

Customer support:

• Wireless networks and AirSync^TM deployment;
• Technical support for Proximetry partners and customers.

Research and development projects subsidized by public funds:

• Two grants received in 2009 and 2011 from Polish Agency for Enterprise Development (Operational Programme Inovative Economy 1.4-4.1) for development of subsequent innovative AirSync^TM versions: Autonomic AirSync^TM and Grid AirSync^TM;
• In 2009-2011, realization of the EU-Mesh project as part of the 7th Framework Programme in collaboration with 9 universities, research institutes and European companies;
• A grant for 2011-2013 received from the National Centre for Research and Development as part of EUREKA programme for an R&D; project with a Slovenian partner;
• A grant for 2013-2014 received from the National Centre for Research and Development (Innotech programme) for the development of innovative AirSync^TM management system, dedicated for a multimillion device network.

Product Development

High quality of Proximetry software is the key requirement which the development team maintains at every stage of its manufacturing process. During the design phase, the company concentrates on finding a right functional solution, adapting it to the system architecture in the most optimal way and selecting the best implementation technology. In the system implementation phase, the company puts strong emphasis on producing high-quality, clean and well tested code.

Product

AirSync^TM - an advanced system for wireless network management - is Proximetry’s key product and forms the basis for specialized applications dedicated to various industry branches. For example, airports and airlines use a version of the software for the management of effective, wireless communication with airplanes on the tarmac, while smart grid networks rely on AirSync^TM to manage a million electric, water or gas meters over large service territories. Metropolitan area wireless networks composed of thousands of base stations can serve as another example, but with a different set of requirements which nevertheless are also met by AirSync^TM.

System Design, Research and Development

The Proximetry Poland engineering team has the skills and experience needed to design and implement a system capable of meeting these diverse requirements.

The System Engineering group is responsible for analyzing requirements delivered by the Product Management team, defining new functionality, and designing the architecture and protocols. They also maintain contact with key customers regarding technical matters.

System implementation is carried out by several groups of developers. Several different tools and technologies are used in software production. For verification of the designed protocols and algorithms, Proximetry's developers use simulation, prototypes and emulators. Engineers supporting research and implementation activities at Proximetry Poland can expect to deal with real-time systems, network protocols, relational databases, expert systems, NoSQL and "Big Data" solutions, virtualization methods and distributed computing. Proximetry developers are strongly involved in design activities. Multiple software development tools and technologies are used: Microsoft technology for GUI (C#, ASP.NET, WinForms, HTML5); and for server technology, Proximetry employs different databases (MySQL, MS SQL, HBase, Hdoop) and programming languages (Java, Erlang, Python). Software for embedded systems is developed in C/C++ under Linux and VxWorks operating systems.

Work organization enables the team to devote most of the time to creative activities, due to implementation of agile management methodology, based on continuous integration, test-driven development and pair programming, among others. A strong emphasis is put on automation of functional, performance and stability tests. Owing to this fact, AirSync^TM is continuously verified in terms of regression and performance.

Testing and Verification

Proximetry has a group of engineers on board who verify proper operation of the entire software and provide technical support for customers. The software is built with use of various technologies - from the Graphical User Interface through the server using a database to embedded real-time systems. This approach entails a need to use diverse tools and a constant search for new, useful solutions. Different types of tests (regression, system, performance or load tests), are conducted by means of well-known tools such as TestComplete (for GUI tests), JMeter/Stress Stimuluss (for performance and load tests), among others. If no ready-made solution is available, the Proximetry Poland engineering team creates its own frameworks and automatic tests based on technologies like Ruby, Selenium, Jscript and Python. QA engineers are responsible for preparing large sets of test data as well as tools for emulation of network devices in order to verify behavior of the application working with networks composed of a few thousand devices.

A network lab filled with equipment delivered by Proximetry partners, along with prototype devices which are world unique, is constantly being expanded. Currently, it consists of 70 host/servers for automatic tests and circa 100 networks composed of over 400 network devices.

Apart from the lab networks, Proximetry has overhead networks in San Diego and Katowice which are used for tests and behavior measurement under conditions close to the actual conditions at the client site.

Workplace

It is Proximetry's belief that people and their character determine whether a particular workplace is comfortable and inviting. Therefore, the company's work culture is defined by values such as friendliness, teamwork, inventiveness and focus on the final result. This approach results in a unique atmosphere where every individual is able to develop their talents.

Proximetry Poland respects employees' experience, dedication and camaraderie; therefore, it seeks to provide a work environment where employees feel valued. The following incentives are offered:

• Convenient location by the Expressway S86 allowing for an easy commute;
• Free, monitored parking lot for employees;
• Flexibility - possibility to adjust working hours and tasks individually according to the needs;
• Benefit Multisport card on preferential terms;
• Conversation classes with an English native speaker;
• Integration meetings.

These small things together with the perception of a successful working environment form the big picture of Proximetry Poland where every employee is able to carry out their tasks effectively and comfortably.

Personal Development

While focusing on software development, Proximetry does not forget about personal development. Constant improvement of products comes hand in hand with acquiring new technical skills, since it is common knowledge that for each engineer it is one of the basic factors determining professional success and job satisfaction.

Professionals at Proximetry are convinced that working with cutting edge technologies in well-organized projects constitutes the key element of professional growth. Because of an innovative nature of Proximetry products, engineers on a daily basis come across multiple technologies and carry out individual research in quest of finding the most optimal solutions. The company's research and development activities focus mainly on the fields of IT and telecommunications, especially in the area of network protocols, database performance, distributed systems and wireless connectivity.

Most of the programmers in Proximetry use several tools and programming languages in their everyday work. They also participate actively in research activities thus learning new technologies. Engineers in the testing and customer support departments gain the latest knowledge of operating systems (from Windows to commercial distributions of Linux), wireless radio devices and technologies (Wi-Fi, WiMAX, LTE), and tools for automation of tests.

Proximetry's engineers participate actively in IT industry conferences and dedicated technical trainings adjusted to their requirements.

The company also offers employment for students in computer science, telecommunications and related fields enabling them to gain work experience and receive support with their theses work.

If you are interested in becoming part of the Proximetry team, please visit the Careers section.

Location

The Proximetry Poland engineering office is located at al. Rozdzienskiego 91 in Katowice, by the Expressway S86.