I'm writing this with my bags packed, a few days out from flying to Beijing & Australia, where I'll be spending the next six weeks travelling. It felt like the right moment to put down some thoughts, because in a strange way, that trip says as much about my time at EDC as anything I could write about projects or promotions. Once you've been with EDC for more than a decade, you get two extra weeks of annual leave.
And there’s another policy worth knowing about: every employee can work fully remotely from anywhere for up to one month each year, alongside our standard flexible and remote working arrangements.
Put those together, and the flexibility is significant. Six weeks away is genuinely possible without putting your career or a project on hold.
Personally, I didn’t need to use the remote-working month myself, but the option is there when life calls for it.
That’s the kind of flexibility that makes a long-term career at EDC feel a little different.
But it isn't the leave policy that's kept me here 12 years. It's everything that made me want to stay long enough to earn it.
I joined EDC as a Junior Building Services Engineer, and the growth since then has been significant, technically and in confidence. Early on, I was focused on learning design principles, preparing drawings, running calculations, and supporting senior engineers on their projects. Being involved across the full project lifecycle (concept, detailed design, procurement, construction, commissioning, handover) gave me a genuine understanding of how a building actually gets delivered, not just how it gets designed on paper.
That exposure is what let me grow into a Senior role with real substance behind it. Today I carry responsibility for system design, technical specifications, coordination, contractor queries, and submittal reviews, and I've had to sharpen my leadership, communication, and decision-making alongside the technical side. Along the way I've worked on projects like Horgan's Quay (Cork’s flagship development over the past few years), Washington Street Student Accommodation, and Boston Scientific Office Building, and I'm currently on HEB 2 ATUDL and TUSM. Each one has pushed me to deliver building services solutions that are compliant, efficient, and genuinely practical.
What's kept me here is the culture. From early on, I felt like part of a team rather than an individual just carrying out a role. In building services engineering, that distinction matters more than people sometimes realise. The work is complex, and the best outcomes come when people are willing to share ideas, challenge each other, and work through problems together. At EDC, collaboration isn't something spoken about in principle and forgotten in practice. It's how the place actually runs, and it's made me feel like part of something bigger than my own workload.
EDC is an ambitious company, and I've always valued being part of something that's moving forward rather than standing still. I've watched the business grow considerably over 12 years, and that ambition is visible in the quality of the work we deliver, how we approach clients, and our willingness to take on new and difficult challenges. Being part of that has given me a real sense of purpose and pride, and it's kept the work interesting, which matters to me, because I care about continuing to develop.
EDC is progressive. It's been rewarding to work for a company that's open to change, willing to adopt new ideas, and conscious of the need to keep pace with an industry that never stands still. In building services engineering, where standards and technologies are constantly developing, that mindset isn't optional. It's what keeps you relevant. Being part of a company that's genuinely trying to do better, rather than just maintaining the status quo, has kept me engaged for over a decade.
Above all, EDC has always been good at listening to its people and responding to what they need and that's probably the quality I value most. Over the years, I've felt that the company genuinely cares about the people who work here, and that changes everything. When a business values its people, it builds respect, trust, and loyalty in return. The extra leave after 10 years' service and the month-long remote-working-from-anywhere policy are two concrete examples of that but they sit alongside a culture that has supported me through every stage of my career.
After 12 years, I can honestly say staying with EDC has been the right choice. It's given me real opportunities, backed my development, and built an environment I've been proud to contribute to. If you're a senior engineer looking for a place where the work is genuinely interesting, the people have your back, and the company invests in your life outside of work as much as your career inside it, I'd encourage you to take a look at EDC. I'll be on a plane to Australia soon, and back in six weeks, refreshed and ready for the next project. Not many places make that possible.
A few weeks on, Shane’s six-week adventure Down Under is well underway and he’s been kind enough to share a few snaps from the trip.
