The KJR Collective

Steve isn’t only a Principal Consultant – he’s KJR’s Employee #1! With a PhD wrapped up at University of Queensland in the late 90s, he was approached to join software testing upstart, K.J. Ross & Associates by its founder, a young Kelvin J Ross. Steve has stood the test of time with the KJR Collective in Brisbane for over 22 years because he revels in optimising services and processes – that means moving with the times and technology, staying relevant and maintaining curiosity. While at KJR, Steve has worked with the full gamut of clients, from Airbus to Microsoft and Brisbane City Council to Siemens.

Steve’s knowledge of computers seems to have been passed down to his young children, who have already learned to bypass parental controls on the iPad. Not to worry though, we’re sure Steve will work his magic in a cure for that as well.

“I love reading tech news, whether it’s about gadgets or self-driving cars or space travel”, and these different types of technology are only going to grow more and more prominent as time goes on. As for how it’ll affect Rob’s industry, “I think it will definitely affect the testing space, especially with the incorporation of AI into new and existing practices”. Rob (rightfully so) believes AI is the future and where most of technology is heading. As well as the importance of AI, Rob hopes to further explore cybersecurity. “As the world becomes more connected to the internet, the need for security awareness and protocols just becomes more important”.

“Technology has impacted every single field”, and Needha knows it’s only going to continue growing. She considers her current work with Queensland Ambulance Service to be a clear example of positive impact of technology on the community. Using new software and utilising the ever growing relevance of data, she is helping to deliver a quality solution that uses data to improve ambulance coverage and response times, allowing patients to have faster access to emergency care.”

Steve is an experienced test manager with a laser sharp strategic focus. Couple that with his attention to stakeholder needs and you have yourself a sought-after, savvy leader of projects and people. Members of the KJR Collective come from all walks of life. Although Steve earned a Bachelor of Arts at Monash University, his career took him in the tech direction, where his early experiences as a test analyst paved the way for his role here at KJR, where he has been firmly placed since 2010. Today, Steve continues to provide his talents to Australian Government Departments to ensure they don’t miss a beat on important digital programs for our citizens, creating efficiencies within teams to deliver successful technological solutions.

“What I love about working in tech is the opportunity to try new methods and processes to bring in overall improvements to the SDLC world” this carries from Archana and inspires the teams around her to adopt agile approaches while encouraging them to think further when solving the trickiest of tech challenges on client site. Archana radiates a sense of trust that reassures both client and the collective and has championed the KJR values from day one helping to “contribute, support and guide the team so that one day she can enhance and expand the KJR Family through motivating others, resolving issues through friendly catch ups”. “I like to engage with our collective members through sharing my own experiences and by letting them share theirs. Its a mutual relationship which can help us to all succeed and achieve the ultimate goal of delivering quality work”

Tim joined KJR as a graduate in 2022 and has hit the ground running on various projects boasting technological innovation and community opportunity. He has pushed past the boundaries of purely technical and has shown keen interest in learning about IT and business processes which has helped him understand wider strategy and matured his consultancy skills exponentially. 

Helping to lead a handful of groundbreaking technological projects, not only in what they are achieving through artificial intelligence and machine learning but for the benefit of various communities across Queensland, Tim is expanding his skills in computer science to solve real-world community challenges for Indigenous peoples. He is currently mentoring year 11 and 12 students on the Gold Coast in data science and management as part of KJR’s Indigenous traineeship as well as capturing rock art data in far north Queensland to help West Yalanji peoples preserve their culture using aiml powered applications. This has allowed Tim to expand his technical skillset while also developing his knowledge across business charters such as Corporate Social Responsibility. 

Tim has worked closely with KJR Founder Dr Kelvin Ross and CTO Dr Mark Pedersen on these projects and has learnt skills in resource management, partner liaising and computer science under their guidance. Above all Tim’s work at KJR has opened his eyes to the real impact technology, and the people behind it, can have on the world in a positive way.  

He has shown great initiative within the Collective and has proven himself a valued member of the KJR team. He is very steadily maturing into a competent IT consultant who will undoubtedly achieve great feats- and we can’t wait to celebrate his wins alongside him. 

What projects have you worked on so far?

So far, I have been working mainly on an innovation project focused around using AI and Machine learning on geospatial information data and drone footage. The goal of the project is to locate and capture previously lost Aboriginal rock art sites in Far North Queensland.

What skills have you developed?

During my studies I focused on information systems and design, so most of the things I have been learning are more computer science focused. This has been an interesting challenge for me but its always good to diversify skills. I’ve also had the opportunity to work with and pilot drones a fair bit, which is very exciting.

What’s your favourite part about working for KJR?

The project I’m working on is not only exciting but also groundbreaking in what it is trying to achieve. My favourite thing about working for KJR is being able to have an impact on that project and being part of the team that is going to ensure its successful completion.

How do you see your future shaping up with the experience you’ve gained at KJR?

In the future I see KJR continuing to provide lots of exciting opportunities for growth and development of my skills.

What advice would you give other tech graduates starting out who may be considering taking on a grad/intern role with KJR?

We do lots of engagements with different university tech societies, so you should come to those, talk to us so we can find out who you are! Even if you can’t make it to those keep an eye on LinkedIn for job opportunities and apply. KJR has lots of benefits that other graduate opportunities don’t have

SeungHyun commenced as an Intern with KJR in 2020 and seized every opportunity that came his way to learn and develop his skills across several service areas. He has demonstrated great determination and initiative while working across a number of projects and trained in AWS S3, Dynamodb and Lambda software, as well as Python.  

Apart from technical skills, SeungHyun has committed time and effort to understand the project lifecycle and modes of communication with important stakeholders. He has worked closely with ACT/NSW GM Andrew Hammond and KJR Founder Kelvin Ross on projects that utlilise artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies to power real-world solutions. Including Fatigue M8 project that utilises AI-ML to train a smart steering wheel to detect changes in truck driver fatigue for improved safety on the roads, as well as on a health resourcing dashboard with KJR’s affiliate company Datarwe. 

Before entering the tech world SeungHyun served as a Sergeant in the Republic of Korea Army. His attention to detail has provided great value to his work at KJR and as much he has learned about the Australian working culture from us, we have learned from him. 

SeungHyun hopes to continue gaining experience in cloud computing and specialise in database system analysis in the future.  

Minju Kang started her journey with KJR at the start of 2021 and has brought tenacity, determination and a willingness to learn in every project she has worked on. Although her background was in developing website and mobile applications, Minju applied herself with enthusiasm and has started to develop her skills as a maturing IT professional across a number of service areas. 

Not long into her Graduate role with KJR, Minju was given the opportunity to up-skill in VDML and was flown to the Gold Coast to assist with training an AI-ML model at our sister company, Datarwe. She was closely mentored by KJR CTO, and Datarwe QA Officer, Mark Pedersen as well as KJR Founder and Datarwe CTO Kelvin Ross, in the process of training a model that would detect the topics of articles, based on key words indicated in the articles text. Minju also worked alongside Datarwe’s Senior Data Scientists from which she got a deeper understanding of the project life-cycle and how important her work as an AI-ML tester is for providing real-world solutions to real-world problems.

Minju is now back at the ACT Collective where she is working on front-end development for web applications using AWS and React. At KJR Minju hopes to grow her skills in software development and software engineering.

DJ began his internship with KJR in May 2021 seizing every opportunity that has come his way to nurture a promising career as an IT consultant. One of the first projects DJ assisted was a major testing project for a valued KJR client which offered him a strong foundation of knowledge and experience. He has since taken these skills and applied them to his subsequent engagements which include BAU, automation, performance and UAT testing projects for several major retail and government clients.

Despite having prior experience in testing, consultancy was new for DJ. His drive to grow and succeed has resulted in great development of his soft skills that have equally been acknowledged from internal and external stakeholders. Optimally positioning him to become a well-rounded IT professional and tech consultant.

He has shown great initiative within the Collective and isn’t afraid to ask for mentorship from VIC GM Anil Kumar, Senior Consultant Xian Wang and the wider team. Which has contributed to his journey of growth with KJR.

DJ is focused on developing his technical and communication skills through exposing himself to different projects and sectors. With his determination and dedication to his work here at KJR, the sky is the limit!

What projects have you worked on so far?

In the last six months I have been a part of several big test automation, performance testing, BAU and bounty projects for major clients

What skills have you developed?

Technically I have expanded my skills by working on web development, UAT testing, Performance testing, C# coding and automation.

What’s your favourite part about working for KJR?

The major clients and diversity of projects which KJR holds is my favourite part. When we look for jobs we always look to grow ourselves technically, but along with technical skills you will grow yourself with KJR. A keen to learn and grow as a team mind-set is what KJR operates under which is the best and is why I like being a part of KJR.

How do you see your future shaping up with the experience you’ve gained at KJR?

I am growing myself technically by working with major clients and covering different work sectors. I am pretty confident with the skills and culture with which I am shaping my career. I am getting exposure to and facing all sort of challenges and pushing myself out of my comfort zone which will surely help in reaching greater heights in my career.

What advice would you give other tech graduates starting out who may be considering taking on a grad/intern role with KJR?

If you are looking for technical skills and projects which gives you career growth and highlight you in the market then I believe KJR is the best place to experience those desirables.

Lyndon is a seasoned finance professional who has been dedicated to KJR for ten years and counting. His integral strength is his way of managing monetary growth and people with equal insight. It’s an approach that’s guided by the philosophy that if you ‘give them the right information, they’ll always make the right decision in the end’. And for this information to be deemed ‘right’, it needs to be gathered using airtight processes (which is where his degree in computing comes in handy). 

Lyndon’s track record facilitating stable growth has seen him sought-after in the food, music, retail, and nightclub industries. But he’s stuck with KJR because he hates seeing people waste time replicating inefficiency. And his team share his belief in the integrity that comes with frank advice and exacting standards. Aside from the satisfaction gleaned from believing in what you do, working with KJR gives him a chance to indulge in conversations about the latest gadgetry and tech news on a daily basis. It also means he’s free to replicate his exacting standards in footy tipping.