Case Study

Developing as a dad

19 Aug. 2026

From adapting to changing requirements, to developing a sixth sense for issues, Luke has deployed many of his Senior Developer skills since becoming a first time dad two years ago. 

It’s one of the many reasons Luke so enjoys his home-based role, designing and producing the essential IT systems used by his Ingeus colleagues, while actively parenting and enjoying his son Fred’s toddler years.

“I’m very grateful for my work-life balance,” says Luke, who is 35 and lives with his family in Essex. “I get involved with so many interesting projects across the Ingeus business but am still able to do the nursery drop off and pick up twice a week while my wife works. My manager and I have worked together for eight years now and we’re a good team. It means I can be around if needed for anything unexpected at home and, equally, will move up a gear if we have tight deadlines for work projects going live.” 

Those projects involve Luke in specifying systems, building bespoke applications, contributing to new business bids, bug fixing, and liaising with IT partners as part of the Ingeus iDigital team. It was a friend’s recommendation of Ingeus that saw Luke recruited as a Junior Developer in 2018. With on the job and structured training, he has since been promoted and enjoys the huge scope of work available through Ingeus and its group companies:

“I like variation and Ingeus supports you if you show an interest,” Luke adds. “You put your hand up and they’ll see you. I have some specialist training arranged to support an international project soon – I’m really interested in the global side of our business. 

“There are so many options working in IT and at Ingeus I have the chance to get involved in different things while knowing that in the end it’s all helping other people. It’s good to know.”

When not delving into Ingeus’ IT infrastructure, Luke can be found in a different environment – his garden. Growing seasonal plants, fruit, and vegetables – with Fred’s help of course – Luke loves his workday lunch breaks:

“It’s nice to take a break, get some fresh air and see how Fred improves my planting!” concludes Luke. “Spending quality time at home while doing a challenging job I enjoy really does give me the best of both worlds.”