By Síona O’Reilly, Principal Architect at Kainos
When I joined Kainos as a placement Software Engineer, I certainly wasn’t thinking about what my job title might be years down the line. I was focused on learning, building my technical skills and getting experience of working on meaningful projects.
Today, I’m a Principal Architect and Engineering Capability Lead, responsible for helping shape the growth, development and future readiness of our engineering community.
There have been plenty of steps between those two roles, but one thing has remained consistent throughout my career at Kainos: I have never felt that I needed to leave the company in order to progress.
READ MORE: Why the best careers keep stretching you
That matters, particularly at a time when people are increasingly thinking not simply about the job they are applying for today, but about where it could take them in three, five or ten years.
What attracted me to Kainos in the first place was its reputation for combining technical excellence with a genuinely people-first culture. I wanted to work somewhere that was solving meaningful problems through technology, but also somewhere that would invest in me and give me the opportunity to keep learning.
My experience since joining has been exactly that. Every few years, I have found myself presented with a new challenge, a different responsibility or an opportunity to make an impact in a way I perhaps hadn’t expected when I first started.
That has meant leading larger teams, contributing to strategic initiatives, speaking at industry events and eventually helping to shape our wider Engineering Capability. Each step pushed me outside my comfort zone, but I was given the trust and support to take it on.
Career development is sometimes talked about as though it is simply a matter of moving from one job title to the next. For me, it has been much broader than that.
The technical opportunities have been hugely important, but some of the most valuable development has come through learning how to lead people, build confidence in others and create environments where teams can do their best work.
A colleague once described my leadership style by saying that I make everyone feel important and part of the team. That feedback has stayed with me because it reflects the kind of leader I have always wanted to become.
Throughout my own career, there have been leaders who saw potential in me, colleagues who supported me when I was taking on something new and people who gave me the confidence to stretch myself. As I have progressed, being able to create that same environment for others has become one of the most rewarding parts of my role.
Technology is changing quickly, and the skills our industry needs will continue to evolve. Recruiting great people is one part of that challenge. The other is creating a culture where people can continue developing once they arrive.
For me, that means giving people opportunities to try something different, take on more responsibility, deepen their technical expertise or discover strengths they did not necessarily know they had.
READ MORE: Your first role is just the beginning: why Kainos is a place to build a career that keeps evolving
The role somebody joins Kainos to do today does not have to be the role they are doing five years from now, and I am proof of that.
For anyone considering their next career move, I would encourage them to think beyond the job description in front of them. Think about the environment you will be joining, the people you will learn from and whether there will be room for your career to evolve alongside the organisation.
If you are curious, ambitious and willing to embrace new challenges, there are enormous opportunities to build a career in technology, I joined Kainos as a placement student looking for an opportunity to learn. I have stayed because I have never stopped being given one.
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