Rory Gallagher, Solutions Engineer at Liberty IT, speaks to Sync NI about his leadership journey within the company's innovation unit, Incubator, sharing valuable insights on technical excellence and the transformative potential of emerging technologies in software engineering.
As a solutions engineer, how much of your role goes beyond writing code and solving technical problems?
The role of a solutions engineer role involves tech leadership at a senior level and leading engineering teams, so, as such, it involves but includes much more than writing code and solving technical problems.
I am trusted in this role to have the experience to know what good looks like, and my role is about making sure the team is doing good. This could mean, for example, setting standards for engineering excellence, or educating and driving adoption of well-architected framework practices so that we can create high quality products which are maintainable and secure.
My role is also forward looking. This means I will be collaborating with our other leaders, architects and business partners, and I will be helping to drive our team or organisations technical approach and roadmap. Additionally, I coach and mentor senior engineers to develop their potential and help to raise the profile of the Liberty IT brand through interactions and presentations internally and externally through meetups and conferences.
In tech lead roles, it can be suggested that we should be aiming for at least 20% of our time spent writing code. I would agree and think that it’s still important for me to keep in my head in a codebase regularly. This helps ensure I don't lose touch with modern engineering and helps me to better understand the current challenges of our engineering teams. Essentially, it helps me to be a better tech lead, and this is something I try to carve out capacity for.
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What is a T-Shaped specialist in software engineering and would you consider yourself in that category?
A t-shaped engineer is someone with a broad range of skills across various areas and deep expertise in a specific domain.
This is a great thing for an engineer to strive to be, because it allows them to collaborate across different fields, understand various aspects of a project and adapt easily to a wide range of problems.
I do consider myself to be in that category. I have a strong interest in engineering excellence, and this is an area I have naturally deepened my expertise in.
However, being a t-shaped engineer, I maintain a mindset of continuous learning in different areas. This ensures I remain adaptable and open to new technologies and methodologies. It allows me to be both a specialist and a collaborator across new fields.
Being adaptable to change is important for learning new skills and technologies, and this is why we recommend and advocate for engineers to regularly move within the company.
How would you describe your experience of being part of Liberty IT's innovation unit, Incubator for the last 5 years and what were your personal highlights?
When I first joined the Incubator unit, I was welcomed by our, soon to be at the time, Managing Director, and I distinctly told him "This is exactly where I want to be!". That hasn't changed.
As someone with a strong interest in technology, it's exciting to incubate new technology and capabilities into our organisation unlocking business capabilities and value. The culture here is great too, we really care about being technically excellent, for example, and my co-workers here are driven and interested in what they do so.
With five of my thirteen years at Liberty IT in the Incubator unit, I've worked in a variety of projects and worked with a diverse range of people in different roles and from different backgrounds. I partnered with our first data scientist on evaluating image recognition vendors, I've built new products in collaboration with consultants and designers and implemented experiments in collaboration with our innovation partners in the US.
Possibly my highlight so far has been our successful incubation of an AI powered fraud capability for our organisation. We built a fraud investigation application which utilises AI models to help detect and remediate fraud as part of a game-changing fraud strategy which focuses on proactive detection. This solution is currently being scaled to other fraud teams and is set to make a significant difference to our organisation so I take pride of our achievements in this area and would consider it one of my personal highlights.
What excites you most about how future technology has the potential to transform lives?
Our role requires us to be a funnel for new technologies into our business. This unique position allows us to evaluate and decide which technologies are ready to be adopted, helping to shape the future direction of our company.
The power of technology to enhance life experiences, and address real-world challenges is exciting. In the context of our organisation which is part of Liberty Mutual Insurance, emerging technologies can make our customers' lives safer and reduce risk. For our employees, advancements can automate arduous tasks, freeing up time and resources to focus on value creation and strategic initiatives.
The integration of innovations, like AI can revolutionise how we operate, and has the potential to improve our quality of life. The pace of change currently is huge, and being at the forefront of technological transformation allows me to contribute to innovations that have a meaningful impact.
Do you think AI will ever completely replace humans in software development?
Today, AI is a fantastic tool, and it has genuinely transformed the way I work. However, AI still only contributes a small fraction to our work. This will change as AI continues to evolve so we will need to adapt, and our roles will evolve alongside it.
Software roles have always evolved though. I don’t think we’ve considered ourselves just 'coders' in these roles for quite some time now, for example. Engineering involves problem solving, creativity and collaboration. I like to think of my own role as a general technical problem solver, and I don't think that's something that AI can fully replace.
Was there any significant person(s) who inspired you to develop a career in tech?
I can't say there was a single person who inspired me. I've been fascinated by technology for as long as I remember. As a child, it might have meant taking apart gadgets to see their inner workings. As a teenager, I would try to understand the principles behind technologies or systems like digital video or HTML code.
What advice would you give to anyone considering software development as a career?
If you're interested in technology and are willing to learn continually, then software development could be a perfect career for you!
Imposter syndrome is common in software engineering, and you might feel like a fraud, despite evidence of your skills. 13 years ago, saying "I don't know" felt uncomfortable. The difference now is that I'm more comfortable with it, and I can embrace it, knowing that I'll be able to figure it out.
No one knows everything, and that's okay. Technology is constantly evolving, making it impossible to know everything. So don't fear it and embrace the continuous learning as part of the job! Ask questions, seek mentorship, and don't feel too bad making mistakes.
Finally, software development isn't all about complex algorithms, and lines of code. It's about solving real-world problems, creating exciting applications, and making a real-world impact.
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