Role: Cloud Architect
Company: Liberty Information Technology
Track Record: Working in a fast paced industry means cloud architect Gillian McCann needs good communication skills and the ability to think on her feet.
HOW I BECAME A CLOUD ARCHITECT
Give a brief outline of your career to date.
I joined Liberty IT as a graduate in 1999 and have progressed through the engineering roles to my current role as cloud architect.
I have been lucky enough to have worked on a huge range of projects from small scale Research & Development work all the way up to multi-million dollar projects. This has given me vast experience across a wide range of diverse technologies, platforms and business domains.
Working for a Fortune 100 global company has given me the chance to develop enterprise full stack engineering skills.
I’m currently working as a cloud architect and technical product owner for a small team who are focused on bringing conversational experiences such as chatbots and voice based interfaces (like Alexa and Siri) to Liberty Mutual our parent company and then Liberty IT.
What was your favourite subject at school?
Joint favourites were Maths and Economics.
Did you go on to further/higher education, if so what did you study and where?
I studied Law at Queen’s University Belfast and after a year out, I completed a MSc in Computer Science.
How did you get into your area of work?
I always had an interest in Computer Programming at school. I studied GCSE Computer Studies and loved programming the BBC computers with simple BASIC. I also remember typing lines and lines of code into my ZX Spectrum at home to produce a rather rubbish table tennis game back in the day!
However, IT as a career wasn’t something I thought of so I focused on other subjects until I saw an advert in Queen’s for an MSC conversion course into IT.
I applied, took an aptitude test, was awarded European funding and have not looked back since.
Is this what you always wanted to do?
Leaving school, I never really knew what I wanted to do but after completing my Law Degree, I felt my interests lay elsewhere, so was looking for other opportunities.
That’s when the MSc Computer Science conversion course presented itself.
Once I started learning Java programming I knew this was what I wanted to do. I view programming, application design and architecture like puzzles that need to be solved in a very creative and collaborative way.
Were there any particular essential qualifications or experience needed?
A Cloud Architect needs hands on experience in architecting and building applications in public cloud. I am focused primarily on AWS (Amazon Web Services) and I also have Solutions Architect, Developer and SysOps AWS Certifications. As this is a rapidly evolving space I have to assess new technology options quickly and promote how these could be applied within our products.
Are there alternative routes into the job?
General experience with Architecture and Application Design is required. I feel that hands-on experience should trump formal qualifications. Cloud technologies have been democratised, so there’s no barrier to entry for anyone who is willing to give it a go.
What are the main personal skills your job requires?
First, the ability to learn quickly is essential with good communication skills and the ability to collaborate with others. You also need technical vision and the ability to articulate complex details in a clear and simple way.
What does a typical day entail?
As you can imagine, what constitutes a ‘typical’ day this week could change significantly by the end of the year! I’m currently architecting conversational interfaces in AWS and this involves working with the AWS Lex team as well as calls to US counterparts, designing AWS Serverless Architecture, collaborating with teams, presenting Architecture – from developers to executive level – teaching/training, prioritising on new features and writing code.
What are the best and most challenging aspects of the job?
Technology is changing at such a fast pace and rapid innovation in cloud providers means that new services and features are announced daily. AWS aims to democratise advanced technologies, so anyone can now work with Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence which, as a developer at heart, I love to write code for.
Why is what you do important?
We need to be able to move faster than the competition to ensure we continue to thrive as a company. Moving to the public cloud helps us stay competitive, drives innovation and delivers value at speed to our customers.
I am at the forefront of moving Liberty IT to the cloud. Working for an insurance company, we are always focused on helping our customers live safer, more secure lives and I love being able to play my part in that mission.
What advice would you give anyone looking to follow a similar career path?
Be in control of your career and seek out opportunities which will help you to achieve your goals.
Cloud technologies have been democratised, so that there no barrier to entry for anyone who is willing to give it a go.
If you weren’t doing this what would you like to do?
I’d be an Historian or working as a Historical Building Curator.
If you could go back, what is the one piece of advice you would give to yourself on your first day?
Take control of your own career, be clear in setting your own personal goals, and be focused on achieving them!
Describe your ideal day off.
A sunny day on the beach at White Rocks with the kids followed by a nice dinner at the Bayview Hotel looking out at the sea.