The Life of a Software Engineer | Segue Technologies

Written on April 28, 2022

Software Engineers – the masterminds behind many of the applications, games, and tools we use today and one of the top 10 roles we hire at Segue. Their role is to apply the principles of software engineering to design, develop, maintain, test, and evaluate computer software. In general, they troubleshoot issues, test the system, run codes, interact with coworkers and customers, pay close attention to detail, and suggest system improvements. They work from home and/or on-site, in small and/or large groups. At Segue, you can find them at different levels: intern, entry-level, middle level, senior, and lead. Each of them with different responsibilities but the same goal: to design software to help solve the problems our customers face. If you are interested in learning more about Segue’s Software Development work and services, visit Segue’s Agile Development Service page.

So, What Does a Software Engineer Actually Do?

Before we dive into a day in the life of a Software Engineer, we would like to mention that this job varies day-to-day and that every company/project has its own culture, required skills, and job duties. At Segue, a general day in the life of a Software Engineer will be something like this:

Morning

Breakfast: Segue encourages employees to keep a healthy life and take time to start the day.

At their desk, they start checking for any updates through emails or MS Teams. They reply to important emails and schedule meetings if needed. They also arrange short, medium, and long-term to-do lists.

On days where there are team meetings or stand-up/sprint meetings, their team will take the time to discuss their progress and any issues they may have. This usually takes 10-15 minutes.

They start coding, designing, and maintaining software systems and/or evaluating and testing new software programs.

At various points, they will ask for advice or give advice. If members of their team are free, they will brainstorm solutions or ways to approach a problem together. After they find a solution, they will usually create a “change request” or “pull request” summarizing the changes proposed, which someone else would review. They also might have ideas or solutions of their own.

Break: 10-15 minutes break for coffee, water, a snack or to stretch. Some prefer to get some fresh air outside, as the job requires them to sit in front of their computer for long hours.

Returning from their break, they head back to working on software development, programming, analysis, troubleshooting/fixing issues, etc.

Afternoon

Lunch: Segue encourages employees to take the time to enjoy a healthy meal, drink water, and recharge.

After lunch, they head back to working on software development, and more coding.

As part of this role, Software Engineer’s workload could include:
1. Design models that show the various parts of programs
2. Optimize software for speed and scalability
3. Conduct an analysis of requirements and tweaking software as needed
4. Develop software verification plans and quality assurance procedures
5. Document and maintain software functionality
6. Develop flowcharts, layouts, and documentation to identify requirements and solutions.
7. Integrate software components into a fully functional software system
8. Conduct an analysis of requirements and tweaking software as needed
9. An experienced Software Engineer also supports interviews, trains young employees, and checks the progress of different projects

Break: 10-15 minutes break for coffee, water, a snack or to stretch.

Returning from their break, they will deploy programs and evaluate user feedback.

End of the day: they will flag important emails and if possible, plan their next day.

Skills and Competencies of a Software Engineer

For a Software Engineer, coding is the main skill to learn and the main focus of the role. A Software Engineer starts the day coding and will most of the time end the day coding. Additional skills required for this role are:

Troubleshooting, testing, and database development/architecture
Java, JavaScript, C#, C++, HTML, Python, Visual Basic, Object-oriented programming, SQL, PL/SQL, and .NET

When considering soft skills, communication, teamwork and collaboration, problem-solving, multitasking and time management, critical thinking, and attention to detail are fundamental for this role at any level.

What’s It Like to Be a Software Engineer?

An Interview with Todd Godbout, Senior Software Engineer at Segue Technologies Inc.

What is a typical day like for you?

Start by checking any new emails and responding if necessary. You move on to development tasks, this could include new tasks or work on old items. Within a continuous integration approach, this would include coding, testing, building, and deploying to comply with an Agile development pattern. There are times when I will need to interact with other team members for help in any of the life cycles. Once a small set of code blocks are implemented, I contact the customer for quick acceptance testing.

For whom do you think this career is a good fit?

Software engineering is best for people who are willing to take responsibility for tasks, whether working individually or within a team. The best engineers are the ones who don’t need to be held by the hand and know when to investigate a problem, but also know when to ask for help if they’re stuck or if there’s a roadblock from the customer or another team member.

What are the top 5 duties/responsibilities of a Software Engineer/Developer?

1.     Research emerging technologies
2.     Customer interface
3.     Write readable and efficient code
4.     Mentor plus junior develops
5.     Help the team member at any time

What is your favorite part of being a Software Engineer/Developer?

Delivering an application that solves the customer’s problem.

What is the most challenging part of working as a Software Engineer/Developer?

The constant and frequent changes in technology, both in the actual software platforms and in design patterns.

The most rewarding aspects?

Accomplishing a specific project or task that you had no idea where to start with and finally implementing it.

How do you organize, plan and prioritize your work?

The most important aspect of any project or task is to do the most difficult task first because if any of these cannot be implemented, then the project will not be completed, or outside help will have to be called in.

In your opinion, what is the future of software engineering/development?

There are always new trends in design concepts and development platforms, but what will never change is the use of software engineering to meet a customer’s needs.

What advice do you have for people considering becoming software engineers/developers?

Ask questions. For example, why was this design pattern selected? Why wrap this block of code?

What do you like about working at Segue as a software engineer/developer?

Segue treats us like adults where we are accountable to our customers and expected to meet their needs, but without the daily oversight of management. There are weekly meetings to determine obstacles and discuss schedules, but there is no strict oversight.

Any fun fact you can share about your role at Segue?

I used the knowledge I learned at Segue to create a mobile app that shows the locations of craft drinking establishments across the United States.

If you are interested in joining our team or explore our career opportunities visit Segue’s career page or share your resume with our Recruitment team at [email protected] To find more information about our team members go to Segue’s Blog: Employee Spotlight.