My Career Story

July 31, 2022

I've been interested in technology since university, where I took an elective in Java programming. I fell in love with the subject and knew I wanted to make it my career. After earning a bachelor's degree in Chemistry, I worked as a marketing manager in the tourism industry. There, I met many marketers with business acumen but lacking technical skills, particularly in SEO and website building. This inspired me to switch careers and become a software engineer at an Australian consulting firm, where I gained advanced front-end development skills. Outside of work, I pursued a part-time degree in computer science, which proved to be incredibly rewarding.

2022 07 31

One significant challenge during my software consulting role at Accenture was adhering to tight timelines. I managed a large customer-based mobile app for an airline. Given the numerous feature requirements, I adopted an agile approach to continually deliver value. Occasionally, I had to negotiate with the product owner to overcome project blockers. Ultimately, we launched the mobile app successfully, meeting business requirements and earning customer satisfaction. This experience taught me that technology alone can't solve all business problems. Hence, I enrolled in a part-time MBA program to better understand the intersection of business and technology.

While consulting for EY in the banking sector, we faced a setback involving the choice of a cloud platform. We initially developed a banking wallet product using Amazon Web Services (AWS), assuming it met all requirements. However, just before going live, we realized that the AWS data center in Hong Kong was delayed. Due to regulatory requirements, we had to migrate to Microsoft Azure. I advised and executed the new technical architecture to ensure compliance.

At Dynatrace, I was part of the post-sales team, focusing on software monitoring products. One memorable project involved a new client at Huawei who wanted to integrate our product into their cloud platform. Working onsite in Shenzhen, I faced a demanding work culture and a 9 am to 9 pm, six-day work week. Despite this, the project launched successfully, thanks in part to my proactive responses to client queries.

As a technical lead at HSBC, I oversaw the development of an online payment solution for merchants in Malaysia. I noticed that the team was fragmented, with individuals focusing on either the back end or the front end, but no one looking at the overall user experience. Compounding the issue were office politics, which hindered our progress. To overcome these challenges, I engaged with customers to understand their needs and consulted Splunk logs for error data. Taking ownership of the results, I delegated tasks effectively, which led to a rise in transaction success rates from 40% to 70%.

Currently, as a client engineering manager at Thought Machine, I recently assisted a colleague in pre-sales who had to present to one of Taiwan's largest banks. With only a week to prepare and my colleague not being fluent in Mandarin, I translated and presented the slides. It was a challenging task, but the presentation was well-received.

In my present role, I also conduct training sessions for new team members, clients, and partners in Vietnam. Although English is our second language, I make sure to speak clearly and use various phrases to get my points across.

Outside of work, I have a passion for continuous learning. I am certified in various cloud platforms and have Scrum certifications for project management. I also enjoy honing my communication and public speaking skills through Toastmasters clubs.

In summary, I thrive on exploring new technologies and finding solutions at the intersection of business and tech. I love collaborating with customers, partners, and teams to create robust architectures and demonstrations based on customer needs. Feel free to connect with me: https://www.linkedin.com/in/victorleungtw.


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Victor Leung, who blog about business, technology and personal development. Happy to connect on LinkedIn