About Magnet Forensics
Magnet Forensics specializes in software solutions for digital forensics and incident response. Based out of Waterloo, Ontario, Magnet employs approximately 700 employess internationally. They use a wide variety of technologies and are on the leading edge of digital forensics. Magnet Forensics was recently purchased by Thoma Bravo, LP, and has merged with Grayshift.
Job Description
This was my second term working at Magnet Forensics. It is important to note that due to the company buyout, Magnet Forensics is no longer a publicly traded company. As a result, the NDA I signed is much more restrictive and limits the amount of information I can share in this report. I returned to the Idea Lab as a Software Product Developer Co-op. The Idea Lab team is the company’s innovation lab. We are a small entrepreneurial group that is responsible for generating and validating potential new products for the company. This is a multi-discipline process that involves design sprints, creating proposals, presenting to executives, and potentially creating a prototype and gathering feedback.
Learning Goals
Problem Solving
My first goal was to improve my problem solving skills, such as, researching/generating problem statements and building pith decks for stakeholders. I had a few opportunities to assist with building pitch decks which I considered a success. Unfortunately, due to the merger, I didn’t have as many opportunities to work on my problem solving abilities as I would have liked. This is something I will continue to try to improve upon in future placements.
Oral Communication
My second goal was to improve my oral communication skills. I feel like I met and exceeded this goal during this term. I was responsible for independently researching, building and presenting a Powerpoint slideshow. I orally presented in front of my entire team, as well as the CIO of the company. I also had the opportunity to conduct a lunch and learn discussion with my team. Both of these experiences greatly improved my confidence and oral communication skills.
Creativity
This goal is a continuation from my previous term with Magnet. Seeing as the core principle of the Idea Lab is creative problem solving, it is important to continually innovate and think outside the box. The independent research, presentations and lunch and learn mentioned above allowed me to expand my creativity. Of my three goals, I feel I was the most successful in achieving this one.
Conclusion
Working for a second term at the same company was beneficial because I was able to ramp up much faster. This allowed me to jump right back in to the actual work. Being familiar with my co-workers gave me the opportunity to improve my skills more deeply than during my previous term. Due to the nature of the Idea Lab’s work, we are always working with cutting-edge technology. I enjoy working here because the variety of the work keeps it interesting and engaging.
