About Magnet Forensics
Magnet Forensics specializes in software solutions for digital forensics and incident response. Based out of Waterloo, Ontario, Magnet employs approximately 700 employees internationally. They use a wide variety of technologies and are on the leading edge of digital forensics.
Job Description
My job title is a Software Product Developer Co-op in the Idea Lab, the company’s innovation lab. We are an entrepreneurial group that is responsible for generating and validating potential new products for the company. This involves processes from multiple different disciplines such as traditional software development, research and development, marketing, and project management.
Introduction
Given that I have had nothing but positive experiences at Magnet Forensics, I decided to return to the Idea Lab for a third term. Due to the nature of the Idea Lab, we are always examining and working with new technologies. This is without a doubt my favourite part of working in the Idea Lab. In my previous terms I have personally worked on an assortment of computer science topics such as cloud computing, mobile development, big data and DevOps. Most recently, I have had the opportunity to work on Magnet Copilot and gain experience with deep learning, large language models, generative AI, and orchestrating AI applications. Overall, I hope I can relay some of the knowledge I’ve gained over the past four months and take you through my journey.
Goals
Depth & Breadth of Understanding
As previously mentioned, I have the chance to work on the cutting edge of modern technologies in the Idea Lab. My first goal was to leverage this opportunity. I sought to gain an in depth understanding of new computer science technologies. The vast majority of this term’s focus was on developing Magnet Copilot, an AI integration into our flagship product. This enabled me to learn about artificial intelligence, generative AI, and multimodal AI. Overall, this project allowed me to obtain a more in-depth knowledge of AI related technologies.
Personal Organization/Time Management
Through discussion with my team leaders, I’ve changed my opinion on my objective for this goal. Originally, I intended to estimate in great detail the time required for small pieces of a project. Through helpful guidance and experience, I’ve learned it’s an unrealistic approach. There are too many variables. It is impossible to anticipate everything that will occur during the course of a ticket. The time you would have to spend to accurately estimate tickets is better spent just working on them. I have learned to focus on adaptability and flexibility instead.
Teamwork
During my time away from Magnet, the team I returned to has grown considerably. All of these people have knowledge and insights on topics that I find especially interesting. Given that I have not interacted with them previously, my goal is to work with them during my work term and learn from their years of experience. Most of the new team members have extensive knowledge of the AI field. Increased in person meetings and collaborations allowed me to develop stronger personal and professional relationships. I had more opportunities to work with the team as a whole. I think I benefited greatly in terms of my professional development.
Conclusion
Being exposed to multiple facets of AI technology has made me consider if I should focus on this in my future. I find the subject matter fascinating from the lowest level implementations to highly abstracted applications. I enjoy researching and implementing new technologies and this position has given me ample opportunities to do just that. I look forward to my last co-op term with the Idea Lab over the course of the summer.
