What’s it like to work in tech for a company that’s solving some of the biggest challenges for federal agencies in the United States and abroad? Every day, 7,000 Accenture Federal Services team members put their experience to work in areas like defense, public safety, health and intel. Here’s how three of them are putting their tech degrees to work at Accenture Federal.
Celia Dyer
College: University of Virginia
Graduation Year: 2015
Major: Systems and Information Engineering, Economics
Job at Accenture Federal Services: Software Business Implementation Senior Analyst
What does someone in your role do?
In a typical tech-functional role, you might participate in requirements-gathering sessions with clients, design and/or document application functionality, write or execute test scripts, put together decks or other materials for a meeting, take meeting minutes, or work with developers to resolve application defects.
What did you do at work yesterday?
My first task was to organize my notes and key takeaways from a conference I attended the previous day. Then I had a kickoff meeting with my [project] lead who outlined the scope of the next tasks I’m responsible for. This was followed by a weekly project status meeting. I spent the rest of the afternoon working on a deck that showcases the application functionality I’ve been working on, so management can see the status and progress of our project. Before I left the office, I took a Tableau training, provided for free through Accenture Federal’s Knowledge Exchange. I’m attending an in-person training next week and want to learn a little bit about Tableau before my first day!
What’s your favorite part about working at Accenture Federal Services?
[In addition to my day-to-day responsibilities] I volunteer with an employee resource group that connects Accenture Federal employees with specific skills to local non-profits or other organizations so we can volunteer our time to a project. This is a great opportunity to keep skills up to date, learn new skills and get involved in the local community.
What’s something surprising about your role?
I interned at Accenture Federal before my senior year of college. I was working as a Java Developer, but when I came back full-time, I started working as a functional analyst. Now I’m working on the functional side of the same project I worked on as an intern!
Delaney Cave
College: James Madison University
Graduation Year: 2016
Major: Computer Science
Job at Accenture Federal Services: System Developer Analyst
What does someone in your role do?
I write the code and logic to create the functionality that our clients request. I also act as an application support person, making sure that our solution is producing correct results with the given data and helping to answer any concerns from the client.
What did you do at work yesterday?
Yesterday, I came in and prepared for the team’s daily standup, where the whole team debriefs each other on what they are working on, what they plan to do today and any impediments. Then I continued working on the code/logic, discussing any questions or issues with my team whenever they came up.
What’s your favorite part of the job?
My favorite part of my job is the constant challenge and growth that I experience from working as a developer at Accenture Federal. I have grown so much just from the short time that I have been here.
What’s something surprising about your role?
I feel that at a lot of other companies, your work tends to be disregarded when you are less experienced, but as an analyst, you are so heavily valued here at Accenture Federal.
Ashleigh Owens
College: Howard University
Graduation Year: 2014
Major: Computer Information Systems
Job at Accenture Federal Services: Test Engineering Senior Analyst
What does someone in your role do?
Someone in a tester role assists with managing requirements and test planning for software releases. Testers prepare test scenarios, test conditions and test scripts according to the requirements and designs of the client. We ensure that, once code is developed, it works properly. We also work with developers to catch and resolve any defects in the code before it is deployed into production.
What did you do at work yesterday?
Right now, we are in the development phase of my current release. This means that as a tester, I am preparing for the developers to finish coding and to deploy it for testing. A typical day for me in this phase is to come into the office and check my email for status updates from developers, my test lead and clients. I then begin to work on preparing testing conditions and scripts to be run once development is complete. This includes going through the individual requirements of the release, documenting the expected results and creating specific testing queries. I then have a daily status call.
What’s your favorite part of the job?
Working with an awesome group of individuals.
What’s something surprising about your role?
Although my title has “engineering” in it, I am not an engineer at all. My background is in computer information systems, and I was initially hired into a development role. You also aren’t limited to developing or testing roles simply because it is in your official title.
Ready to start your tech career at Accenture Federal Services? They’re hiring! Head over to WayUp, check out open positions and apply.
