Overview

A software engineer is responsible for supporting agricultural operations by developing and maintaining software. They will research, design, evaluate, integrate and maintain software applications which solve agricultural problems such as how to sort fruit using computerized software. Software engineers ensure the functionality of their software applications to clients by providing help and creating user manuals.

What responsibilities will I have?

• Design and develop computer programs to solve agricultural problems
• Perform necessary research to see if it is possible to develop programs
• Identify agricultural inefficiencies and provide recommendations on software which could be used to identify the problems
• Design and develop data models and databases
• Provide ongoing production support as needed
• Design and maintain reports using database management systems
• Make recommendations for software and hardware to be used on farms and manufacturing facilities
• Review existing designs and provide recommendations to enhance them
• Monitor system performance
• Write instructions and maintenance manuals
• Communicate project status with team members and managers
• Proactively research, prototype and implement new technologies
• Test product in controlled, real situations before going live
• Help to optimize cloud (information storage) workflows
• Work with other team members to design, develop and unit test software services

What education and training is required?

An associate or bachelor’s degree in computer science, software engineering, information technology (IT) or a related field is required.

To pursue a career as a Software Engineer :

The following high school courses are recommended: agricultural education, computer science, computer skills, mathematics and coding.

Where can I work?

Software engineers can be hired across multiple industries depending on the requirements of the company and what they require. They are typically found at larger corporations across the industry, especially those that use specialized computer software for their production. They may also be employed at information technology consulting firms, research and development firms, the government, universities and colleges.

Future Job Market / Outlook

Excellent

Suggested Professional Organizations and Associations

• Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers
• Association for Computing Machinery
• Association for Software Professionals
• Association for Women in Computing