Coral Smith

Job:

Technology Consultant & Developer

Company:

Deloitte Digital

I help organisations use technology effectively, so how I spend my time varies a lot. I design and deliver software to solve problems not solved by off-the-shelf solutions. I build and lead tech teams, coach and mentor others to deliver high quality software with lean processes. I communicate with business stakeholders to set and implement technical strategy, automate business processes, and innovate their products and services. I'm always learning new things, and helping others.

I am...

Passionate

Adaptable

Curious

The skills I use most in my job...

Problem solving

Learning and analysis

Coaching and mentoring others

Building effective teams

Communication (technical and non-technical)

The most interesting thing I've worked on in my career so far...

Early in my career, before AI was as cheap and polished as it is now, I built a tool to filter out images with text for additional processing. This was when text extraction wasn’t a solved problem – or wasn’t available to the mass market. I learned a lot about image processing, text detection, and linguistics. It felt revolutionary to me then, like I was giving a computer eyeballs. I’ve done a lot of amazing things but this holds a special place in my heart.

What inspired me into digital and tech...

Indecisiveness? Digital and tech skills are so transferrable. The D&T sector was using code to help so many industries, it was a natural next step to keep learning. I'm also neurodiverse - the developer stereotype was a safe, familiar one for me to fit in to! I didn’t realise when I started that I’d also become so willing to lead and advocate for inclusive industry practices to help make it a sector for everyone.

My educational background is...

I did maths, art, and science at school. I built websites or created fractal art to share with people for fun. I studied Physics at university - we’d write simulations and control software in languages like C, C++, or Matlab, and did all our data analysis in either matlab or python. I enjoyed how often coding cropped up across my degree and applied to software development roles when I graduated. I've learned on the job ever since! I use training courses, books, blogs, practice projects, and amazing colleagues with infinite patience. ♥

What advice I'd give to girls thinking about a career in digital and tech...

Technology is everywhere and we’re all using it. If there’s a thing you love then there is a digital role helping make it happen. Try them, see if you like them! The field is so varied that if one thing doesn’t work for you – something else might. You can get surprisingly far on free materials and passion, and platforms like this help give us the opportunities to connect with businesses to make our passion our job.