Principal/Staff Software Engineer

The skills this role asks for

Tick the ones you already have. 11 skills; cover 8 and you are ready to apply, and show you are learning the rest.

1. Prompting and AI toolsWrite, test and compare three prompts 45 minTake one real task from your work. Write three different prompts for it, run each twice, and note which is most reliable and why.Anthropic Academy, free courses
2. Checking AI outputBuild a ten-question test set 60 minWrite ten questions with known right answers for an AI tool you use, score its answers, and write down where it goes wrong.
3. PythonYour first useful script 90 minDo the first lessons, then write a script that reads a spreadsheet you actually use and prints one answer from it.Kaggle Learn, Python (free)
4. Data analysisOne chart that answers one question 60 minPick a public dataset, ask one question, and make one chart with a sentence underneath saying what it shows.Kaggle Learn, Data Visualization (free)
5. Automating workAutomate one repeat task 60 minPick a task you do every week, describe the steps, and have an AI tool or a no-code tool do it end to end. Keep a human check on anything that sends or pays.
6. APIs and integrationsCall an AI model from a script 60 minUse a provider's quickstart to send one request and print the answer. Keep the key in a secret, never in the code.
7. Coding with AIBuild with an AI pair programmer 60 minFollow the exercise and ship one small change you can explain line by line.GitHub Skills, Getting started with GitHub Copilot (free)
8. Video, audio and creative AIMake a 30-second piece with AI tools 90 minScript it, generate it, edit it, and keep a log of each tool and choice. Never use a real person's likeness without consent.
9. Product and project managementA one-page spec for an AI feature 60 minWrite the problem, who it is for, what good looks like, how you would test it and what could go wrong.
10. Responsible AI and safetyA risk note for one AI tool 45 minFor a tool you use, list who could be harmed, what data it sees, and one safeguard you would add.
11. Customers and salesExplain an AI product to a sceptic 30 minRecord a two-minute explanation of one AI product to someone who doubts it, including what it cannot do.

Tick what you have to see where you stand.

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