A Day in the Life: RTI Professional Services Application Engineer

Meet Our Expert

Hi, I'm Will, a Senior Application Engineer on the Professional Services team at Real-Time Innovations (RTI). I've been in this role for 3 years, and it's been an incredible journey.

One thing you might not expect about my role is the sheer variety of things I get to work on. Every customer, every industry, every problem presents a different set of challenges and opportunities. It’s fun, keeps my reflexes sharp, and prevents any two days from being exactly the same.

My Workday

A typical workday for me often starts with checking in on ongoing projects and responding to customer emails. RTI has staff and customers all over the world, so usually there’s updates for me to catch up on since I logged off last.

My day is a mix of team collaboration and solving challenges on my own. I might jump on a call to troubleshoot an issue live with a customer or maybe I’m helping  review their system architecture. Outside of these meetings, I may be putting together an example for a customer to demo a feature or API, perhaps working with a customer to resolve an unexpected issue, or I may be prepping for an upcoming training session I’m delivering.

My Responsibilities

No matter the task, my overarching goal is always the same: accelerating customer success by providing targeted technical insight. I believe that sharing best practices and other recommendations – drawn from my and my team's experiences – is the best way to ensure that our customers derive maximum value from their use of RTI Connext.

Specifically, I’m responsible for:

• Providing customers with specific and detailed technical guidance
• Designing and building solutions using RTI Connext
• Teaching customers how they can best use our products
• Fixing technical issues to enhance performance
• Working with sales, product management, and engineering to quickly address our customers’ needs

Current Projects

These days, I’m mostly working with MedTech and Automotive/Mining customers. Some projects are still in a proof-of-concept phase, while others already have products running out there in the real world and therefore require work on new updates or integrations.

Right now, I’m helping a few customer teams use our software for some exciting new applications. For example, I’m working with a mining company to expand their distributed mining infrastructure solution, with the objective of adding remote vehicle teleoperations. Meanwhile in surgical robotics, I’ve been helping a customer build out their AI-assisted robotic surgery platform. 

Challenges and Resolution

Distributed systems are complex, and every customer is unique. I tackle problems by understanding each customer's needs, using my DDS knowledge of the Data Distribution Service (DDS^TM) standard, and teaming up with other experts at RTI.

Working with global teams – both at RTI and our customers – means different time zones. With our global co-workers, we collaborate to lend a hand to a customer in need, based on their location. Overall, it’s great to connect with smart people around the world.

An Awesome Responsibility 

In some ways, a front-row seat to cutting-edge tech development can be scary.

No, I’m not talking about self-aware robots taking over the world, but rather something much more real. It’s not the capability that keeps me up at night but the reliability and trustworthiness of these complex systems. As these “first in the world” products emerge and integrate with new technologies such as AI and machine learning to save and improve human lives, it’s more important than ever that we make sure they can be trusted to do just that.

I never lose sight of the responsibility and trust that come with helping customers build secure, reliable, and predictable mission-critical systems with our software. It really highlights the importance of a well-designed communication system in complex life-changing technology – and never fails to remind me of my true purpose here at RTI.

My Go-To Tools

I’m always using different tools and services to help me get things done, however I use the following on a daily basis:

• RTI Connext: Naturally, this is a huge part of what I do
• Collaboration: Google Workspace, Slack, Jira, Zoom
• Dev Stuff: VS Code, WSL, Git, CMake, Docker, Wireshark
• Languages: C, C++, C#, Java, Python (depends on the customer)
• AI Helpers: Gemini, ChatGPT, Connext Chatbot, Connext Copilot, GitHub Copilot, NotebookLM

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

Collaboration is core to my team’s purpose, as we have the best window into what our customers require from our products. Plus, I’m always talking with folks across different teams here at RTI:

• Sales Team: for customer needs and ensuring success
• Product Management: to provide product feedback from customers
• Engineering Team: for product expertise and integration assistance
• Customer Support: to escalate and get to the bottom of complex issues

Essential Skills for This Job

Each engineer on my team brings a unique set of skills to the table. At the same time, we share a common set of drivers:

• Understanding distributed systems, networking, and real-time computing
• Being a good problem-solver
• Explaining complex technical concepts clearly
• Being flexible and adaptable
• Exhibiting a deep dedication to helping customers succeed
• Appreciating the responsibility to represent RTI with our customers
• Humility to recognize what I don’t know, but confident in my ability to learn new skills

The specific skillsets needed for my role are always changing, whether it’s a programming language or knowledge of a network protocol. If my background lacks something that's core to a task I'm working on, RTI invests in my education to build those skillsets - and trusts I bring the ability and willingness to learn.

Elements of a Great Application Engineer

Of course, application engineers need technical skills, but it's even more important to be eager to learn and be a good team player. Great application engineers are not afraid to dig in and investigate issues, while also knowing when to ask for help. Constant curiosity, questioning and love of learning are essential, because technology never stops evolving.

Life at RTI

RTI has a fantastic culture, fueled by innovation and super-talented people. Everyone is passionate and supportive and it feels good to be part of a company that values those qualities.

My team – Professional Services – is a diverse group of experienced engineers from all over the world. We support each other, share our knowledge, and aren’t afraid to tackle tough problems on our own or together. We’re eager to learn and grow, because everything around us is always changing and we need to adapt to keep up.

I’m inspired when I see our products at the center of exciting new applications that make a real, positive impact in the world. I’m always learning something new because there are so many different customers across different industries working on new things that rely on the latest technology. It’s exciting, humbling, and motivating – all at the same time – it’s really what makes each work day unique.

Interested in a career at RTI? Explore our open positions here.