Harrison works on the app-wide user interface for Google Maps for cars. So when the colours were recently updated on Google Maps, Harrison helped adapt the new colours for an automotive context, taking into account things like driver distraction.
“Sounds simple, but things like this can often take a while as we have to ensure every part of the app still works and looks as expected,” Harrison says. He loves seeing his work in the hands of real people in real cars.
“It’s quite rewarding to see people liking (or sometimes not) the things I’ve worked on. Sometimes it’s the real minor pieces of work people are most excited about!”
Harrison found his career mojo after taking a gap year, after tossing up between going into the Army, or doing software engineering/computer science.
“I was never really all that passionate about anything other than sports and video games, and I wasn’t good enough to make a job out of those,” Harrison says. “It took me a long while to realise that I needed to find something that didn’t make me bored, and where I could get into the flow. That’s why I ended up choosing to study computer science, and lucky for me, it turns out I love it.”
Harrison’s top career tip
“Do what doesn’t make you bored, where you can get into the flow.”
Harrison’s study and career pathway to becoming a software engineer
- Bachelor of Computer Science, University of Canterbury (NZ)
- Software engineer, Xero
- Software engineer, Google
This profile was brought to you in partnership with Google and a version of it was originally published in Careers with STEM: Technology.
