A Day in the Life of an AI Solutions Engineer
Ioanna Papanikolaou pulls back the curtain on what it’s like to work as an AI Solutions Engineer at Ocula.
Ioanna presenting during a team summit in Belfast.
Hi, I’m Ioanna, and I work at Ocula as a Solutions Engineer. I studied Applied Machine Learning at Imperial College London and I’m particularly interested in how agentic AI systems can be designed to handle complex behaviour reliably in production.
What does a typical day look like at Ocula?
I’m usually assigned to work on a specific project, which might be more data science-focused, backend-related, or involve agentic AI systems. At the start of the day, I organise my tasks, check what I’ve already completed, and clarify what still needs to be done. I’ll usually report progress to my manager, so we’re aligned before I start working on my tickets.
After that, most of the day is spent working through tasks: reading existing code, making changes, testing things locally, and iterating based on feedback. The work is well-scoped, which makes it easier to focus and learn, but it often sits within larger systems, so understanding context is an important part of the process.
One project I particularly enjoyed working on was creating an evaluation suite for new agents the team is developing, where I helped improve existing evaluation logic. The work involved checking deterministic workflow steps alongside the non-deterministic behaviour of the agent.
Who do you work with most closely during the day?
I work most closely with data scientists and software engineers. There’s also interaction with data engineers depending on the project. Even as a junior, it’s easy to ask questions and get help quickly, which makes a big difference when you’re learning.
What have you enjoyed most about working at Ocula?
There’s a good balance between autonomy and support. I’m trusted to work independently on my tasks, but there are always data scientists, software engineers, or data engineers available to help when I get stuck or need clarification. That makes it a safe environment to learn and improve.
What is one skill you’ve developed or strengthened while at Ocula?
I’ve improved my ability to break down problems into smaller, manageable steps. I’ve also become more confident reading existing code and understanding how changes in one part of the codebase can affect other areas.
Ioanna worked at Ocula as a Solutions Engineer until February 2026.
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