Twenty-one years ago, I joined IBM as a software developer. I knew nothing about AI. Today I am the AI Architect and Master Inventor of IBM Db2, leading vector search, in-database machine learning, and LLM integration. How did the journey happen? Not the way I thought it would be.
In this talk, I will share the blueprint I wish someone had given me earlier in my career: seven skills that took me from software engineer to AI architect. I will be honest about which ones moved me forward and which I learned too late. Some are technical. Most are not. They include learning AI from mentors, building communication as a craft, and learning to focus in an attention-fractured industry.
If you are an experienced software engineer wondering how to make the move into leading AI work, this talk is for you.
