A day in the life of a Localisation Engineer

Have you ever wondered what a typical day looks like for a Localisation Engineer in a Language service company?

Often misunderstood as manual workers, Localisation Engineers (LEs) are responsible for reducing manual work to a minimum. In this blog post, we will take a closer look at the daily routine of Dimmo, our Senior LE, who juggles multiple projects and priorities to deliver high-quality results.

"Localisation engineering is the place where the files are boiled and baked before they are sent for translation. Our experts are adding spices and flavours so that the linguists work with ease and the clients are happy with the result."

How a busy day looks like in Localisation Engineering:

Morning
Checking Jira and the inbox. Someone from the late shift might have had a surprise, unstoppable force met an immovable object in the technical sense. The files can’t be exported? Gibberish error messages? Exactly what I need with the coffee.

Noon
The small pieces are gone, it’s time to start with the background project – re-translating several thousand files in a different CAT-tool due to a bug in the initial tool. Need a plan how to avoid this next time, if possible. Additionally, I am doing a research on the file types for a new client.
Sales need urgent analysis of XML files.

Afternoon
It is the time to prepare some Excel files with tags for translation and making them user-friendly. This includes doing some advanced settings in the translation software.

The most satisfying part at the end of the day is finding a fast solution to prevent copy-pasting for a regular client.

In conclusion, the role of a Localisation Engineer is demanding, requiring a diverse set of skills and abilities. From troubleshooting technical issues to conducting research and preparing files for translation, LEs must be flexible and adaptable to meet the demands of their clients.

Despite the challenges, the satisfaction of finding fast solutions makes it all worth it for these unsung heroes of the language industry.