At first glance, it may not be obvious what a localisation engineer actually does.
But the reality is that they are the glue that sticks your website or software localisation project together.
In a world where the technologies used to develop your software product, deliver information or sell your product online to a global marketplace, are as important as having a solid translation process, it’s the localisation engineer who uses their specialised experience to create seamless workflows and management processes.
How this helps you achieve a successful outcome
The localisation engineer is the bridge between your development team and our translation environment.
The engineer can engage with your team and decide on the best process for your project; this can start with how to export your content so it’s compatible with our translation environment, any file engineering that may be required to avoid errors, the testing process and even if any bespoke tools need to be created to facilitate your project.
Similarly, once the files are fully translated, the localisation engineer takes all the translated files from various sources and brings them together into the cohesive whole that the client expects. This means the resulting output is ready to be used as soon as the client receives it.
How this helps our translators
A localisation engineer allows translators to do what they do best – translate. They need not worry about converting files to a format that they are used to working in, as this has already been done by the localisation engineer.
It also mitigates the risk of them losing or corrupting data during file conversion, as the localisation engineer is responsible for preventing that by preparing the files themselves. They find the best solution for making sure the files are easy to work with, and should any issues arise, they also act as a direct line of technical support that linguists can utilise.
Localisation Engineer skills
By now you can probably tell that in order to become a localisation engineer, you would need to have a background in Information Technology (IT) and broad range of technical skills.
In general, localisation engineers:
- Have a basic understanding of programming concepts and at least a few programming languages. Software development is not something that they are expected to do, but they should be able to understand enough to be able to discern the basic structure of a file by looking at its human-readable source code.
- Understand how different CAT (computer-assisted translation) tools work, as a large part of their role will be to ensure that files are properly prepared in these tools before being sent to linguists.
- Have excellent problem-solving skills and a good understanding of the fundamentals of logic and modern computing. File corruption, incompatibility, unclear error messages that seem to pop up from nothing, these are all common issues that a localisation engineer has to deal with, and they must be able to correctly diagnose and solve them.
- Be a team player. At their essence, localisation engineers are facilitators, so being able to work within a team is essential. Furthermore, projects often have many moving pieces, with files being transferred and modified at almost every step. It is vital that the localisation engineer is able to communicate clearly, and work closely with project managers and linguists that come from a variety of backgrounds.
Having a localisation engineer is very beneficial. Their expertise allows them to solve all manner of localisation-related problems much faster than an untrained person, and this in turn makes the whole localisation process far more efficient and ensures it flows smoothly. Very often, this allows for clients to receive their translations on or ahead of schedule, and saves them a lot of time and headaches when it comes to the handling of the files that they send and receive throughout the entire process.
