Tushar Sonawane - NCI Graduate Story

Tushar is a class of 2023 MSc Cloud Computing graduate from NCI. With 3 years of prior experience as a Cloud Engineer with Fujitsu in India, he is now working as a Site Reliability Engineer in Ireland. 

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background:

I’m Tushar Sonawane, currently working as a Site Reliability Engineer with 3 years of prior professional experience as a Cloud Engineer and Team Lead in India. After leading projects and managing teams, I decided to further my expertise by pursuing a Master’s in Cloud Computing. While exploring options, I came across the National College of Ireland and its industry-focused curriculum, which strongly aligned with my career goals. I chose NCI immediately after graduation, all while holding a job offer in hand.

What made you choose Ireland as a place to study and work?

Ireland's reputation as a European tech hub, home to leading multinational corporations and a thriving startup ecosystem, made it an obvious choice for my career advancement. The country welcomes international professionals, has strong industry-academia relations, and provides excellent prospects for cloud and IT specialists. I was particularly drawn to Ireland's post-study employment opportunities, which allow graduates to get significant job experience while transitioning into long-term positions.

How did you hear about your role ?

I came across my current role while actively searching on LinkedIn and refining my job alerts to match my skills and career goals.

What did the recruitment process involve and how did you prepare for it ?

• Initial Application: Submitting my CV and a tailored cover letter highlighting relevant cloud/SRE skills.
• Screening Call: A short conversation with HR to discuss my experience, availability, and salary expectations.
• Technical Assessment: A hands-on test to evaluate my problem-solving skills, cloud architecture knowledge, and ability to troubleshoot in real time.
• Panel Interview: A mix of technical and situational questions with the hiring manager and senior engineers.
• Final HR Round: Discussion about the role, company culture, and next steps.

To prepare, I revised core cloud computing concepts, practiced solving technical scenarios, researched the company’s tech stack

Can you describe the visa process you underwent?

I initially held a Stamp 1G Graduate Visa after completing my master’s degree. Once I secured a full-time role, my visa was upgraded to the Critical Skills Employment Permit, which offers long-term work and residency benefits in Ireland.

As a Site Reliability Engineer, my day starts with reviewing system health dashboards, addressing any active alerts, and prioritising incidents. I work closely with development teams to ensure smooth deployments, optimise infrastructure performance, and improve monitoring systems. A significant part of my role involves automation to reduce manual intervention, root cause analysis for incidents, and planning improvements to increase system reliability.

What do you like most about working in your current role or profession?

I enjoy the balance between problem-solving and innovation. Every day presents a unique challenge, and I get to work with cutting-edge cloud technologies while improving processes that have a real impact on end-users. The collaborative nature of SRE work, where you partner with multiple teams to ensure seamless operations, is especially fulfilling.

What has been the most challenging part of your graduate journey ?

Managing remote classes during the pandemic while staying on top of assignments, projects, and exams was challenging. Balancing academic demands with part-time work and adapting to a new culture also tested my resilience. However, these challenges helped me develop better time management, adaptability, and problem-solving skills.

Top 3 tips for students and graduates entering the Irish job market.