Junade’s interest in technology and computers began at a very young age. He said: “I quickly recognised the power of engineering and technology to change the world. I saw how new developments acted as a force enabling society to move forward.”
His career started when he left school in 2013 to embark on an engineering apprenticeship. Just under two years later, at the age of 17, with no A-levels and no undergraduate degree, he was accepted onto a part-time Master’s degree course in Computer Science. This achievement alone speaks volumes about his exceptional intelligence, knowledge and ability, as well as his deep-rooted passion for his chosen subject.
Academic and professional excellence
While studying for his MSc, Junade was employed as a software engineer working on road traffic systems. One of the projects he worked on involved the large-scale sensor and signalling networks that power the UK’s road traffic network and count hundreds of millions of road movements every day.
He put this experience to excellent use in a ground-breaking Master’s thesis – Coverage and Sensor Placement for Vehicles on Predetermined Routes: A Greedy Heuristic Approach. Junade said: “I worked on an unsolved computer science problem that centred on a commercial need to optimise sensor coverage for road safety and security networks. This work became my first academic publication.”
In 2016 Junade was headhunted by a California-based cybersecurity start-up, while also continuing his studies. The following year he achieved an MSc with Distinction from the University of Bedfordshire and was presented with the Best Overall Master’s Award.
Junade wasted no time in his quest to become a Chartered Engineer. In February 2020, aged 23, he became the youngest person ever to achieve this professional status.
Prolific problem-solver
Eager to keep learning, in 2018 Junade returned to his university to embark on a PhD in Computer Science.
While working on his PhD, Junade continued in his role as an Engineering Manager at the cybersecurity company. He remained there for five years, building and leading a global engineering team tasked with resolving large-scale, diverse problems affecting cybersecurity and internet infrastructure.
He excelled in the role and made his mark on the software engineering industry. He said: “I invented the way that a computer is able to check if the user’s password is in a data breach without needing to disclose the password to a third-party service. This has since been adopted by companies including Apple and Google. It changed the way the industry deals with password security.”
Junade also set up his own consultancy. His cybersecurity research on North Korea was covered in international publications including The Washington Post, Euronews and The Sun. He was keen to investigate developer burnout and wrote the first-ever study on this subject. “My findings revealed that in July 2021, 83% of software developers were suffering from this condition,” he said.
“This work resonated deeply with the engineering community and achieved broad coverage, including reaching the top 10 of Hacker News. It helped to move industry-wide software engineering practices away from micromanagement and towards a focus on psychological safety.”
Junade decided to finish consulting after submitting his PhD thesis, Cryptographic Hash-Based Anonymisation of Wireless Unique Identifiers. He was awarded a doctorate in November 2022.
Record-breaker
Having completed his PhD, Junade set his sights on becoming an IET Fellow. He said: “Having reviewed the requirements, I felt that my professional experience and academic work fitted the bill. I decided the time was right to pursue a Fellowship.
“I felt that Fellowship offered a great opportunity for me to receive recognition for the work that I had done and to give something back to the engineering community. I also wanted to ensure representation of those with a similar background to mine within the Fellowship community.”
In June 2023 Junade was elected as the IET’s youngest-ever Fellow. “It means a great deal to me,” he said. “It shows that my accomplishments have been recognised and are valued by the engineering community. Reaching the highest grade of IET membership is a great honour.”
Role model
Junade most recently worked as an engineering leader for a London-based financial services organisation, where he regularly set time aside for a one-to-one with each of the engineers on his team, to mentor them and help them with their career progression. He then left this position to explore creating a new start-up within the intersection of AI and cybersecurity.
Junade frequently shares his work for the benefit of the wider engineering community. “I often attend conferences in various communities of software engineers and computer scientists to discuss recent areas of work and present new findings,” he said. “During the past year, for example, I have presented at conferences in the Czech Republic, Japan and Norway.”
Much of the cybersecurity work that Junade carries out is done on a pro bono basis: “I do this to help human rights organisations remain safe from cyberattacks so that they can continue with their important work. I also engage with professional groups to push forward cybersecurity and software engineering best practices across the industry.
“I plan to use my Fellowship to help improve the engineering and technology profession; to educate wider society about our work; to inspire the next generation of engineers; and to engage with the IET community to help achieve these outcomes.”
Advice from a high-flyer
When asked what advice he would offer to anyone considering applying for an IET Fellowship, Junade shared his insights.
“If you’re interested and feel like you should be a Fellow, the IET website provides plenty of information about Fellowship and the requirements. I strongly recommend reaching out to a Fellowship Advisor too. Mine was Dr Carol Marsh, who did an amazing job of guiding me through the process and helping me to put together my application for review.
“Take the process one step at a time. And remember that the engineering community, IET staff and volunteers are all ready to help if ever you need guidance.”
Junade expects his next professional step to be continuing to experiment with new ideas, with the aim of co-founding a high-growth technology start-up.
Watch this space.
Hear from our youngest Fellow to date
Uncover Junade’s unparalleled journey and gain exclusive insights into his experiences by tuning in to the short podcast below in collaboration with the IET and Engineering Matters. This captivating conversation delves deep into Junade’s remarkable journey, offering perspectives on the future of technology, strategies for aspiring engineers to navigate challenges and how IET membership and Fellowship has opened opportunities in his career.