Engineer Your Career

Tina Wright is an Area Tech Lead at Grammarly, and has worked as a software engineer at Coursera, TRI, and Google. In this episode we discuss: What is an area tech lead? Technical leadership as a generalist, rather than a specialist How to get the best from your team through a service leadership style The advice she would give her younger self Resources mentioned: Staff Engineer: Leadership Beyond the Management Track by Will Larson https://staffeng.com/book The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work by Shawn Achor https://www.shawnachor.com/books/happiness-advantage/ In Praise of Idleness by Bertrand Russell https://www.amazon.com/Praise-Idleness-Routledge-Classics-46/dp/0415325064 Where to find Tina Wright: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinaewright/ Brought to you by WEST:⁠⁠⁠ ⁠https://www.joinwest.org⁠⁠⁠ Where to find Heidi Williams: LinkedIn:⁠⁠⁠ ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidiwilliams1⁠⁠⁠⁠ Where to find Karen Ko: LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenko26

Diana Stepner is a Product and Leadership Coach. With over 15 years of international product leadership experience, Diana has led numerous teams at companies such as the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Kayak, Pearson, and more. In this episode we discuss: How she went from aspiring fish-store owner with a Marine Biology degree to Product Manager in tech How the industry has evolved over the past two decades How ensuring all stakeholders feel heard can make a project run a bit smoother The advice she gives to clients who are facing burnout  The role of AI in product management Resources mentioned: Continuous Discovery Habits: Discover Products that Create Customer Value and Business Value by Teresa Torres https://www.amazon.com/Continuous-Discovery-Habits-Discover-Products/dp/1736633309 Where to find Diana Stepner: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianas/ Brought to you by WEST:⁠⁠⁠ ⁠https://www.joinwest.org⁠⁠⁠ Where to find Heidi Williams: LinkedIn:⁠⁠⁠ ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidiwilliams1⁠⁠⁠⁠ Where to find Karen Ko: LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenko26

Shama Keskar is a CTO, Founder, and mentor with experience leading engineering teams at Amazon, Google, and LinkedIn. Her background in nuclear physics and education gives her a unique perspective and a keen interest in exploring the power and potential of big data and analytics. In this episode we discuss: Shama's principles of leadership  How to turn a "work/life balance" break into a benefit for your career Lessons learned during her journey as a cofounder Determining which side hustles are worth pursuing Learning from a failed startup experience Strategies for scaling Additional Resources: Rewired: The McKinsey Guide to Outcompeting in the Age of Digital and AI - McKinsey & Company Measure What Matters: How Google, Bono, and the Gates Foundation Rock the World with OKRs - John Doerr The Manager's Path: A Guide for Tech Leaders Navigating Growth and Change - Camille Fournier Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future - Peter Thiel Oneday - EIR program Where to find Shama Keskar: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shamakeskar Brought to you by WEST:⁠⁠⁠ ⁠https://www.joinwest.org⁠⁠⁠ Where to find Heidi Williams: LinkedIn:⁠⁠⁠ ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidiwilliams1⁠⁠⁠⁠ Where to find Karen Ko: LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenko26

Taz Minadakis is a Director of Engineering at YouTube with more than 15 years of professional experience building quality products and 10+ years of experience building high-performing teams at Google, Uber, and Microsoft. She led a development team building a touch-first browsing experience for Windows 8 and Surface SDK at Microsoft when touch screens were still an emerging technology. Taz is passionate about community building and professional development initiatives for women in tech and spearheaded early women's ERGs at Yelp and Uber. Please note this episode includes discussion of pregnancy loss. In this episode we discuss: Taz's career pivots and how she leveraged her connections to find new opportunities Building zero-to-one products and growing teams from scratch The importance of allowing yourself to be uncomfortable and curious Good stress vs bad stress Networking advice for introverts Additional Resources: StrengthsFinder (Rebranded as CliftonStrengths): https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/252137/home.aspx Where to find Taz Minadakis: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tazneemiandevil Brought to you by WEST⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠https://www.joinwest.org⁠⁠⁠⁠ Where to find Heidi Williams: LinkedIn:⁠⁠⁠ ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidiwilliams1⁠⁠⁠⁠ Where to find Karen Ko: LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenko26

Natasha Vinnik is a Senior Engineering Lead for Gmail Client Foundations at Google. With over 20 years in engineering, Natasha has also led engineering teams at Box and Yahoo! She holds three patents in cloud-based technology. In this episode, we discuss: Natasha’s journey from an immigrant who couldn’t afford university to an engineering leader with a master’s degree Staying technical as a manager and keeping up with technology trends How starting a family changed how she approaches work Inheriting teams vs building teams from scratch How she manages complex projects The value of being curious, trying new things Mentorship vs sponsorship Additional Resources: “Unlocking Us” Podcast from Brené Brown   “The Awesome Human Podcast” from Nataly Kogan Where to find Natasha Vinnik: LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/nvinnik/ Where to find Heidi Williams: LinkedIn:⁠⁠⁠ ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidiwilliams1/⁠⁠⁠⁠ Website:⁠⁠⁠ ⁠https://www.joinwest.org/⁠⁠⁠ Where to find Karen Ko: LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenko26/⁠⁠⁠

Pinar Ozlen is an Engineering Manager at Airbnb based in Paris, France. Before Airbnb, she served as an Engineering Manager at Whatsapp, and worked on Google Maps and Search as an engineer with Google. In this episode, we discuss: How she gained visibility in large organizations Her transition from "What am I building" to "Who am I working with" Defining a leadership style that's complementary to your personality Tips for overcoming imposter syndrome The importance of setting boundaries and saying "No" Where to find Pinar Ozlen: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pinar-ozlen-25980a95/ Where to find Heidi Williams: LinkedIn:⁠⁠ ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidiwilliams1/⁠⁠⁠ Website:⁠⁠ ⁠https://www.joinwest.org/⁠⁠ Where to find Karen Ko: LinkedIn: ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenko26/⁠⁠

Smita Ojha is the Senior Vice President of Engineering at Mindtickle, a market leader in enterprise sales software. Over the last two decades, Smita has led engineering teams at some of the largest tech companies - Microsoft, Meta, and Google. In this episode, we discuss: How to say yes to new opportunities outside of your comfort zone The importance of developing a diverse skillset to become a well-rounded leader Adopting a fearless approach by identifying the excitement in challenges The key differences between leading engineering at a large company vs. a startup Leveraging sponsorship from unexpected places: team members, peers, and leadership How to build psychological safety on teams Where to find Smita Ojha: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/smitao/ Where to find Heidi Williams: LinkedIn:⁠ ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidiwilliams1/⁠⁠ Website:⁠ ⁠https://www.joinwest.org/⁠ Where to find Karen Ko: LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenko26/⁠

Tamar Bercovici is the VP of Engineering at Box where she leads the Core Platform team in scaling the foundational platform for the Box Content Cloud. In her 13 years at Box, she scaled the cloud content management and file-sharing service to handle millions of queries per second searching hundreds of billions of records. Named one of Forbes Top 50 Women in Tech 2018, Tamar also ranked #1 on Okta and Business Insider's Tech Up and Comers list 2019. She holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Technion Israel Institute of Technology and a technology patent for updating data in cloud computing systems.  In this episode we discuss: The scope and responsibilities expected from a manager to a vice president  The pros & cons of having a long history at one company How to create space for new voices on a team and influence team culture  The parallels between managing and parenting  Leading ambiguous, complex projects and managing risk  How to be ready for opportunities when they arise  Additional Resources: The Five Dysfunctions of a Team By Patrick Lencioni Where to find Tamar Bercovici: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tamarbercovici/  Where to find Heidi Williams: LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidiwilliams1/⁠ Website: ⁠https://www.joinwest.org/ Where to find Karen Ko: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenko26/

A. J. Oxendine is the Tech Lead and Staff Software Engineer for the Home Feed product at Pinterest. She enjoys the creative process of building new things, figuring out how they work, and how she can make them better. This passion has led her to study music composition, art, graphic design. and now, software engineering. In this episode, we discuss: AJ's nontraditional path from design to engineering  Thoughts on IC vs management  Skills and mindset shifts from Senior to Staff Engineer  Tips on gaining visibility for your work Expanding and refining your brand as your role evolves Thoughts on navigating diversity, intersectionality, and tech Maintaining mentoring relationships  Additional Resources: Pinterest Apprenticeship Programs Where to find A.J. Oxendine: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amirahoxendine/ Where to find Karen Ko: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenko26/

Joy Ebertz is a Principal Software Engineer, prolific blogger, avid ultrarunner, and an advocate for increasing the number of women and minorities in Computer Science. At Split, Joy establishes technical direction for their backend team. Prior to Split, she worked at Box. At both Split and Box, Joy lead efforts around splitting monoliths into microservices, revamping authentication and authorization frameworks, creating REST API standards, audit logging and more. In addition to designing software and writing code, Joy shares her learnings through her blog (which has 2.7k followers on Medium), and is often invited to speak at conferences such as LeadDev and WWCode. In her free time, she does a lot of traveling, reading, and running ridiculously long distances (mostly on trails). In this episode, we discuss: How different size companies played a factor in Joy's career journey The value of understanding your workstyle and motivations Why she left people management The power of written and spoken communication What most people get wrong about influencing others Networking tips for introverts Additional Resources: There and Back Again: Why I Entered & Left Management - Presentation by Joy Ebertz Why It's So Hard to Become a Staff Engineer - Medium blog post by Joy Ebertz Where to find Joy Ebertz: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joyebertz/ Medium: https://jkebertz.medium.com/ Where to find Heidi Williams: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidiwilliams1/ Website: https://www.joinwest.org/