Shruti Venkatesh is a Senior Engineering Manager at VTS. We discuss the ideal team member, how reading fiction can help you become a better leader, four coaching questions she asks her directs twice a year, what it takes to be a great engineering leader, and more in this interview.
Stories from Engineering Managers and Leaders in New York City Area
Interview with Elaine Montilla, Assistant Vice President and CIO for Information Technology at The Graduate Center, CUNY
Elaine Montilla is the Assistant Vice President and CIO for Information Technology at The Graduate Center, CUNY, a Forbes Technology Council member and contributor, an AMA Women’s Leadership Center presenter, and a TEDx speaker.
Interview with Alexandra Paredes, Head of Engineering at Code Climate
What’s your background and how did you get into management?
I studied Computer Science in Caracas, Venezuela. Before finishing college, around 2009, I was working part-time building mobile applications for BlackBerry and Android using Java and PhoneGap (currently known as Apache Cordova). Building things that others found useful was thrilling. I treasured this experience because it served as a good introduction to understanding that “shipping” a product is more than coding.
In the following years,
Interview with Juan Pablo Buritica Vice President of Engineering at Splice
- What’s your background and how did you get into management?
- What are the biggest challenges you face?
- What are your thoughts on diversity?
- What is your approach to hiring?
- What’s your advice for managers who are just starting out?
- What’s your workday like and how do you manage your time, emails, etc.?
- What’s a personal habit that contributes to your success?
Interview with Oliver Plattner, VP of Engineering at Codecademy
Location: New York
Current Role: Codecademy VP of Engineering
What’s your background and how did you get into management?
I’ve been working in technology since I was 15 years old and initially started by working with computer networks and data centers. After graduating with a computer science degree, I took my technical skills to build out technical pre and post sales teams. It was early on in my career that I realized it was much more rewarding and empowering to set others up for success and see them achieve their goals as opposed to being an individual contributor.
Interview with Chuck Groom, Director of Engineering at VTS
Location: New York City
Current role: Director of Engineering at VTS
What’s your background and how did you get into management?
I come from a software engineering background, but I’ve always had a passion for product and business. I’m a serial entrepreneur: I co-founded BillMonk in 2005 (tracks informal debt between friends, like roommates splitting bills; company was sold to Obopay) and the I co-founded Precision Polling in 2010 (self-serve IVR phone surveys;
Interview with Michael Tobias, Principal at New York Engineers
Location: New York, NY
Current Role: Founding Principal
What’s your background and how did you get into management?
I graduated Georgia Tech with a Mechanical Engineering degree. Went through GE’s Engineering Leadership Program, learning the leadership methods from a large scale company helped in retrospect, but felt too slow and archaic at the time. I always loved the balance of technical ability and leadership skills. Now I’m focused on revolutionizing the MEP Engineering industry in construction,
Interview with Hampton Catlin, Sr Director of Engineering, Rent the Runway
Location: New York, NY
Current Role: Sr Director of Engineering, Rent the Runway
What’s your background and how did you get into management?
I did go to 3 years of University for Computer Science but eventually dropped out. I had real trouble finding a job (this was the post-bubble tech world!) and ended up taking odd jobs for several years, but I kept developing as part of my passion for making and creating things.
Interview with Brent Baisley, VP of Engineering at Ticket Evolution
Current role: VP of Engineering at Ticket Evolution
Location: Greater New York City Area
What’s your background and how did you get into management?
I’ve been in tech for about 30 years now. I’ve been a Programmer (front and back), Sysadmin, Network Admin, DBA, Technician, and worked the Help Desk. I’ve always loved connecting the dots and understanding how things work end to end.
I slipped into the role of Tech Lead on a number of jobs,