Women who are making their mark in Silicon Valley

Let’s face it: women in tech, women in AI, and women in big data continue to be a minority globally. That, however, hasn’t stopped these top-performing female engineers from battling ‘bro culture’ antics to follow their passion for software engineering and all things data. Here are five trailblazers of note. 

Surabhi Gupta, VP of Engineering at Robinhood 

Before leading the Search and Discovery team at Airbnb, Surabhi was a software engineer at Google. Today, as VP of Engineering at FinTech disruptor Robinhood, she mentors young aspiring engineers and continues to champion inclusive teams. She believes in lifelong learning and that it's a necessary journey for anyone who wants to succeed in business. “I think as long as you’re willing to learn, that’s sort of the most important part,” she told TechCrunch TV. “As long as you expect that, that you’re not going to know everything, it makes the job a lot easier.”   

Surabhi’s career highlights how women in Ai and data-driven roles can lead major technology shifts while creating space for diversity in leadership. 

Melanie Perkins, Co-founder and CEO of Canva 

As co-founder and CEO of Canva, Australian entrepreneur Melanie Perkins has transformed how millions of people create and share visual content. From a student’s pitch to a $40 billion global company, Canva shows what’s possible when bold vision, innovative product design and inclusive leadership come together. Perkins remains a vocal advocate for women in tech and equitable workplaces and she’s one of Australia’s most successful self-made billionaires. 

As one of the most recognisable women leaders in tech, Perkins demonstrates how innovation and empathy can reshape industries traditionally dominated by men. 

Jan Cheong, former Director of Engineering at Twitter 

After progressing from engineering manager to director, one of Jan’s greatest achievements at Twitter was transforming the Android mobile development infrastructure. Before joining Twitter, she ran client and server development at OnLive, a cloud gaming platform. 

She has a PhD in Management Science and Engineering and has a passion for developing new technologies that change the way people work and play. Jan stresses the importance of not viewing oneself as an underdog, particularly as a woman in the field: “I see myself as rightly being a part of this amazing industry and ecosystem, and I bring a unique set of skills and perspective to my job. To me, that uniqueness is an advantage.” Her career shows how women leaders in tech can lead major platform teams through times of change – even as big tech undergoes massive transformation. 

Sara Gottlieb, Software Engineering Manager at SurveyMonkey 

Sara is a full-stack engineer who builds tools to help users view, manipulate, share, and export their data. She has been a part of the team for over four years and has made valuable development contributions, even though her academic background is in psychology. She made the career switch into software development, learning Python in the first five weeks of her 12-week fellowship at Hackbright Academy – the leading engineering school for women with a mission to increase female representation in tech through education, mentorship, and community. 

Since graduating, Sara has been mentoring at the academy, where her contribution has also helped pave the way for the development of the internship program at SurveyMonkey. Programs like Hackbright, She Codes and Women Who Code have multiplied in recent years, proving that the demand and talent pipeline women in tech, women in Ai, and women in big data are only growing stronger. 

Sukrutha Bhadouria, Software Engineering Manager at Salesforce 

Sukrutha moved from a senior software engineer in a test at Salesforce to become the engineering manager. She is currently the managing director of the Girl Geek X, a networking and knowledge-sharing community for women in tech. Her industry achievements include Business Insider's "30 Most Important Women Under 30 In Tech" winner for 2014 and more recently, San Francisco Business Times “40 under 40” winner in 2016.  

She says the best piece of advice that she received is to always remain uncomfortable in your career. “The minute you get comfortable in your job, it means you’re not growing and you’re not challenging yourself, so always stay uncomfortable and keep pushing yourself to the limits.” 

Sukrutha’s journey highlights the importance of community for women leaders in tech, inspiring others to connect, mentor and grow across the global ecosystem of women in Ai and big data. 

The future for women in tech, women in Ai, and women in big data is brighter than ever. In Australia and worldwide, leaders like Melanie Perkins and Surabhi Gupta show how women can build billion-dollar businesses, scale teams and inspire the next generation of talent. 

Ready to expand your impact on the fast-changing world of analytics, data, or Ai strategy? A flexible online postgraduate program can help you build deep technical skills while advancing your leadership potential – without putting your career on hold. Speak to one of RMIT’s expert Student Enrolment Advisors on 1300 701 171 to explore your options.