Assembled Inclusion & Diversity

Describe your experience as a woman in engineering. What are some of the challenges you’ve faced and how have you overcome them?
Throughout my time in STEM, a consistent theme has been the community I’ve found with women and non-binary people. In high school, I took my first CS class through a women in engineering program. In college, I led a Girls Who Code club and after graduation I secured my first role through Grace Hopper conference. Since then, so many of my most trusted mentors and peers have been women.

However, I’m now often one of the few women in the room. Although there are many ways to be a successful software engineer, a lingering stereotype defines how the expected software engineer looks and acts. Breaking that mold comes with its own set of internal and external challenges.

Externally, I’m often assumed to be younger than I am and less experienced than I am. I’ve had to repeat ideas multiple times before they are taken seriously or repeated by others. Internally, I have always struggled with impostor syndrome.

My greatest remedies are experience and community. Pushing beyond my comfort zone has consistently built my confidence and skills to prove to myself and others that I am capable. Additionally, finding women I admire and relate to has given me role models who inspire my growth.

What are your professional goals and how has your current company enabled you to pursue them? What career growth resources or opportunities are available?
I joined Assembled because I wanted to deepen my technical expertise and also collaborate with teams beyond engineering.

I’m grateful to be part of a stellar team where I am constantly learning from my talented teammates. Working closely with colleagues in design, support, product and customer success has been invaluable, and building features with this broader perspective has significantly sharpened my product thinking.

What I appreciate most about Assembled is the openness to explore new areas of interest. With so many challenging problems to solve, there’s always room to get involved and contribute creatively.

Additionally, Assembled offers excellent learning and networking opportunities, especially around AI. For example, to celebrate National Women in Tech Day, we recently hosted a Women in AI/ML panel, which was inspiring and helped foster a strong sense of community.

What advice do you have for women in engineering or other technical roles regarding how to identify a company and team that will support their growth and development?
When interviewing companies, remember that you are evaluating them just as much as they are evaluating you. It’s especially valuable to connect with someone who shares your identity to hear about their personal experiences. Ask about their career development and the growth opportunities they’ve encountered as well as their personal experiences, both the good and the bad.

Career growth often means taking risks and stepping outside your comfort zone, so it’s important to find a company and team where you feel supported in doing that. For me, the most important factors are having a manager I trust and teammates who can teach and challenge me, people I can genuinely learn from.