Microspotting gets the lowdown on the unexpected people, places and things behind the company you know as Microsoft.
If you have a suggestion for a future Microspottie, get in touch with us at spotted(at)microsoft.com.
Microsoftie in Question: Elan Levy
Job title: Program Manager II, SQL Server - Azure Business Intelligence
Location: Herzelia, Israel
Elan, how did you come to work at Microsoft Israel?
I didn’t follow a traditional path as I actually started working with a medical technology startup while still in high school. I collaborated with a doctor to build video games to test physiological levels for kids with asthma.
Then, I became a development lead in the Israeli Army and later worked for a communication network company. Up to that point in my career, I had always been a developer. But, I started to interact with customers and found it fascinating.
I realized that I wanted to be a program manager (PM) and decided to get a formal university education so nothing would stand between me and my ideal career.
Today we’d like to celebrate all of the mothers at Microsoft – women throughout the company who strike the delicate balance of being a rockstar at work AND on the homefront. Check out our snapshot of Sr. Product Marketing Manager for Display Advertising Experiences, Anshu Khurana. Later today, look for some shorter profiles of working moms at Microsoft on our social media.
Anshu, have you learned any lessons from your children that serve you well at work?
Patience. With two kids under age 5, I am now a more patient person. With kids you have to stop, listen, and explain the tiniest of details. You can incorporate that quality into your personality, and it shows at work. Also, being a mom, I am more compassionate and empathetic. So if other folks around me are going through personal stuff and need space, I find that I am more sympathetic.
Born and raised in the Bay Area, Sean Turner started to intern at Intel during high school. By the time that he headed to USC for a degree in Computer Engineering/Computer Science, Sean already had more insight into life and career in Silicon Valley than many mid-career professionals.
As Sean neared college graduation, he decided to explore other corners of the Valley and chose to intern at Microsoft Silicon Valley (MSV). He says, "I wasn't sure where I wanted to work in the longer-run, but I was interested in creating tools to help other devs excel and Microsoft seemed like the place to go."
Of the 800 or so annual interns at Microsoft, a handful of them are located at MSV. Upon arrival on campus, Sean instantly became part of a tight-knit group. He reminisces, "We were all good friends. We were inseparable and even took trips together on the weekends."
After earning a PhD in Algorithms and Data Mining from Stanford, Shubha Nabar's skills were in high demand. So, she went right down the road to that titan of data mining known as Google… right?
Not exactly.
Although a number of Shubha's friends and colleague went to work for Google, she became a Senior Development Lead for Bing.
Shubha says, "I went to Bing, because it is simply more exciting. We are the underdog. We are really taking big risks and pushing to change search."
She started at the Bing headquarters in Bellevue, Washington, but desired to return to Silicon Valley. This was due to the fact that her husband's career was in the Valley, but also because there was cutting-edge work happening at Bing Social in Microsoft Silicon Valley (MSV).
Geek in Question: Asha Sharma
Job title: US Windows Product Marketing Manager
Microsoftie – and recent college grad – Asha Sharma was recognized by President Obama’s Campus Champions of Change Challenge as one of the top 15 national college entrepreneurs helping the US to out-innovate and out-educate the rest of world.
She got the nod (and the invitation to the White House) for co-founding the nonprofit teen organization, The A-List, with a fellow University of Minnesota student in 2008. The organization officially opened its doors in 2011.
I sat down with Asha to find out why one of the country’s most promising young entrepreneurs decided to start her career at Microsoft.
How did you get the idea to create your award-winning non-profit?
Geek in question: James Whittaker
Job title: Partner Development Manager – Bing Mobile
James Whittaker is a top visionary at Bing who is focused on making the web a better place for users and developers. He’s had a storied career from his days as a hacker in the late 80s to a startup founder to professor to Microsoftie to Googler and back.
James’ March 13, 2012 blog post “Why I left Google” has been burning up the web and making headlines on sites as disparate as CNN and TheNextWeb.
While the aptly named article gets right to the heart of why James is no longer at Google, people wanted to know “Why he returned to Microsoft.” I interviewed James at his office to get some insight.
James, you worked at Microsoft before working at Google?
I did work for Microsoft and, while I was a professor at Florida Tech, I also consulted with them continuously from 1994 through 2006. Among other things, I was on Microsoft’s Trustworthy Computing Academic Advisory Board.
Geek i
n question: Sam Doan
Job title: Associate Consultant for the Microsoft Academy for College Hires (MACH) Program
Sam grew up in Vietnam and later Georgia. He's a recent graduate of the University of Georgia—Terry College of Business and just started at Microsoft in the MACH Program.
He read our Finding jobs in IT: job interview advice story last week and wanted to give similar advice but for college hires. Take it away Sam:
Ever since I was a child, I have always been fascinated by technology and inspired by Bill Gates. I used to tell everyone that I would work for Microsoft one day—and now that day is here!
Being a kid from a small town in Vietnam who grew up with nothing taught me many valuable lessons and made me work hard to achieve my goals. I am also the first one in my family to attend college and I am very humbled to have not only this opportunity with Microsoft but also a chance to share my experience with college seniors who are interested in working for the company.
Geek in Question: Henrique “Rico” Malvar
Job title: Chief Scientist and Distinguished Engineer of Microsoft Research (MSR)
If you’ve ever used online videoconferencing with Skype, or watched YouTube videos, you can thank Rico Malvar. No, he didn’t singlehandedly invent the technology, but he was intimately involved in the creation of technologies that power audio and video on the Internet.
I sat down with Rico to learn why a man who could have a job at any company built his career and found his intellectual home at Microsoft.
Rico, I hear you were just elected to the National Academy of Engineers (NAE). Can you tell us a little about that?
Yes, I was pretty surprised. It is one of the top professional distinctions given to an engineer. It is quite an honor as other NAE members include Bill Gates and [MSR Chief Research Officer] Rick Rashid.
Today is International Women’s Day. This day is especially important here at Microsoft as we are so grateful (and indebted) to the many women - at every level and in every role - who make this company such a great place to work.
One of those women is Dr. Jennifer Chayes. Jennifer is not only the Distinguished Scientist and Managing Director of Microsoft Research New England, but she co-founded the research center with her husband (Check out the 2009 interview they did for JobsBlog).
On top of this, Jennifer recently won the prestigious 2012 Anita Borg Institute Women of Vision Leadership Award (Borg was an American computer scientist who founded the institute and advocated for women in technology and engineering).
The Institute commended Jennifer for carrying forward Anita’s legacy and for “the impact she has had on computer science through her leadershp in building research communities.” Those research communities, such as Microsoft Research New England, bring together disciplines from theoretical computer science to mathematics to economics and more.
Geek in Question: Anuradha "Anu" Ammal
Job title: SDET - Office Natural Language Team – Microsoft’s European Development Center (EDC) in Dublin, Ireland.
Anu balances her career as a Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET) at Microsoft’s dev center in Ireland with training as a classic Indian “Carnatic” singer. But to Anu, her career is not just a job and singing is not just a hobby – both are passions that complement each other.
We caught up with Anu to find out more about the life of a singing SDET in Dublin. (For a fun look at a day in the life of an SDET in Ireland, check out our short video on YouTube)
Anu, which was your first passion: technology or music?
Acutally, I started music more recently in my life. I trained in engineering from a young age. I’m originally from Kerala, India, and I got my bachelor of technology in computer systems at University of British Columbia. After I graduated I moved to London and was working for Reuters in the Foreign Exchange IT Group as an automation test engineer.
How did you come to Microsoft?
I was part of a Women in Technology Group in London and I believe that a recruiter found my name thorough that group. I was very surprised to get an email asking to interview me. It was a crazy moment because I was also in the running for a role at Google at that point and had been invited to a Google recruiting conference.
How’d you make the decision between Microsoft and Google?
Microsoft is a dream for a person in IT. Microsoft is the only company that pretty much impacts every single person who uses a computer around the world. It is a huge, world-wide family and I wanted to be part of it.
I took an SDET role in Dublin and moved to Ireland in April of 2008.
So, when did you start studying music?
In 2003, I had started studying classical Carnatic music of India. I began with the veena, which is like a giant sitar that can barely be carried. I played it for a while and took part in a concert in London, but when I moved to Dublin, I switched to singing.
I searched online for a top instructor and found the ideal teacher – in Tamil Nadu, South India, only about 8600km away from Dublin.
That makes it a little tricky to get to class.
We found a resolution. She creates her syllabus in Word; I record all of the audio from out classes using Windows sound recorder; and we do the actual classes over Skype. It’s a lot of commitment, but we make it work.
And you have to dedicate a lot of time to your career too, no?
As an SDET, work can be very hectic. The pressure is high, especially when we are close to a release.
How do you manage the two things together?
I wake up early and do my class for an hour before work. Music starts my day with peace and positive energy. It is a true “stress buster.” I carry that positive energy with me to work and it influences how I perform through the rest of the day.
Both music and work are my passions. Singing is food for my mind and work is exercise for my mind. I need both.
Tell us more about being an SDET. I think it’s the least understood role at Microsoft.
As an SDET, I am essentially the first customer for a product that will be used by much of the world. I test it and then must certify it is good before it goes out to literally millions of people. It is a huge responsibility and nothing can go wrong.
Do you test for a specific product?
I work on the language proofing tools for Microsoft Office, Windows and Internet Explorer. These are the tools that make sure people’s written documents are error free. We’re talking about some of most popular programs in the history of software. I mean, we have to proofread in 90 languages from Arabic to Welsh. The magnitude is almost unimaginable.
What do you think that future holds for you, Anu?
Eventually, I’d like to be a technical PM. There are so many routes to take your career here. Nothing stops you from moving forward if you have the motivation and the skills. If you can prove yourself, you can work on any sort of technology in any sort of role, all over the world.
I’d also like to do some more concerts and maybe someday after I retire I’d like to become a music teacher myself.
