Software Engineer, Genentech
BS. Bioengineering, 2012;
MS. Bioengineering/Translational Medicine, 2013
Current job description:
Our team builds exciting web applications that visualize drug manufacturing data and enable faster and more informed decisions. We work with various manufacturing groups such as Operations and Validation to understand their problems and collaborate to design new software solutions. It’s a really interesting mix of design and engineering, and I’m really excited to have worked on projects from the initial idea all the way to launch.
What makes you good at your job?
Understanding the basics of bioengineering, biology, and chemistry have helped me tremendously on the job! It’s always important to know your goals and what problems your engineering solutions are solving. With a background in bioengineering, I can make better design choices because I can understand what is happening in the manufacturing plant and what the code ultimately needs to accomplish.
What skills did you learn in the BioE program that made you a success in your career?
I learned so much during the BioE program as a whole, but I most vividly remember the capstone design course. We learned empathy from communicating with physicians and nurses, and we gained hands-on design and engineering experience when we prototyped solutions in the lab. We also learned how to communicate and present technical topics to audiences, which is extremely important when working in a large organization. All of these skills have definitely come into play at work, and I’m extremely thankful that I had the opportunity to learn these skills from great teachers and mentors in the BioE program!
What keeps you enthusiastic about your job?
Fun, talented people and interesting problems keep me excited at work. It’s always exciting to solve challenging problems, and it’s so much better when you’re with amazing people.