Meet a Data Professional: Mridula Polina

WiDS Puget Sound is excited to present the next entry in our series, “Meet a Data Professional!”

“Meet a Data Professional” is dedicated to recognizing the amazing women powering the Puget Sound area’s data science community, spotlighting their journey into the field, their incredible accomplishments, and the weighty challenges that they faced along the way. This lies at the heart of WiDS Puget Sound and Data Circles’ mission of inspiring women to enter the data science field by showcasing its many incredible role models.

Do you know any marvelous women in data science? Send us a tip here!

Mridula Polina, Data Engineering Manager at Amazon Web Services (AWS) Finance Technology Team

After graduating with a B.E. in Computer Science from Osmania University in India, Mridula Polina was a Systems Engineer at Infosys where she worked on various data engineering tasks, before making her transition to the U.S. She first worked at a nonprofit organization called Community Center for Education Results, then went on to complete her master’s in Information Systems at University of Washington. Upon graduation, she started working at Amazon as a Data Engineer, eventually moving to Technical Program Manager roles. Currently, she is the Data Engineering Manager at Amazon Web Services (AWS) Finance Technology Team. In this blog interview, she shares her experience navigating the career path in the data field as an Engineering Manager.

Q: You initially began your career as a Systems Engineer in India. How did you make the decision to pursue your graduate studies at UW MS in Management Information Systems and Services (MSIS)? And how did the MS program at UW help you navigate your career in data engineering?

My interests in data engineering first bloomed when I started working as a Systems Engineer at Infosys, where I was part of various projects in data warehousing, business intelligence and analytics.

At Infosys, I witnessed how large-scale data systems are built and implemented to drive business decisions, and how big data can be transformed to meaningful insights. I got intrigued by the process of how companies leveraged large-scale data. I had always wanted to pursue a master’s degree in the intersection of technology and business.To bridge the gap between the two, I decided to apply to MS in Information Systems at UW, which combined these fields in its curriculum.

When I first applied to the master’s program at UW, I did not get in. It was a humbling experience, and while it was a difficult time, I decided to join a nonprofit called Community Center for Education Results and worked on the Roadmap Project, which aimed to help underprivileged students in South King County get back into the education system. Here, as the only data engineer at the organization I made use of the power of data to collect and analyze data and build systems to facilitate different projects. After gaining experience working in this role, I applied again to UW and was able to get into the Master of Science in Information Systems (MSIS) program.

Q: At AWS, you have worked on various roles from data engineer to technical program manager (TPM) and now a data engineering manager. How did your roles and responsibilities change over time?

Upon earning my MS in Information Systems at UW, I joined Amazon as a Data Engineer. Since I had prior experience as a data engineer, this helped me get a foot in the door. When I got in, I started working in the AWS Enterprise business space in 2017, and at that time AWS was taking off and expanding rapidly in scale. It was an exciting period at AWS, and I grew a lot professionally during this time. 

One of the important takeaways from my experience as an entry level engineer was if you have a good idea, you need to actually build a product and present it for people to recognize the value of your idea. If you want to convince others, you have to work on developing clear deliverables. 

As a Technical Program Manager (TPM), you work on multiple projects with different engineering teams. I was able to deliver important initiatives at AWS, and my managers saw a potential in me to become a people manager. As a people manager, I love helping my team deliver and helping engineers develop their career paths. As an Individual Contributor (IC), you tend to work at a narrower scope in-depth on one problem; on the other hand, as a manager the focus is on taking a look at the bigger picture and problem solving.

At Amazon, you truly use data extensively - without data, you don’t make decisions. When you are a manager, I think the biggest differentiating factor is that you are responsible for the entire team who looks up to you, and you have great responsibility to look out for their individual needs and team goals while working towards goals.

Q: How do you navigate your situation in balancing your work and family?

I would say that it is definitely not straightforward to navigate and balance your work responsibilities fully while also caring for young humans at home. In such situations, having a team that allows for flexibility and understanding of your needs is crucial. I believe it is important to ask for help and flexibility, and have leadership that is supportive and understanding of your needs.

Q: In your experience, do you think there are challenges that come with being a female leader? How did you address the difficulties? In your opinion, how does mentorship play a role in adjusting to the role or helping more women break into these positions?

I have observed that as you grow in your career, there are less number of women in leadership positions. While it is incredibly inspiring to learn from women leaders across the technology industry, I would like to see a high number of women in leadership positions.

Early in my career, I received feedback that was not actionable which was more about my personality, not actual feedback that would help me grow in my role. What I wanted was more constructive, actionable feedback that would help me grow in my career. I got advice from mentors who helped me get to my next goal in career development. Through skill development and by voicing my requests, I was able to experience various roles. That is why I believe it is important to find a mentor who can guide you through the gridlock situations you run into at times.

During my master’s, I had a mentor who was in a senior position at Amazon, who mentored me to land a job at Amazon. I believe it is important to find a mentor that you can look up to and can offer you insights - don’t be afraid to reach out to people and ask them to be your mentor if you feel there is value you can get. Getting advice from my mentors was crucial to growing in my roles, and I came to build confidence through their help and suggestions.

Disclaimer: I am not speaking for Amazon. All the opinions shared by Mridula are her own opinions.