Lari’s journey: tips for women in tech

Meet Larissa (Lari), a senior software engineer on Uber’s Grocery team. Her journey into tech started with a childhood gift from her father: a computer that sparked her curiosity and led her to pursue a Computer Science degree. A love for math and logic solidified her career choice. When she’s not tackling coding challenges or bugs, Lari transforms into an adventurer. She can be found exploring nature, discovering new countries and cultures, and also enjoys good doses of adrenaline. Whether she’s hiking in remote areas or trying a new sport (she’s currently learning how to surf), collecting new experiences is her compass, guiding her to unforgettable memories.

“I joined as a senior backend engineer for the Uber Eats Safety team, navigating a fully remote interview and onboarding process during the pandemic. Despite the usual overwhelming amount of new information that comes with joining a new company, the experience at Uber was smooth, thanks to my supportive team. Just six months in, I successfully led and launched my first project.”

“When I describe my experience at Uber to anyone, I compare Uber Engineering to a playground for tech folks: we have problems with all flavors, Uber’s scale is gigantic, we use so many different technologies, and the complexity is always interesting. Now three years later at Uber, I can say without a doubt that I still can’t get enough of it, there is still a lot to learn, and I’m still having fun. Every project that I have worked on so far is unique and requires you to learn something new daily.

Recently, I went through an internal transfer from the Uber Eats Safety team to the Restricted Items team, which is very exciting in many ways (new coworkers, new processes, new codebase). Of course, my previous experience on another Uber team was helpful, but I still had butterflies in my stomach about starting something new. Uber is an amazing opportunity for engineers like myself who thrive on constantly working on new problems.”

“Some days, I spend most of my time in meetings and syncing with stakeholders. On other days, I’m deep into research, designing a new feature architecture, or crafting a technical proposal. There are also days when I’m in another dimension, completely immersed in coding.

My team operates on 2-week sprints, which means we have regular meetings I can count on. Additionally, as an active interviewer, I usually conduct up to two interviews per week.”

“Seek out mentors and sponsors to support your journey. Show your expertise and advocate for yourself. At Uber, there’s plenty of room to make things happen, and I’m actively doing just that.

Get comfortable talking about your achievements and recognizing your strengths. This sets the stage for identifying where you want to go and what gaps you need to fill. I sometimes still struggle with this and feel like an impostor, but it’s a journey.

Remember your voice and perspective are valuable. Don’t hesitate to share your opinions and encourage others to do the same. Feeling uncomfortable is normal—growth naturally pushes you out of your comfort zone. Just keep going.”

“Imagine just downloading new skills like in The Matrix—suddenly knowing how to play the guitar, speak a new language, or master a new programming language in seconds! Knowledge is power, after all, and with this superpower, I’d be unstoppable (and I’d never have to Google “how to fix this bug” again)!”

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