The Toronto Native Apps team is at the forefront of innovation within the Data Cloud, facilitating Snowflake users' ability to build, market, monetize, and distribute apps seamlessly. Behind this groundbreaking work lies a team of diverse, talented software engineers dedicated to making it all possible.

It is essential to have diverse perspectives and experiences at the table to ensure the products and services being created are inclusive and meet the needs of all users.

In hopes of inspiring the future generation of women in software engineering, hear from some of the talented female software engineers on our Snowflake Toronto Native Apps team as they share their experiences at Snowflake.

When did you decide to pursue a career in computer engineering? Was it your childhood ambition or a spontaneous decision to work in the field?

BHUMIKA: I always wanted to be a surgeon and was on the pre-med track to achieving that goal. However, I happened to take an Intro to Computer Science course in my undergrad, and it was taught by the most wonderful professor whose love for the subject was undeniable. That course ignited a curiosity to learn more about this field, and I have not looked back since!

MELISSA: When I was in high school, there was a “computer literacy” requirement, that had two choices. One was basically how to use a word processor, the other was intro to programming. My dad (who is also a software engineer) encouraged me to take the intro to programming class, and I’ve never looked back!

SUSAN: At the university I attended, first year Engineering is general, and we don’t choose our discipline until the second year. I initially entered my first year of university thinking that I would become a Chemical Engineer. However, after taking the "Intro to Programming" course and attending Engineering Info nights to learn more about each discipline, I quickly realized that my interests lie much more with software. I ended up switching to Software Engineering, and have not regretted it since! I enjoy the logical thinking and problem-solving required for this field.

YUTIAN: During my high school years, I was introduced to programming and Pascal (although much of it has faded from memory). This initial exposure ignited my interest and I was fascinated by the countless possibilities that could be achieved with just a few lines of code. This fascination ultimately led me to pursue a career in computer engineering.

What are some of the exciting projects you’ve worked on, or are currently working on, at Snowflake?

BHUMIKA: I support the Snowflake Native App Developer Experience team, which focuses on enhancing developer experience and reducing the cost in building a Snowflake Native App in all steps of the software development lifecycle (SDLC). One of the tools we’re building is a command line interface to build and manage a Snowflake Native App to automate often repetitive and manual steps that form this SDLC. I really enjoy this workstream because it not only practices my technical muscle, but also allows me to constantly evaluate the end to end story that we want to present to our developer. I get to collaborate with other teams across Snowflake, and learn how and why they think what they think.

MELISSA: I just joined Snowflake, and I’m excited to be working on the Native Apps Provider Experience. This will be an increasingly important part of Native Apps as we bring on more providers who want to build native apps. I’m excited to dig in to find the most impactful problems to solve and get to making the provider experience one that is great for developers and businesses.

SUSAN: I am part of the Native App Foundations team, where we focus on building the core blocks to support the app lifecycle. I joined at a time right before Native Apps reached GA, and there was work to be done in order to reach this important milestone. Although I haven’t worked on a singular, long-running project during my time at Snowflake so far, getting the product ready for GA and seeing it finally launch has been exciting! These tasks were fun to work on, and allowed me to leverage my technical and problem-solving skills. I’ve greatly enjoyed working with the team here and Snowflake, who are both very supportive and always working towards building a better product.

YUTIAN: I am on the Native App Provider Platform team, which focuses on offering capabilities and tools for native app providers so that they can support and monitor their running apps in the consumers accounts. One of the features I am working on is event sharing, which allows users to share application events to providers for troubleshooting while ensuring data privacy and governance. I enjoy the challenge of thinking creatively, learning more about Snowflake, and collaborating with different teams.

What has been your biggest achievement at Snowflake so far?

BHUMIKA: Getting the command line interface to build and manage a Snowflake Native App to its Private Preview, and receiving feedback from our customers on how it has helped them and see them starting to use the interface in their development workflows.

SUSAN: Working on development and functionality of the Native Apps framework to help the product reach GA has been exciting! Now, we get to see more customer usage of the product, and shift focus on making it more stable and robust.

YUTIAN: Bringing the event sharing feature to GA marks a major milestone. We’ve received valuable feedback from our providers and I am now working on the enhancement to offer them even more granular control and functionality. It is exciting to see the progress and the continuous improvement we’re making to better serve our users.

What advice can you give to women considering a career in tech/software engineering?

BHUMIKA: Mentorship is paramount to your growth. Find mentors who have experience in areas you are trying to grow in. One mentor cannot provide all that for you, and one meeting is not enough to establish that relationship. Take your time to find mentors who offer you a safe space, a judgment-free environment and give you actionable advice.

MELISSA: Don’t be afraid to do hard things. I’ve never regretted taking the harder of two paths, as it is usually the more interesting one, and opens up more opportunities. But when you’re doing hard things, it’s especially important to have a community. So make sure you’re nurturing relationships with other women in software who can understand what you’re talking about when you have a hard day.

SUSAN: Believe in yourself and don’t be afraid to explore different areas to find what you are passionate about. Seek mentorship and build connections to form a strong support system to help you achieve success in your career. These connections are important to feel a sense of community, inspiration, encouragement, and to gain wisdom to help you make choices in your own career.

YUTIAN: Follow your passions and pursue your goals fearlessly. Don't be afraid to make mistakes or ask “dumb” questions. The essence of learning lies in asking and growing, not in knowing everything from the start. Embrace mistakes as opportunities for growth and speak up with confidence.

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Ready to break barriers and make your mark alongside Snowflake's leading women in innovation? Explore current opportunities at Snowflake Toronto today.