People of Motive: Lynda Ruiz, Engineer

Lynda is one of our female engineers at Motive and someone that is incredibly forward-thinking. Her main goal is to ensure that our customers have a great user experience when visiting our website. One of her favorite parts about working at Motive is having the ability to work from any location. Learn more about Lynda and what it’s like to work with her.

What motivated you to join Motive?

After three years as a Front-end Software Engineer, I was ready to take on a new challenge and explore different types of projects and tech roles. Thanks to Latinas in Tech, an excellent non-profit organization that empowers and connects Latina women, I was able to become associated with Kelly Gonzalez, our fantastic Director of Employee Experience, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. This process taught me more about Motive and the incredible people who work behind the scenes.

What’s your role and where do you reside?

I am based out of our San Francisco office, although I’ve been working from my home office in Sacramento since joining Motive in 2020. I am a Backend Engineer on our growth team. We are a team of five who are dedicated to improving our customers’ experience by supporting our customer sign-up flow, API integrations, and much more. We aim to ensure our customers have a great user experience when they visit our website.

What’s a recent project you’re most proud of?

Collaborating with my colleagues on the rebranding project from KeepTruckin to Motive was an absolute honor. Seeing our collective effort and creativity come to life in such a significant way was incredibly fulfilling. Throughout the project, we could bounce ideas off each other and learn from one another’s perspectives, resulting in a final product that reflected our team’s values and vision. I feel grateful to have worked alongside such a talented and passionate group of individuals.

What is your favorite perk about working remotely?

My favorite perk about working remotely is the flexibility it provides, from avoiding the dreaded commute to having the freedom to whip up a yummy meal during lunch break. I also enjoy working from anywhere; I can take my laptop to a cozy coffee shop or any room in my house!

Favorite part about your job and why?

I have a great team that I get to work with every day, collaborating on projects that impact our users day-to day-life and businesses. I also appreciate that Motive values diversity. I’ve been able to learn and grow so much from my colleagues. It’s been a great organization to meet people with different backgrounds and knowledge. We can work and laugh together across the globe.

Describe yourself in 3 words

Loyal, committed and curious.

What technology do you use in your role on a day-to-day basis?

Most of my day is spent coding on Ruby on Rails. We use Jira to keep track of our projects and help prioritize incoming tasks. My terminal is always open and running something in the background. I utilize Slack to communicate and collaborate quickly and easily.

What’s a (1) professional goal and (2) personal goal you have this year?

I want to be the end-to-end lead on a project. I’ve been developing my documentation, engineering and communications skills throughout the past year, and I know this is an achievable milestone with the team’s support.

As for my personal goal, I’ve been learning how to roller skate! I’m conquering my fear of the rink one stride at a time. It’s been an exhilarating experience, from wobbly strides to graceful glides.

What is something people may not know about you??

I love to get down in the kitchen. I love cooking different recipes, especially ones close to my heart and Mexican culture. Some of my favorites include sopa de albondigas (meatball soup), tacos, and ceviche! I also know how to make balloon animals, but you can’t eat them

If you’re hosting a celebration, you know who to call for your next event!

Best advice you have been given?

“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. -Wayne Gretzky”

Today, our team is made up of more than 3,000 amazing employees like Lynda, located all across the world. Interested in working with terrific team members like Lynda? Visit our careers site to learn more about our open roles at Motive.