Meet Aishwarya Vendantaramanujam Srinivasan, Applied Scientist at Thumbtack
Aishwarya Vendantaramanujam Srinivasan (she/her), Applied Scientist, plays a pivotal role in helping to retain local service professionals on the Thumbtack app and supporting them in growing their businesses. In this Q&A, she shares how an internship in engineering sparked her passion for math and science. She also discusses what drew her to her current role at Thumbtack, how she works cross-functionally to drive innovation and her advice for women looking to start a career in applied science.
What led you to working at Thumbtack?
Aishwarya: There are a few factors that led me to working at Thumbtack. Most important, was that we have a purpose-driven product that I immediately felt a connection to. Throughout the interview process, I had wonderful interactions with Thumbtackers and they left a lasting impression. I felt that I could learn and grow tremendously as an Applied Scientist as well as have a great work-life balance.
What was your path to a career in applied science? Did you always envision yourself working in this field?
Aishwarya: I did not envision working in this field initially. After receiving my bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Communications, I interned at Ericsson in India where I worked on a small ML-based project for 5G. I was pretty fascinated by the application of math in the real world and that sparked a deep interest.
From there, I became a full-time Software Engineer at Ericsson where I developed and deployed software for data and applied scientists. With that foundational experience, I pursued a master’s degree in Data Science at Columbia University, which resulted in a career in applied science. After that, I took a position at Amazon, where I built models to measure Alexa’s performance for two years. Then, I took on my current role at Thumbtack — it has been an incredibly rewarding experience.
What is your team focused on? Tell us about your daily work.
Aishwarya: My team is currently focused on retaining and helping existing local service professionals on Thumbtack grow their businesses. My work involves identifying opportunities within our product to achieve this goal. I propose and implement AI and data-driven solutions, collaborate with backend and ML infrastructure engineers to deploy solutions, conduct AB tests and communicate key learnings with business stakeholders.
For those interested in a career in applied science, what skills should they focus on developing?
Aishwarya: This question is particularly tough because the applied science field is always evolving and changing. It’s important to understand how the company you’re interviewing with defines applied science — it varies and it’s critical to assess what skillsets are needed. I’ve found that some of the most common skills needed for this role are statistics and a fundamental understanding of machine learning and/or deep algorithms and their connections to real-world problems. It’s also key that you’re able to identify business opportunities that can be solved using data. You’ll need to have strong communication skills in order to explain complex technical concepts to business stakeholders.
What advice would you have for women looking to get into this field?
Aishwarya: There aren’t a lot of women in this field, so it can be hard to find role models as you move up the career ladder. I once read that the ratio of males to females in applied science is 23 to 77. At times, It can feel pretty lonely as a woman in this field. It’s important to find a company that provides you with a safe atmosphere where you can grow — Thumbtack does an amazing job at this.
My advice to women is that the industry really values the diversity of thought that you bring to the table. Since I began my career a decade ago, the opportunities in AI have grown substantially and are getting increasingly more interesting. Applied science is a very rewarding career where you can make an incredible impact. I always encourage women to have faith and confidence in their abilities because the possibilities are endless.
What’s your favorite thing about working at Thumbtack?
Aishwarya: My favorite thing about working here is the people that I work with. Everyone is kind, collaborative and generous with their time. It’s an amazing culture where you feel that you can learn and grow. Our virtual-first model also supports me in so many ways. It has empowered me to focus on both my personal and professional milestones, without drawing a hard boundary between the two. I’ve been able to have flexibility that I did not think was possible when I worked in an office every day.
Interested in a career at Thumbtack? Learn more at thumbtack.com/careers.
