Meet a Veevan: Engineering Career Path from Associate to Engineering Manager
Meet a Veevan is a series that looks at the employees who bring us life. For this edition, we spoke with Engineering Manager, Sindhu Pothireddy. Fueled by DNA, supportive peers, and the Veeva Engineering Development Program, she’s passing on what she’s learned while continuing to grow her career.
How long have you been a software engineer? Did you ever consider another career?
Sindhu: Growing up I saw myself becoming an astronaut or a doctor but eventually realized how much I enjoyed coding. You could say that software engineering is in my DNA as my father was a Software Engineer and I started down this path in high school. Even when not on the computer, I loved to tinker and put things together. I wanted to know everything I could about computers and how they worked, so I studied Computer Science. In my spare time, I enjoy playing board games like Carcassonne and Patchwork and recently also renewed my interest in crafts — crocheting and cross-stitching — a chance to create something in a different way!
Why did you decide to work at Veeva?
Sindhu: After completing a short internship in college, I knew what I wanted in my first job. I searched for a full-stack engineering role where I could continue to gain backend experience while starting to learn about the frontend. Veeva offered this and much more. I was impressed with the interviewing process, culture, location, and all the people I met. When I began to research the Life Sciences industry, I became even more interested in the work that the company was doing and could see it was meaningful. I also liked the fact that I would have a group of peers my age with whom I could grow personally and professionally. The EDP program (Engineering Development Program) provided me with a strong foundation to build my career upon. I enjoyed going to EDP tech talks and events with my peers and some of us even traveled to Japan together.
What did you find in terms of the work? Is it what you expected or different?
Sindhu: My career at Veeva has been guided by wonderful mentors. When I came here, I was a “blank slate” and wanted to take everything in. My first assigned mentor taught me good work principles — how to manage deadlines, aim for long-term solutions vs. short-term fixes, how to engage in code reviews, and other good practices. I had such a good experience, that my goal is to be the best mentor I can be. I always aim to be dependable, hardworking, and sensitive to deadlines. I also like to be there for others — making it easy for them to reach out to me.
What do you hope to learn and how will Veeva help get you there?
Sindhu: Now that I have stepped into a managerial role, I hope to pass on what I learned while continuing to learn new things myself. My mentors have helped me transition to my new role as I begin to lead meetings, run retrospectives, and manage production issues. As a manager, I enjoy seeing the big picture and helping with planning and resource allocation.
I believe that mentorship is such a big part of working at Veeva and that you must be willing to be mentored as well as provide mentorship to others to succeed here. Being part of a close-knit team means that there are always opportunities to learn from each other. We really help each other grow here.
How would you describe Veeva’s leadership and what’s different?
Sindhu: In terms of Veeva’s leadership, the structure is shown clearly on the OrgWiki [intranet] website, and I enjoy seeing the whole team in one place. It’s all very transparent as is the communications between and among team members at all levels. I have never been stopped from talking to anyone at any level — it’s all very fluid.
What would you say to an Engineering candidate thinking about joining Veeva?
Sindhu: Veeva has added much to my life in my first six years working here. I really appreciate that people at Veeva care for each other and the company’s commitment to Employee Success shows up in many ways. Programs such as 1% charity and 2% training and fitness classes all help me grow and enjoy working at Veeva.
It’s such a fun place to be, you will look forward to going to work every day and being with the people around you. You will love the work you do, helping society, and doing good things. It’s overall a fun and great place to be and it’s easy to fit in.
Interested in learning more about Veeva engineering? Click here to read about our commitment to innovation, product excellence, and improving life.
