“What do you do?”, a 7-year-old asked me during the “bring your parents to school” event. I converted “Doing NOW what patient needs NEXT” to what I thought was a tell-me-like-I-am-five phrase. “I help improve  patients’ lives”. My son was quick to point out “You are an engineer, not a doctor. So what do you do?” The response to that will pretty much answer my calling and the sense of purpose I feel while working with Roche.

I am Surekha Mandadi, engineering manager for the teams working on the Provider Insights Oncology domain. I grew up in Bangalore amidst the lush greenery of the garden city and spent a lot of time in the libraries of acclaimed science institutions. My love for software started in primary school when I wrote a small snippet of code to draw a circle using Logo, an educational programming language. Watching the turtle move across the screen and “draw” the shapes pulled me into the field of science and programming. I pursued my education in Engineering and landed my first job as a Java programmer after completing my graduation.

Throughout my career, I have had the opportunity to play multiple roles: programmer, technical leader, architect, and engineering leader. Each of these roles has helped me develop not only deep skills in technology but also broaden my people skills as a leader. I always find it difficult to choose between a technical or management path when someone asks me which one I prefer. I have a strong affinity towards both and fortunately, my role at Roche does not force me to choose one or the other. As an engineering manager, I get to work with enthusiastic, collaborative teams and help them reach their potential. As a technical person, I always get a choice on how deep I get to work with the teams that are building impactful digital solutions that will help in the area of oncology.