Rukayat Sadiq
Years in Tech
4
Current Role
Software Engineer, Influitive Corporation
Core Skills
Problem Solver, Challenge enthusiast, Software Engineer with experience building and scaling platforms; also a self taught, data driven individual who is transitioning to apply current skills in artificial intelligence; Positive Impactor; Go-getter.
Interview Date
14th December 2018
Rukayat is a versatile and experienced software engineer who has been avidly interested in solving problems from a tender age. Her interests in solving problems and applying technology to impact the society led her to study engineering and consequently, dive into programming and software development. She is currently making waves as a software engineer with Influitive – a Canadian based marketing technology firm. She recently completed the Andela fellowship program where she worked as a Full Stack Software Engineer and Technical Team lead; collaborating with other engineers in varying team sizes to build scalable software solutions. At Andela, she helped co-found and co-lead the Andela’s Ladies-in-Tech group – an initiative to support women in tech in and out of Andela. She is also a co-organizer for the Lagos Women in Machine Learning and Data Science Group.
On the side, Rukayat is currently a graduate Student at Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta Georgia where she is working towards an MSc in Computer Science with specialization in Machine Learning. Between working and studying, she enjoys making out time to participate in community development activities including gives talks at developers’ conferences and particularly mentoring the newer generation of software developers.
Personal Links
What experiences led you to technology and how did you develop the skills to compete in the industry?
The need to solve problems around me first led me to study Electrical & Electronics Engineering. The same zeal has directed to the field of software engineering field where I have focused on working with teams to build software solutions targeted at the health, financial and educational sectors over the time of my career so far. A singular experience that led me to technology (software) was the realization of what I could potentially build through computer programs having successfully written code to solve my engineering maths problems during my undergraduate days.
How has your background helped/differentiated you in the tech industry?
Coming from a core engineering background has armed me with the problem solving skills needed to excel in whatever I do. As an engineer in training, I yearned to excel by being able solve problems, challenges before me in other to create positive impact. It has become a part of me to readily identify problems and come of multi-dimensional solutions.
What advice would you give to women considering a career in technology? What do you wish you had known?
Advice: Focus on continually adding value to yourself, every other thing would fall into place over time.
What I wish I had known: It is alright not to have everything figured out. Just ensure you are picking up valuable skills thereby adding value to yourself all along the way.