Re-defining & elevating engineering’s strategic role with the business w/ Rajashree Pimpalkhare #199

In this episode, Rajashree Pimpalkhare (VP / Engineering leader for Unified Builder platform and experiences @ Twilio) reflects on her experiences re-defining engineering’s relationship with the business throughout her career. We cover how the role of engineering varies across industries, why it’s paramount for engineering leaders to find their seat at the business table & rethink how engineering can drive the org’s strategic goals. Rajashree shares insights on how to unlock the creative side of product & business leaders, lessons learned from solving various customer problems, frameworks for eng orgs to combat & overcome learned helplessness, communication practices for framing decision-making, and adjusting from a “no, but” to a “yes, and” mindset.

ABOUT RAJASHREE PIMPALKHAREE

Rajashree is the VP / Engineering leader for Unified Builder platform and experiences - the world's most flexible customer engagement platform, that powers customer facing sales and service teams with the context, data, and channel flexibility they need to turn ordinary conversations into opportunities to drive repeat sales.

Previously, Rajashree led product development at Quizlet - the popular student application that helps over 60 million learners worldwide every month study, practice and become an expert in whatever they are learning. Prior to Quizlet, Rajashree led engineering for Intuit’s 3rd party Developer Platform and app store – enabling a thriving ecosystem of thousands of small business applications that connect to Intuit’s QuickBooks Platform. Prior to Intuit, she held several engineering leadership roles at PayPal building innovative global payment products for consumers and merchants. Rajashree started her career at Intel as a design engineer and subsequently worked on industry changing software solutions for semiconductor chip design at Synopsys.

Rajashree is passionate about building purpose-driven teams that exhibit engineering excellence, customer-first thinking and an inclusive culture. She is a strong advocate for women and under-represented minorities in technology; and takes a personal interest in coaching and mentoring talent at all levels to balance the playing field and help them grow in their careers.

Rajashree received a B. Tech in Electrical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, and an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from University of Maryland, Baltimore.

SHOW NOTES:

• Why engineering’s role in the business varies across industries (2:21)
• Finding a seat at the business table & elevating the strategic role of engineering (5:32)
• How Rajashree’s experiences shape her approach as an eng leader (8:54)
• Strategies for unlocking product / business leaders’ creativity (11:53)
• Shifting from a “no, that won’t work” to “yes, and here’s how” mindset (14:13)
• Rajashree’s experience in her global services role (16:46)
• Lessons learned on solving problems for different customers (19:52)
• Insights on scaling & productizing (21:17)
• Deconstructing the concept of learned helplessness in eng orgs (23:13)
• Frameworks for helping overcome learned helplessness (26:29)
• Communication practices for eng leaders to frame their decision-making (28:53)
• Improve your ability to ask better questions & improve dialogue bandwidth (32:16)
• Rapid fire questions (35:20)

LINKS AND RESOURCES

• Working Backwards: Insights, Stories, and Secrets from Inside Amazon - Colin Bryar started at Amazon in 1998; Bill Carr joined in 1999. These two long-serving Amazon executives reveal and codify the principles and practices that drive the success of one of the most extraordinary companies the world has