While backpacking around the world for two years, Coline visited New Zealand. It was during this time that she realised that computer science could actually bring about positive change in society. This is what ultimately led her to accept a team lead developer role at Ubitransport.
After 3 and a half years at the company as an engineering manager, she is very proud of the work that she has been able to do with her incredible team.
However, she is quite thrilled about the promotion that she will receive upon her return from maternity leave!
She is so grateful to work for a company that doesn’t believe that motherhood should hinder women’s advancement, in any way.
In what way has your gender impacted your career?
Well, the majority of engineering students in France are men. I also studied maths and computer science at university. Needless to say, I'm kind of used to being surrounded by and working with men.
This also means that I’m quite used to being underestimated, especially since I'm very short and look very young. A lot of the time, people think that I’m a trainee or a token hire.
As a woman in tech, I have learnt to be more assertive. It’s also pushed me to be really good at my job, to constantly seek out knowledge, and to improve my technical skills.
Moreover, the fact that I am a woman oftentimes allows me to bring a unique and fresh perspective to my team during troubleshooting meetings.
Actually, a lot of my colleagues appreciate my communication style and say that I bring positive energy into any group.
Also, the fact that I’m not hierarchical prevents them from thinking of me as their boss. They see me as just another coworker, which makes it easy for people to trust me.
They know that when they talk to me, I understand exactly where they’re coming from since we’re all pretty much in the same boat.
What is it about Ubitransport that led you to accept a job offer?
What interested me was the opportunity to build a new team. I was actually able to be part of the recruiting and interviewing process for everyone on my team. This is why it’s so easy to work with everybody. It makes me very proud to know that Ubitransport trusted me from day one.
I also really connected with the company’s mission. When I first started working there, I didn't have a car and would take public transport all the time. So, I really connected with their mission since I was able to clearly see the positive impact that Ubitransport was having on people's everyday lives.
You are currently an Engineering Manager. What does that role entail?
As an engineering manager, I am the point of contact for the engineering department. I also interact with a number of people in product, marketing and sales.
What I love about this role is that I get to work with brilliant people on the development team, mobile team, front team and data team who are constantly teaching me new things.
I would say that my main objective is to keep everyone motivated while they work towards developing new products and solutions. It can be challenging at times since I don’t have any technical experience with mobile hardware but I always try my best to understand everything that’s going on around me so that I can give an informed opinion.
Would you say that you have a personal management style or philosophy?
I believe in collective intelligence. I don’t think that any one person knows everything. This is why I consider myself as more of a facilitator than a manager. I put a bunch of smart people, with different levels of experience, in a room together in order to come up with technical solutions.
I try not to micromanage my colleagues because before I became a manager, I completely hated when a middle manager constantly peered over my shoulder.
People on my team, especially the younger generation, really appreciate this level of autonomy and responsibility.
I’m quite pleased that I don’t have to be anyone’s babysitter!
What is it like to be a woman working in the engineering department, as well as at Ubitransport, in general?
As a woman at Ubitransport, I am first seen as an engineering manager. Then, as Coline, and after that, as a woman. People don't care about whether I'm a woman or a man. Their main focus is on the work that I do.
What is your proudest achievement to date?
My proudest achievement to date is that I played a great role in hiring more than 15 people on the engineering team in Lyon. I’m also pretty proud of the fact that we were able to establish a positive work environment from the very beginning. It’s also great that the energy hasn’t changed one bit even after the arrival of about 35 employees from the sales and marketing teams.
What are some of the goals and/or objectives that you'd like to achieve in your role as Engineering Manager in 2023, especially when it comes to gender parity?
Well, I'm pregnant right now so I'm gonna be out of the office for a significant amount of time.
However, I would like to see more women occupying more tech roles because when we advertise a new role at the company, if we receive 100 applications, 99 are from men and just one will be from a woman.
Ubitransport really would like to hire more women in tech and leadership roles!
What advice would you like to give to young women and girls who are currently applying for tech/data roles?
To be honest, I don't understand why there are not more women pursuing careers in computer science because it's such an exciting career path.
Tech jobs are super fun and very interesting! You get to constantly use your brain, interact with brilliant people and build something new and innovative using the latest technology.
It's nothing like the stereotypical images that you see in the media. You’re not working all alone, behind a computer screen all day. Communication is always taking place and you are constantly recognised as a valued member of a team.
Furthermore, there are plenty of jobs available. You will easily find a job after graduating and the salary is very good.
When I taught at an engineering school, there were only a few women in the classroom. I would often tell them that they are the future of tech and therefore should be encouraging more young women and girls to enter this field.
