Sophia Velastegui
Sophia Velastegui
Recognized by Business Insider as “The Most Powerful Female Engineer in 2017”
Her History...
Sophia’s mom, Grace, had grown up on a farm in rural Korea and always did well in school. Her dream was to go to college and become a nurse. Since Grace didn’t have the financial means to do that, she decided to take a chance and play the Korean lottery…
and she won!! Once she finally
convinced her father that the stars had aligned and he must let her dream happen, she became the first woman in her family of eight siblings to go to college. She graduated with her Masters in Nursing, married, and decided the best opportunity for them would be to immigrate to the U.S. a year after Sophia was born.
Sophia now reflects, “What our family was able to achieve in America is extraordinary. Our success was partially due to education and partially due to the fact that it’s the United States of America. The U.S. is just an amazing place.”
Her Calling...
From an early age, Sophia really loved technology.
“I remember when I was in 5th grade I noticed that my family had a whole bunch of remotes to operate everything in our family room and I said, ‘This is silly! We need 5 different remotes to turn on the TV and various systems?! Wouldn’t it be great if we just had one universal remote?’ So I basically took them all apart, worked with the different components, and created one master remote... held together by duct tape!”
Her Path...
After graduating from Georgia Tech and then University of California, Berkeley, Sophia has worked for Applied Materials, Apple, and Nest. She was recognized by Business Insider as "Most Powerful Women Engineer" for her work as Head of Silicon/Architecture Roadmap at Alphabet's Nest.
Recently she was Chief Product Officer at Doppler Labs and sits on the advisory board of Georgia Tech.
Q&A
What did you want to be growing up?
I wanted to be a Ninja when I was
in elementary school!
In middle school I wanted to be a thoracic surgeon because I loved the idea of helping people. But I didn’t leave it at that. I wanted to be a
thoracic surgeon who also
designed the tools for surgery.
What does the world need more of?
Diverse voices speaking out
and being part of solving problems.
It’s important, now more than ever,
that we take into consideration
everyone’s voice, especially underrepresented individuals.
What's your advice for the next generation of girls?
Ask for feedback from others. There are individuals out there who are looking out for your growth, development and success. When they provide feedback, that’s an opportunity for you to get better.
Words of Wisdom
"It’s important to listen to all types of individuals with varying careers and backgrounds
to learn from and apply to your own field of business."
more about me...
I love my job because...
I’m able to work with all sorts of technologies and help companies monetize from them. I work with exceptionally bright people all around and I’m always learning something new which makes it a very interesting ride!
I think it's important to...
Get advice and perspectives from a diverse group of people. This will help you grow professionally and personally.