#ClouderaLife Worker Highlight: Sherry Zhou, Engineering Supervisor

Posted in Tradition |
April 13, 2023 4 min learn

As we have a good time World Ladies’s Day and Ladies’s Historical past Month in america, for this #ClouderaLife Worker Highlight we sat down with Clouderan Sherry Zhou to discuss her occupation transition from biology to generation, her geographic transition from america to the United Kingdom, and what she realized alongside the way in which.

Sherry is an Engineering Supervisor for the CDV (Cloudera Information Visualization) group. Her group’s targets are to, first, make it more uncomplicated for analysts to discover information, enabling them to discover fascinating developments in product options and function. A 2nd function is to make it more uncomplicated for much less technical customers to interpret information during the introduction of dashboards.

Sherry began at Cloudera two years in the past as a person contributor and a generation lead for the group. She then took on a folks supervisor position and is now managing a group of ten plus rotating interns.

“As a person contributor I understood the massive image of the product, however turning into a folks supervisor actually expanded my standpoint,” she stated. “I realized much more about what is going into group making plans and control of sources, and the way the product pertains to the group.”

Beginning at and returning to Cloudera on the identical time

Sherry were given her get started in internet building at a startup corporate, Arcadia Information, within the San Francisco Bay House. She then introduced her and her circle of relatives to London and moved directly to every other corporate. “Dwelling in London has been a thrilling revel in,” she stated. “There was so much to be told and discover in addition to a large number of adjustment in how the whole thing works within the rhythm of the daily.”

In the meantime, Arcadia Information used to be bought by means of Cloudera and a few years in the past her former Arcadia colleagues, now Cloudera staff, contacted her. They had been operating on what’s now known as CDV (previously an Arcadia product) and increasing, on the lookout for the ones with earlier revel in within the product.

“Cloudera has an excellent tradition. I actually like how exhausting the corporate tries to be inclusive,” she stated. “I additionally actually like the corporate’s Cloudera Cares program, which goes donations to charities and reasons.” She provides, “They’re at all times arising with new and engaging methods.”

From an early pastime in generation to a biology occupation within the NIH, all led again to high-tech.

Sherry at all times had an pastime in generation whilst rising up. Her first foray into the arena of internet building began on the age of 13 when she realized HTML to construct a webpage to exhibit pictures from her math and science camp. 

In spite of her burgeoning pursuits in internet design, she determined to review biology at Yale College and, after commencement, labored as an analyst on the Nationwide Institute of Well being (NIH) in Washington DC. “Taking a look again at my time with the NIH, the a part of my task I discovered essentially the most amusing used to be once I may automate my task by means of writing scripts,” she stated. “I used to be interested in this type of paintings and in the long run  determined I had to discover it as a occupation.”

So Sherry took a deep dive into a brand new occupation in high-tech, by means of shifting out to the San Francisco Bay House. There she interned after which enrolled in a coding boot camp, which integrated coaching and support in task placement. It even had a spot to sleep as scholars had intense challenge schedules.

“Device building is an inventive outlet for me,” she stated. “You get started with an issue and create one thing to unravel that downside that didn’t exist prior to; it’s very enjoyable.”

“For someone having a look to advance their occupation in tool building, I’d say the extra code you write in additional numerous tasks the easier it’s going to be for you ultimately,” she stated. “As an example, take part in Hackathons to satisfy new folks or discover other applied sciences and other ways of doing issues. What you be told won’t observe for your task these days however in my case a large number of what I picked up wound up serving to me in a while. 

Spotting World Ladies’s Day and Ladies’s Historical past Month (US)

“It’s nice to have a good time the growth girls have made via World Ladies’s Day and Ladies’s Historical past Month,” Sherry stated. “When I used to be simply beginning out in my occupation in generation there have been an amazing selection of males within the box,” she stated. “I had a superb opportunity to volunteer at ‘Ladies Who Code’ occasions and an identical organizations to assist exchange that. The coding boot camp I used to be enrolled in used to be additionally an inclusive setting that introduced in combination ability from all other backgrounds. As I were given began I realized that no longer all corporations felt as welcoming, and I sought out corporations to sign up for that had a supportive group setting. On our group, I’m happy to peer now we have an attractive even ratio of fellows to girls.”

What’s Subsequent?

Sherry continues to increase alongside the control monitor whilst additionally rising her technical talents. She is these days operating on a grasp’s stage in tool engineering at Oxford. Of their spare time Sherry, her husband, and their one-year-old proceed to absorb the London tradition and revel in of dwelling and dealing within the town.

As we shut the dialog, we wish to thank Sherry for her persevered contribution to Cloudera and for telling her tale.