By Ana Altchek
Publication Date: 2025-12-02 10:31:00
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Maitri Mangal, a 26-year-old software engineer at Google, based in New York. Her identity and employment have been verified by Business Insider. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
When I started off as a software engineer, my dad, who also works in tech, kept telling me to get into AI.
I brushed it off because I was just starting off my engineering career, and no one was really talking about AI in 2019, unless they were getting a PhD.
Then in 2023, the tech industry changed and everyone started going into AI. That led me to want to start pursuing AI as a job, and also creating content about it. When trying to join an AI team, I think having a strong presence and personal brand is crucial for others to take you seriously.
In my three years at Google, I’ve changed roles three times, most recently switching to the Workspace AI team.
It’s important to make a distinction between an AI…