Discover Ritika Rao’s journey as a female R&D Engineer in FPGA, challenges, and advice for women in engineering. Insights on career path, experiences, and the evolving field.
Women in Engineering with Ritika Rao
FPGA Insights has conducted an exclusive interview with Ritika Rao, R&D Engineer at Logic Fruit Technologies, to gain valuable insights into her experiences as a woman in engineering.
What’s your Name, job title & area of research/work?
I’m Ritika Rao , working as a R&D Engineer in FPGA Department .
What sparked your interest in engineering? Can you describe the moment you realized this was a field you’d like to pursue?
What captivates me about engineering is the ability to combine creativity and analytical thinking to solve complex problems. I enjoy the challenge of designing innovative solutions and finding practical applications for theoretical concepts. During my college years, I have had the opportunity to do some fun projects which further fueled my passion for engineering.
What are your experiences of being a female engineer?
Overall it’s good but you get to see a few females around you.
In my college, there were just 8 girls in a class of 70 and the same goes here in the company too.
Can you tell me more about your career path so far?
After doing my schooling, I chose to do engineering. I joined Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology, Delhi, to do my B Tech in Electronics and Communication. After completing my graduation, I joined Logic Fruit as a Trainee and I have been working here since then. It’s been 2.5 years and now I’m a R&D Engineer.
What has been your most challenging experience as an engineer?
The most challenging experience was my first project here. No matter how hard you have studied during your graduation, practical things are different. It was a different environment.
What is the most exciting thing about your job?
That I get to work on multiple things and not just one. Like I do RTL coding, SoC integration, timing analysis, simulation, Hardware-level testing, and so on.
What kind of impact would bring you great satisfaction in your work?
I am getting recognized and appreciated for my work.
What do you think needs to be done to improve the statistics in terms of women’s participation in engineering?
Various things can be done like :
Encourage Early Interest in this field, break gender stereotypes, provide mentorship and networking opportunities, maintain a proper work-life balance at any organization, and increase the visibility of female engineers by recognizing and appreciating their work.
What do you enjoy most and least about engineering?
The thing that I enjoy about engineering is that it is a continuously evolving field and you have to keep learning new things.
The thing that I don’t enjoy about it is that sometimes it can be time-consuming and stressful.
Who has been your greatest support, coach, and mentor across [Industry], and why?
Everybody around me, be it my family, my teachers, or my mentors here.
What is it like to be a woman in engineering? Do you feel that your gender gives you a different perspective and experience from your male counterparts? Any advantages?
It feels proud to be a part of this field where you don’t get to see many women around you.
What advice do you have for women interested in engineering? What kinds of practical experience should they have? What technical skills should they pick up?
Focus on obtaining a solid education in this field, seek mentorship, develop skills, build a network, and continue learning.
Experience automatically comes from working in the industry.
There is no such skill which one has to learn compulsory. Skills depend on an individual’s interest.
