Empowering women while shaping the future of tech

Dynatracer Tatiana shares her inspiring leadership journey and key learnings based on the challenges and lessons learned along the way.

Tatiana Gottlib is a Technical Product Specialist Director at Dynatrace ONE and co-leads the Dynatrace Lab in Barcelona. We talked to Tatiana about her journey and her experiences as a female leader in the tech industry.

Tell us a little about yourself and your background.

I was born in Russia. My family moved to Israel when I was 12, and that’s where I started my career as a Software Developer at various startups. Later, I lived in the Netherlands for a while, and now I’ve been living in Spain for seven years, which makes it my fourth home base. Having lived in different countries, I’ve had the opportunity to learn four languages by heart and get to know different cultures, which is very helpful when working with diverse international teams.

At Dynatrace, I am currently the Director of Technical Product Specialists and was recently appointed Co-Lab Lead for the Barcelona Lab. It’s my fourth year at Dynatrace, and I still love every day I come to work. They say when you love what you do, you don’t feel like you’re working, and that’s how I feel.

How did you first become interested in a career in technology, and how did you get started?

Technology was a discovery I made in my early twenties when I decided which career I wanted to pursue. My passion as a kid was to build things, like toy bridges and structures. That mindset of innovating, creating, and problem-solving was the right place for an engineer. Therefore I decided to go into software engineering to use my skills and express my creativity to develop innovative solutions that make a difference.

I began my career at startup companies in Israel as a Software Developer. Initially, I was a Full Stack Developer, then specialized in Flash and ActionScript, which HTML later replaced. After that, I enhanced my skills in front-end development.

What challenges have you faced as a woman in tech?

I initially had no challenge choosing my career. I looked at various curricula and thought engineering was the most appealing and exciting. The defining moment came when I entered the classroom, and there were five women in a classroom of 50 people.

There are many challenges in the workplace, and every day there is an opportunity for you to step up. For example, once a customer reached out to ask a technical question, and I remember my response was very polite. I used phrases like, “you could do this” and “it would help if you could implement that”. The customer didn’t like my answer, so he went and talked to one of my male colleagues. He gave the same answer but used phrases like “just do this” and “go there”. That answer was preferred by the customer.

Situations like these have motivated me to empower other women in tech and be a role model. It’s so important to see different personalities and communication styles in the workplace to learn from.

How did your path lead you to Dynatrace?

After moving to Spain, I decided it was time to build my own venture, as many of the startups I had observed and worked for in Israel at the time were turning their passion into action. With this vision, I enrolled in an MBA program that taught me about business and gave me the confidence to start my own company.

I initially gave myself six months to make a “go/no-go” decision, which I then extended to a year. As any entrepreneur knows, it’s not just the idea that matters. It’s also about the right timing. When my business ultimately didn’t have the success I was hoping for, I pivoted and looked for a new opportunity.

My passion for technology and people led me to Dynatrace, where I worked as a Technical Product Specialist. I believed my skills and experience would add value to our company and the customers we serve, so it all evolved. I am proud to be a part of Dynatrace and appreciate how we work with our customers and make a difference on a large scale by touching and improving people’s lives.

How do you empower and support other women in the IT and tech space?

I had an excellent female manager when I first started at Dynatrace, and I learned a lot of things from her that I still value today. At the beginning of my career, I didn’t have many female colleagues or managers, nor did I have women role models. I always tried to blend in and “be one of the guys”, but seeing her leading inspired me. She showed me how women could positively impact the workplace and what female leadership looks like.

She also supported me when I applied for a manager role, and that support gave me a big boost of confidence. I want to give back, pass something on, and show people they can be authentic.

Now, I fortunately have a lot of women friends from the tech industry. Whenever there is an event where I can be a speaker at or provide informal mentorship, I do it. I always volunteer, and even if time is tight, I say yes because it’s a priority for me. I’m currently working with a few colleagues in Barcelona to build a boot camp for young women to become developers.

Do you have any advice for young women starting their careers?

The best thing would be to have mentors. When you look up to someone, who can guide and mentor you, that helps a lot. There are a lot of women-in-tech events that you can attend and meet inspiring women directors, VPs, and CTOs. Having a coffee or connecting on LinkedIn with them can be helpful.

For more insights from female leaders in tech, you can watch talks on YouTube, read articles and books written by successful women, or check out interviews with other women in tech.

If you want to grow within your career, talk to your manager and tell them what your dreams are. Ask if you can take something off their plate and try something new. For every skill you want to acquire, read books and surround yourself with people who are already in your dream role. Focus, dream big, and act.

What are your goals in the future?

Many people will connect to the idea of leaving it better than you found it. Personally, making an impact at scale, and improving people’s lives. Thinking of the Barcelona Lab, I aim to ensure people feel seen, valued, and appreciated.

On the business side, I believe in win-win, leveraging value-creating opportunities available in our ecosystem. In the Barcelona Lab, we have significant R&D and customer-facing capabilities, and we’re collaborating closer together to achieve strong business results and greater impact at scale.

How do you find work-life balance?

In addition to work, I have an eight-year-old daughter. Being a mom and a leader in tech, I have a lot of hats to juggle. It all comes down to being disciplined — not how most people think, but in a specific way. For me, being disciplined is having the proper structure and the supporting foundation for you to flourish. Understand your priorities and design an environment that supports you, not hinders you.

I also believe in the importance of self-care. I always check in with myself internally to ensure I eat healthy, sleep well, and exercise because that keeps me balanced. Physical and mental health is a priority for me. One of my biggest passions is riding my mountain bike to combine peace of mind with physical activity. In my free time, you can find me at home on my elliptical machine while listening to a podcast about Kubernetes, for example.

Empowering women while shaping the future of tech was originally published in Dynatrace Engineering on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.