Women in tech: Kathleen DeRusso’s journey to becoming a software engineer

Kathleen DeRusso transitioned from a business major to a computer science major after discovering a passion for solving complex problems in a Java developer course, which led her to a successful career in search technology. She initially worked in a B2B company, developing search solutions for electronic parts using Lucene and SOLR before leading a migration to Elasticsearch, and later shared her work at an ElasticOn conference. In 2020, she joined a SaaS company, leading a predominantly female agile team and mentoring junior members, fostering career growth and team cohesion. Now at Elastic, Kathleen holds a position as a Principal Software Engineer, where she contributes to enhancing search solutions for e-commerce applications, focusing on improving developer experience and implementing AI-enabled search functionalities. Kathleen appreciates Elastic's commitment to diversity and finds value in the strong female representation within her team, encouraging women in tech to overcome imposter syndrome and advocate for their needs.