Heres How to Strike the Balance of Professional Drive and Personal Authenticity

Heres How to Strike the Balance of Professional Drive and Personal Authenticity Given that zu sich company,Jaunt VR, is a multinational pioneer of immersive virtual, augmented, and mixed reality content, its ironic (in the Alanis Morissette sense of the word) that Senior Software Engineer Gina Collecchia strikes one as being so, well,real.Describing her level of seriousness as personally, not much professionally, a lot, Collecchia says she loves that her (Emmy Award-winning) team strikes an ideal balance of drive and authenticity.Jaunt VR is hiring. Browse opportunities.I bring positive energy to the office every day I dont feel like everything at work has to be serious, she said. I want the environment to feel humble interpersonally, yet proud of our accomplishments.And theres no shortage of accomplishments to be proud of. Collecchia says Jaunt VR is doing some mind-blowingly progressive things in the fields of augmented reality and, her speciality, audio software development and s he shared with Fairygodboss some of what that looks like belowNameGina CollecchiaTitle CompanySenior Software Engineer, Audio/DSPHow long have you been in your current role, and what were you doing previously?Ive been at Jaunt since late 2016, when I left a research engineering role at SoundHound studying acoustic models for speech recognition.Whats the first thing you do at work every day?I run scrum meetings for my team at the beginning of each day, where we share what weve been focusing on. Its a great way to open up opportunities to collaborate, and align our priorities.Whats the most unique or interesting aspect of your job or company?Getting to work on audio algorithms is an incredibly interesting part of what I do. As the sole developer with an audio focus, I get to use my expertise on digital signal processing, auditory perception, and mathematics on a daily basis. As for the company, Jaunt is doing some really mind-blowing things in the area of augmented reality and volume tric capturestay tunedWhats something you think most people (perhaps even current employees) dont know about your company that you think they should?We have a production senderaum in Santa Monica that consistently delivers awesome content. We even won an Emmy this past fall, forCollisionsWhats something youre especially good at at work?I bring positive energy to the office every day. I make an effort to engage people I might not need to talk to. I dont feel like everything at work has to be serious, and I want the environment to feel humble interpersonally, yet proud of our accomplishments.What about outside of work?I takephotographsand enjoy hikes in the maximally naturally beautiful place that is California.What are you trying to improve on?Mornings. Im always rushing out the doorWhats your favorite mistake?no answer. Just have Sheryl Crow stuck in my head now.Whats the one career move youve made that youre most proud of?Making the leap to move to the westindischer lorbeer Area wa s a great life experience. I did it before I received any word on whether or not I had gotten into Stanford, and fortunately that worked outWhat do you love most about your job or your company?I am research oriented, so its great to see opportunities to do some of that. In graduate school at Stanfords CCRMA, I focused on room acoustics and artificial models of reverberation. Its cool to learn more about menschenfreundlich perception, as the way that our ears and brains localize sound is critical to the realism of a VR experience.What are you currently reading/watching/listening to?Watching Sex and the City. I totally disregarded this show back in the day, but there are some solid insights on anthropology and gender roles in there. Reading 1984 by George Orwell. What a time to be alive. Listening John Talabots Fin from 2012 is great house music. Im always listening to Elvis Costello and George Harrison, otherwise.Whats your 1 piece of advice for women who are looking for jobs right n ow?Networking is critical. Identify role models within your own friend group, or go out there and meet some Get your LinkedIn together and a personal website while youre at it mineconveys exactly my level of seriousness (personally, not much professionally, a lot).Who is/was the most influential person in your life and why?My friend Evan Brooks, who co-founded Digidesign (now Avid). He has a lot of wisdom about framing and tackling problems, and is remarkably humble about his achievements. He really appreciates the labors of others around him, encourages curiosity and failure, and calls out badeanstalt behavior.Whats the most memorable piece of career advice youve received?Your parents will never (fully) understand (or maybe even accept) what you do. Dont expect them to be your main source of career advice seek out role models in your professional network.What was the best quality of the best boss youve ever had?Candor. I appreciate when I feel like I can give and receive honest fee dback, both as an individual and a member of a team.--Fairygodboss is proud to partner with Jaunt VR. Find a job there today