Women in Tech @ Namshi: Noor Ali

Here at Namshi we have quite a bit of a diverse team but, like many companies out there, struggle with the gender gap in tech.

We, though, would like to share the story and advices from the women who are part of our team, with the hope that they’ll inspire others to join us, or to simply give computer science, or programming in general, a go.

Without further ado, let me introduce Noor, who:

…is a telecom engineer with Masters in Computer Science from Karachi, Pakistan. She started her career as an iOS developer, enhancing her skills in Android and then Mac development. She is a diversified team player, a detail oriented resource, and a quick learner. She has keen interest in application development based on smart TV, smart watch, google glass apps, and wearable gadgets. She loves to spend time learning new technologies related to big data and mobile apps development.

Can you briefly tell us a bit about yourself?

I am an ordinary omnivert person who is telecommunications engineer by education and software engineer by profession. I am often considered as a backstage performer. I love to write blogs and do voluntarily work whenever I get time.

How did you get into programming & computer science?

My final year project in Bachelors was on MATLAB which enhanced my programming and research skills, then later got chance to work on android platform. Based on programming concepts, got job as trainee iOS developer and hence the CS journey started. Later decided to continue education in computer science and did Masters in IT with thesis on NLP.

What does your typical day at work look like?

Like this:

Jokes apart, besides working on the assigned tasks in office, I try to learn at least one thing new everyday. I manage my own sheet to track my progress.

What is the most challenging project you worked on? The one that made you the proudest?

All projects have different challenges and I am proud of every app I’ve worked on. The one that made me proudest was my first mac app, LightUp. Because working on mac app was different from mobile apps, there were more challenges there like changing window size, menu controls, etc.

What advice would you give to a woman considering a career in the tech industry? What do you wish you had known?

Try to think out of the box and work smart, not hard.

Thanks Noor — both for sharing your experience and keeping the Namshi mobile apps under control! :)