Women in technology continue to lag behind their male counterparts in terms of representation, leadership roles, and pay. Many systemic issues must be addressed for women to achieve greater equality in technology, and devmio wants to help by providing an opportunity for inspiring women to introduce themselves and share their stories about why they chose a career in technology.

Every Wednesday, we celebrate women in the tech world. This week, we’d like to introduce you to Alexis Roizen Harris, Principal Product Designer at Sysdig.

Today's Woman in Tech: Alexis Roizen Harris, Principal Product Designer at Sysdig

What first got you interested in technology?

It’s funny, I’m not innately interested in technology. In fact, I’m a bit analog, but what I’ve always been interested in are tools – how people use them and for what ends. So from that perspective, I landed in technology through a back door since some of the world's most powerful tools these days are digital.

We tend to arrive at first solutions by answering the question “what can we build?” In a digital world, this amounts to being an engineering-driven organization. Whatever the new “thing” is we build, the people who use it must bend and mold to fit the tool.

But as a designer, I’m more interested in what someone wants to do and then build a tool to solve that problem. Design is historically late to the product development game. Instead of having a person mold to the tool, I want to shape the tool to be designed to the person. So, these are some of the interesting things I see in my work.

What path did you take to get to your current position?

Today, I am a principal product designer but spent a lot of my career in graphic design, web design and design work for startups. My mother was a professional painter, but she never made much money. She encouraged me to try graphic design so that I could grow up and support myself. After one class in college I was hooked, and started doing freelance work even before I graduated.

I worked my way up from a newbie designer to the creative director of a small business marketing firm in the pacific northwest, in the United States. There, my company did a lot of work with the organization Start-Up Weekend, where my love for startups was born. I ended up being the founding designer of a start-up with my ex-husband, where I got really interested in product design and user experience.

At the same time, I became a product designer for a new company, focused on behavior design for meaningful tech. I’ve had some twists and turns to get to my current position, but I tried to follow interesting work that made me excited.

What are you most proud of in your career?

I am most proud of two things. The first is that I can support my family. My mother never could do this and I am immensely grateful for her encouragement to make it a reality for myself.

The second is that I LOVE what I do. While I may change roles, or some days may be hard, I love the responsibility I have trying to make a product solve problems for our customers. I sometimes pinch myself, I can’t believe someone pays me to do the work I do!

I sometimes pinch myself, I can’t believe someone pays me to do the work I do!

What does your typical workday look like?

Since I am based in the US and I work with teams in Europe and Israel, I often join meetings early. I try to take a lunch walk every day, an exercise break to get fresh air. Then the afternoons are about deep thinking on projects and problems.

All that is interspersed with Slack messages, implementation questions, hiring requests, presentation preparation, etc. There are a lot of plates in the air.

Who are some of your role models?

It’s no surprise that I will say my mother. She never pushed but encouraged. She was honest with me about her life and its challenges. And she celebrated every achievement I made, not as her achievement, but as my own.

Being in tech, I’d also have to say my aunt. She was one of the first female CEOs of a tech company and one of the first female VCs in the valley. She is a role model of a woman who can command the business world while still being a woman. She demystified what “someone at the top” is like. She is a person with interests and passions and follows cool ideas. And she is REALLY good at math. A woman doesn’t have to be stuck in a mold. She showed me that.

A woman doesn’t have to be stuck in a mold.

What are some essentials in your toolkit for success?

I have three soft skills I rely on all the time. The first is humor/optimism or maybe just a good attitude. Work can be hard and challenging. But it can be fun at the same time if you make it so. I strive to do high-quality work AND make everyone I work with happy to be around me.

The second is communication alignment. As a designer, I am constantly getting different inputs from people during the design process. I work very carefully to align the various opinions and close gaps between others. This saves a lot of work for myself down the line and helps bring everyone together with a shared understanding.

The third is action. If I think there is value in an idea, I don’t wait for someone to give me permission. I act. I explain. And then see what comes of it. We forget we’re employed for our thinking and ideas. Act on them.

How can the industry help support and retain women in tech?

I will speak from my perspective as a parent to a young child. I think the most important culture a company should provide is around flexibility for the family. This is not just for women, but for men too. I never get eye rolls or push back in my company or my team when I need to do a kid drop-off or when my daughter is home sick and I can’t attend a meeting. There is a lot of trust, respect and flexibility.

My colleagues have young kids, or have gone through the young kid phase, so they understand how difficult and demanding it is. This would be one of the top things I’d ask about if I were ever to interview at another company. But my company is so great about family life, I’d be stupid to leave.

I think the most important culture a company should provide is around flexibility for the family. This is not just for women, but for men too.

What was the biggest challenge you have faced in your career, and how did you overcome it?

Hands down, the most challenging period of my career was when I got divorced. My daughter hadn't turned one yet and since my ex-husband and I had worked on a company together, I suddenly found myself looking for an apartment and a job for the first time in about 5 years. I was terrified that I wouldn’t be enough and that I wouldn’t find something to pay the bills.

I did not want to cold-apply for jobs because I didn’t think my resume would stand out in a crowd. I knew one of my strengths was my people-skills, so I decided to work with a recruiting agency that could be a go-between and represent me well. I landed my current role through that agency the same month that the country was put on lock down because of Covid-19. It was an intense time.

Then once I got the job, I wasn’t sure how I would handle being a single, working parent. But because the company was so understanding, I could be a great employee and a great mom at the same time. I would say you need to know your strengths and create a game plan to play to them.

What tech topic would you like to learn more about?

I think self-driving cars are fascinating. Especially when it comes to the philosophical questions the computer needs to answer in a matter of seconds about life and death (or bodily harm) situations. I would love to sit in on some of those product design meetings.

A college advisor told me once, “you’re not the best I’ve ever seen, but you’re the one that everyone wants to work with.” And I’m really proud of that.

What book would you bring to a deserted island?

Harry Potter, but the whole series. I am a classic millennial who grew up on the series and will re-read them for the rest of my life. Always.

What advice would you like to give women looking to start their careers in tech?

I have two pieces of advice. The first is to speak up. If you have an idea, say it. If you have a question, ask it. Don’t wait for permission.

The second that has served me incredibly well in my career is to be someone that other people want to work with. A college advisor told me once, “you’re not the best I’ve ever seen, but you’re the one that everyone wants to work with.” And I’m really proud of that.