Senior software engineer, Atia Hashimi, joined Intuit in 2019. While pursuing a master’s degree, she started working with Android applications and fell in love with mobile app development. Now, as a member of the QuickBooks Live Mobile team, she’s leading and driving tech initiatives.
What did your life look like prior to joining Intuit?
I was born in Afghanistan. When the Taliban started to invade Kabul, my parents thought it was best to leave the country so my sisters and I could have a better future. We escaped to the nearest country, Pakistan. In late 2002, we came to the United States as refugees. I started middle school here. I took my education very seriously, and I attended San Diego State University so I could stay close to family. I started as a biology major, but I had second thoughts about becoming a geneticist. While I was trying to figure out a different major, I stumbled onto computer science. I enrolled in an introduction to Java class and the rest is history!
What has your Intuit career journey looked like?
In the three years that I was an Android engineer on the TurboTax Mobile team, I learned a lot from all my teammates. I enjoyed building new features while adopting best practices and leveraging new technologies for Android application development. I also found it really rewarding to be working on an application that is being used by millions of people.
But can I be honest? While I was in grad school, I started working on Android applications as a side gig. I fell in love with mobile app development, and I knew I wanted to focus on that aspect of my career. That’s why I made the shift from TurboTax to a new team. Thanks to Intuit’s internal mobility tracks, I was able to find my way back to my passion for working on fully native Android apps.
How did your recent move come about?
I saw an internal job posting in the Android community for a software engineer position from a QuickBooks Live manager. I was ecstatic to see such a great opportunity available here. I made plans to have a “coffee” chat with the manager to make sure the position was a good fit for me and my career. The next step was the interview process. I met with two staff engineers on the QuickBooks Live team, showcasing my achievements and answering any technical questions about my work on my previous team.
I have to mention my TurboTax manager during this process. From day one, she was incredibly supportive of my career development and internal mobility plans. I’m so grateful for Intuit leadership. When you join us, I know you’ll have managers who want to help you thrive professionally, too.
What does your current role entail?
I’m now a senior software engineer for the QuickBooks Live Mobile team, and I’m beyond happy and grateful to be part of a group producing native experiences for consumers. Since the QuickBooks Live Mobile team was relatively new when I joined it, I feel like the QuickBooks Live module is my baby. We’re developing code from scratch for new initiatives. I’m always on the lookout to make sure we are following best practices, not creating a ton of tech-debt while increasing code coverage, working on operational excellence, and building quality products to delight our customers.
What advice would you give to others considering a move?
Just go for it. Go with your instincts and gut feelings. If you find an open position that seems like a good fit, then talk to your manager and give it a shot. Don’t be afraid. Your manager will likely support you. At Intuit, I can tell you firsthand that our managers want to help you grow your career and get you closer to realizing your ambitions.
There are multiple paths in our internal mobility program, and we can choose the direction we want to take our career. We can move up in the company, we can move laterally to a different product line, or we can move into a brand-new job responsibility. All of these options also allow us to leverage our previous work experience on Intuit projects to develop solutions to solve Intuit-wide challenges.
It’s a great company to work for! We’re on a mission to power prosperity around the world with our innovative products like TurboTax, Credit Karma, QuickBooks, and Mailchimp. As an Afghan immigrant in the US, I can tell you that Intuit stresses the importance of diversity and inclusion. By bringing our unique perspectives to the workplace, we’re better able to solve our customers’ biggest challenges. Above all, Intuit cares about our well-being and happiness.
You can engineer solutions for a global technology platform that helps millions of communities worldwide. Find an opportunity that’s the perfect fit for you at www.intuit.com/careers.