Viraj Doshi
- Subject area
- Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering
After graduating from Loughborough in 2015 with a degree in Electronic and Electrical Engineering (MEng), I joined Google in London. Since then I have held multiple roles from leading engineering strategy to supporting Google's late stage “Unicorn Accelerator” ($1B+) as chief of staff.
I am now a Product Manager, based in Google’s New York City office. My role involves building core engineering platforms that increase developer productivity by 20X and enabling the engineering teams to rapidly build enterprise applications. More specifically, I drive the product development lifecycle from research to launch via robust go-to-market strategy and ongoing roadmap maintenance. I also lead cross-functional teams that include Engineering, UX/UI and Program management and influence product vision for high priority programs at the VP or SVP level.
During my time at Loughborough, my biggest inspiration came from my fellow classmates. Engineering courses come with a high workload as you have labs, coursework, unit tests and lectures. It was my course mates that I worked with that inspired me to work hard and learn effectively.
We also had the opportunity to work on some really interesting projects. A highlight for me would be the third year group project where we had to build a bomb defusal robot; from ideation and prototype design - to a live demonstration; all within budget and having to deal with the qualms of a group setting. I found it very beneficial as it was a very realistic experience in building a real solution. It also allowed us the opportunity to actually deliver to a real customer; a very tangible real world skillset.
For me, the final year engineering project was truly a game changer. I created and presented a self-flying drone; I still bring it up in conversation today given the technical challenges and “wow-factor” involved in a project like it. Undertaking a placement year was also a huge advantage that Loughborough offers. I was able to secure multiple offers and ended up working at Microsoft which set me up for a great career in Technology, as I had a year of experience under my belt before I graduated - which many other qualified candidates did not.
My advice to anyone looking to work in the technology industry would be to always put yourself in a position where you can keep learning and become the subject matter expert in as many areas as you can; this will allow you to pivot throughout your career to more senior and exciting roles.