{"688891":{"#nid":"688891","#data":{"type":"event","title":"People Over Pipelines: Lessons from a Career of Professional Experiments","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ELauren Saxton is an AI Engineering Manager with a career defined by technical versatility and a \u0022human-first\u0022 leadership philosophy. An alumna of the Georgia Tech OMSCS program, Lauren\u02bcs journey began as a student in Electrical Engineering before she discovered her passion for computer science and software development. Her career spans the full tech stack and various leadership tiers\u2014from consulting at Avanade and front-end development at \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmatch.com%2F\u0026amp;data=05%7C02%7Csteven.gagliano%40gatech.edu%7Cc32e7a1b241b4686591308de7f96abcf%7C482198bbae7b4b258b7a6d7f32faa083%7C1%7C0%7C639088482350166668%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C\u0026amp;sdata=lJs577XKkAACOKB1HQxdpoa64ymCGxopuUT0fGJXOP8%3D\u0026amp;reserved=0\u0022 id=\u0022OWA283d0016-30d9-1c9d-6477-875c2dd6452c\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EMatch.com\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;to leading greenfield AI initiatives at Veeam. Lauren has navigated the high-growth environment of an IPO with NerdWallet, explored the startup world as a founder and individual contributor at various companies, and sharpened her strategic lens as a Technical Product Manager. Today, she focuses on building high-performing, human-centric AI teams that prioritize the individual as much as the code. Lauren is a firm believer that the best engineering cultures are built on empathy, transparency, and a healthy dose of experimental spirit.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAbstract:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u0022If you feel like you\u02bcre supposed to have your entire 10-year career plan mapped out by the time you finish your OMSCS degree, I\u02bcm here to tell you to breathe. My journey to becoming a successful AI Engineering leader started with an Electrical Engineering degree I didn\u02bct love and a series of \u0027what if\u0027 pivots\u2014from consulting in NYC to navigating an IPO with NerdWallet and eventually specializing in leading greenfield AI projects. In this talk, I\u02bcm sharing the real-world version of a career in tech: one built on serendipity, hard work, and the courage to treat your professional life like a beta test. We\u02bcll talk about how to fearlessly seize opportunities when they appear, why I believe \u0027Human-First\u0027 leadership is the only way to build a team that lasts, and why trying a role\u2014whether it\u0027s as a tech founder or a technical product manager \u2014is never a waste of time, even if it doesn\u0027t work out. Come for the career advice, stay for the honest look at what happens when you stop worrying about \u0027permanent\u0027 moves and start following your interests.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;In this talk, Lauren Saxton shares the real-world version of a career in tech: one built on serendipity, hard work, and the courage to treat your professional life like a beta test.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"\u00a0In this talk, Lauren Saxton shares the real-world version of a career in tech: one built on serendipity, hard work, and the courage to treat your professional life like a beta test. "}],"uid":"36418","created_gmt":"2026-03-11 19:34:23","changed_gmt":"2026-03-12 18:45:50","author":"sgagliano3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","field_event_time":{"event_time_start":"2026-03-24T19:00:00-04:00","event_time_end":"2026-03-24T20:00:00-04:00","event_time_end_last":"2026-03-24T20:00:00-04:00","gmt_time_start":"2026-03-24 23:00:00","gmt_time_end":"2026-03-25 00:00:00","gmt_time_end_last":"2026-03-25 00:00:00","rrule":null,"timezone":"America\/New_York"},"location":"Online","extras":[],"hg_media":{"679583":{"id":"679583","type":"image","title":"OMSCS Speaker Series ","body":null,"created":"1773257916","gmt_created":"2026-03-11 19:38:36","changed":"1773257916","gmt_changed":"2026-03-11 19:38:36","alt":"OMSCS Speaker Series ","file":{"fid":"263761","name":"image.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/03\/11\/image.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/03\/11\/image.png","mime":"image\/png","size":984823,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/03\/11\/image.png?itok=4w8-fhdx"}}},"media_ids":["679583"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/gatech.zoom.us\/j\/93970210073","title":"Zoom Link"}],"groups":[{"id":"1182","name":"General"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[{"id":"194683","name":"Talk"}],"invited_audience":[{"id":"194945","name":"Alumni"},{"id":"78761","name":"Faculty\/Staff"},{"id":"78771","name":"Public"},{"id":"174045","name":"Graduate students"},{"id":"78751","name":"Undergraduate students"}],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:ARusch3@gatech.edu\u0022\u003EDr. Ana Rusch\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}