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Amara Okonkwo
Building scalable systems that power millions of users daily.
With over 7 years of experience in backend development, I specialize in designing and implementing distributed systems that handle millions of requests per second. My work at Google focuses on authentication infrastructure, where I've led initiatives that have significantly improved system reliability and performance. I'm passionate about mentoring the next generation of engineers and creating inclusive spaces in tech.
My Story
Growing up in Lagos, Nigeria, I never imagined I'd end up building systems at one of the world's largest tech companies. My journey started with a borrowed laptop and free online courses. I taught myself to code during power outages using downloaded tutorials, determined to find a path out of limited opportunities. After moving to the US for graduate school, I faced countless rejections before landing my first role at a startup that took a chance on me.
Those early struggles shaped who I am today. Every 'no' taught me resilience, and every late night debugging taught me persistence. Now at Google, I'm passionate about creating pathways for other Black women to enter tech. I mentor through programs like /dev/color and speak at conferences about my non-traditional path. If my story can show one person that they belong in tech, then sharing it is worth it.
my EXPERIENCE
Led the redesign of Google's internal authentication service, improving latency by 40%
Mentored 15+ junior engineers through Google's internal mentorship program
Speaker at GopherCon and KubeCon on distributed systems best practices
Previously worked at Stripe on payment infrastructure
my SKILLS
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