After dozens of playbacks and workshops, multiple product releases, 2 RSNAs, hundreds of user interviews, 3 design incubator projects, too many birthday cakes, and a delightful array of cherished colleagues, my time at IBM is coming to a close.
While I was finishing grad school, I did not see IBM as a place I wanted to work. I knew I wanted “health care + design”, but doing that at a stalwart, tech giant wasn’t part of my career vision. This was equal parts domain intimidation and the perception that I couldn’t bring my full, creative self to this work. But the intern application was literally just “name, email, link to portfolio” (great UX), so I thought, let’s see what happens. I was still skeptical of the fit after I got the internship, but then I talked to Devin O’Bryan. In one conversation, I was thoroughly sold on IBM as the right rocket-pack for my early career. Every day of my internship reinforced it as a place where I could bring my full self to work while embracing the Ginni motto of “growth and comfort never co-exist.”
After the internship, I joined Watson Health Imaging full time because I wanted to work on problems of inconceivable scale, powered by emerging technology. In the 3.5 years since, I’ve had the opportunity to work on fascinating projects with astounding colleagues. It took me about 2 months here to understand what anyone was talking about, 6 months to feel like I made a solid contribution, and 1 year to produce something of which I was truly proud. Since then, I’ve been able to really find my stride as a design researcher, growing into a lead role while taking on more ambitious projects. The work has been complex/challenging, but I’ve always been struck by the ego-less way IBMers dive in problem-solving and collaboration. It’s been a true privilege to be your peer.
It’s hard leaving this organization I love so much in a time of uncertainty, but I’m proud of the work our team has produced and I’m confident about its future. Everyone has had to exercise resiliency in the past few years, and I’ve been exceptionally lucky. Unpredictability, pivots in strategy, and sweeping restructuring are not blips in the system, they are inherent aspects of working with emerging technology. There is no way to pioneer the future of healthcare without taking some risks and some calculated leaps of faith. My motto has been, there is no perfect way to do something that’s never been done before.
It’s time for my next career journey, but I’ve truly cherished my time at IBM and can’t wait to see what the future holds!