Where are you now: From Intern to Software Engineering Manager

Career growth isn’t always linear—but it’s always personal. In this series, we’re sharing the journeys of colleagues who’ve evolved with the company, whether they joined early on or found ways to grow over time. Some started as interns, others brought years of experience, and many have taken on new challenges they never expected. These are their stories.

Today, we had the opportunity to ask Gabriela Vaduva, Software Engineering Manager, “Where are you now?”, to find out how her journey has changed since joining UiPath as an intern.

Let’s start with the basics—tell us a bit about yourself and how your UiPath journey began.

I’m Gabriela, Software Engineering Manager at UiPath and I’m part of the Developer Experiences team, working on Autopilot One, Coded Workflows, and Test Suite. I started at UiPath in 2021, as a Software Engineer intern in the Test Suite team, based in Bucharest, Romania.

Thinking back to your early days—what’s one moment from your internship that really stuck with you?

I started my internship feeling cautiously optimistic, eager to learn, but unsure of what kind of impact I’d be able to make.

From day one, though, it became clear that this experience would be more meaningful than I could have hoped for.

The most memorable moment came when I found out that the project I was working on would be part of the final product. It was both thrilling and a little intimidating to know that my work would reach real customers. That experience taught me so much about writing reliable, maintainable code, about thinking from the customer’s perspective, and about the responsibility that comes with building something that people will actually use.

I’m incredibly grateful that the feature I contributed to is still part of the Test Explorer in UiPath Studio, even years later. Being part of that journey left a lasting impression on me and helped shape the kind of engineer and teammate I strive to be.

We often learn in unexpected ways—what’s a skill or mindset you picked up as an intern that still helps you today?

One of the most valuable—and somewhat unexpected—skills I developed during my internship was the confidence to ask questions. One of the first things my manager told me was “There are no dumb questions,” and that simple reassurance really set the tone. It created an environment where I felt comfortable being curious, speaking up, and admitting when I didn’t know something.

Early on, I leaned on my peers and mentor whenever I needed clarity, but over time, I started focusing more on the “why” behind the work. In discussions with product managers, I began to ask deeper questions about the reasoning behind features, what problems we were solving, what tradeoffs were involved, and how the team defined success.

That mindset has stuck with me. Today, I bring the same approach into customer calls I’m privileged to be part of, asking thoughtful questions to make sure I understand their needs or issues as clearly as possible. It’s also helped me embrace the “shift-right” mentality—validating assumptions and gathering feedback directly from users as we deliver and iterate. It’s been an essential part of how I collaborate and build solutions that truly matter.

UiPath has evolved a lot over the years—is there a project or experience you're especially proud of that reflects that change?

UiPath Act II marked a clear shift in our mindset: putting the customer at the center of everything we do. One experience I’m particularly proud of was working with a prospective client who was planning to migrate their test infrastructure to UiPath.

We met directly with the customer and spent two weeks working closely together, which gave us valuable time to understand their environment and expectations in depth. During this time, we developed a proof of concept tailored specifically to their needs. The customer was very happy with our approach, and the close collaboration helped build trust and demonstrate clear value.

This experience was incredibly rewarding and showed me how aligning technical work with customer needs can have a meaningful business impact. It also reinforced how important customer understanding and responsiveness are to the UiPath transformation in Act II.

Career growth looks different for everyone—how has your perspective on work changed since your internship, and how has UiPath supported your journey?

My journey since starting at UiPath has been a long and rewarding one. In my first year here, while finishing my bachelor’s degree, I was also working part-time as a teacher. Eventually, I decided to put teaching on hold because I realized there was so much more for me to learn and grow as an engineer.

What really made a difference was that UiPath gave me the space and support to develop my skills, through great mentorship, working with experienced colleagues, and a culture that really encourages learning and collaboration. I used to think engineering would be a pretty isolated role, especially compared to teaching, which I thought I’d keep doing. But I quickly found out that engineering here is all about teamwork and learning from each other, which suits me really well.

My passion for teaching hasn’t gone away, though. I’ve kept it alive by volunteering at UiPath Foundation, helping adjust courses for an AI skills program aimed at high school students. On top of that, I’ve mentored two interns over the past couple of years, both of whom have since joined my team. It’s been great to take on more people management responsibilities, and it’s something I really enjoy.

Overall, UiPath supports my growth by encouraging openness, providing mentorship, and offering lots of opportunities to learn and lead. That kind of environment has made a huge difference in how I see my career and get excited about what’s next.

You’ve seen UiPath through different chapters—what’s stayed the same, what’s changed, and what are you excited about next?

What’s stayed the same for me at UiPath are the people and the values we share, that strong sense of collaboration, support, and the ability to enjoy our work together. The office's energy still feels warm, driven, and genuinely team-focused. It’s the kind of environment where you feel seen, supported, and encouraged to grow, and I really value that.

What has changed is how much we’ve grown as a company. Today, it feels more mature and focused. With our place in the automation space, there’s a new level of responsibility, and I think we’ve really stepped up to meet it.

What excites me most about the future is the shift toward agentic. It’s a bold direction, and one we’re already helping shape in meaningful ways. There’s so much potential to push boundaries and rethink what’s possible, and I’m looking forward to seeing how we continue to lead and grow in this space.

Stay tuned for more stories from colleagues across UiPath who’ve grown, shifted, and shaped their careers in unexpected ways. Whether they started as interns, changed paths, or stepped into new challenges—there’s more to come.