Her Story
About Madeleine
Madeleine Zheng serves as a Deployment Strategist at Poly AI, specializing in voice AI deployments that help enterprise clients reduce workload and increase efficiency. Over the past three years in the AI startup space, she has focused on post-sales customer success roles, beginning in procurement tech at a seed-stage startup that progressed to Series A funding, where she built a customer-facing dashboard using SQL learned from scratch with ChatGPT assistance. At Poly AI, she designs voice AI agents and leads multilingual deployments in languages including Mandarin and Cantonese. A graduate of Arizona State University with a double major in biochemistry and Chinese, Zheng grew up speaking Mandarin and has applied her language expertise in client interactions across Asia, including travel to China, Taiwan, the Netherlands, and London for work with major clients such as Amazon and Ford. She serves on the board of directors for the nonprofit Kindred Curiosity, which builds communities for Asian women in the Bay Area, and previously volunteered as a math instructor for Minds Matter Bay Area.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Madeleine
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to my parents' incredible work ethic as Chinese immigrants, my sister's example of independence and charting the healthcare-to-tech path first, and amazing mentors like Professor Sun and Dr. Amber Wudick who taught me resilience and gave me research opportunities. I've learned to be mentally flexible, suck it up during tough times, and rely on the resources I've been given while taking the next best step without overplanning years ahead.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best advice is to not be afraid to pivot careers, even when scary, especially for women. Network by having genuine coffee chats about interests rather than cold job asks. Advocate for yourself like a business, ask for more money because you deserve it based on contributions, and put yourself out there by DMing founders with specific ideas. Every job I've gotten came from proactive outreach, not applications.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Imposter syndrome is very real no matter where you are, so accept it and move on as confidence builds from good work. Be proactive by cold outreaching, sending personalized LinkedIn notes, and DMing over a hundred founders like I did to land my first role. Help others once you're in by responding to DMs and giving back, since breaking into tech isn't easy and I received so much support along the way.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Opportunities include upskilling with AI tools like ChatGPT to learn skills fast, travel to places like Netherlands, China, London for client work with big names like Amazon and Ford, and having outsized impact at small startups. Challenges involve being a woman in a male-dominated field like San Francisco tech, where products can end up designed in a masculine way, and the barrier to entry for new tech that requires responsible use.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The people I work with matter most, preferring tightly knit startup teams of motivated individuals. Flexibility and being okay with uncertainty is key, taking the next best step rather than planning 5-10 years out. I value having outsized impact and exponential growth by taking calculated risks in roles or projects, and working where I can contribute meaningfully without rigid structures.
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