Her Story
About McKenna
I’ve spent nearly six years at Microsoft building products at the intersection of developer tools and AI, but my path into product management started with a simple question: not just how to build software, but how to build the right software. As a computer science student, I joined Microsoft as an intern in a hybrid software engineering and product management role, where I went from designing an idea to shipping a working application in a matter of weeks. That experience made it clear I wanted to operate at the intersection of technology, user needs, and product strategy.
I returned to Microsoft as a product management intern and later joined full-time on the .NET Tools team, where I now lead product development for AI-assisted developer experiences. My role spans defining product vision, aligning cross-functional teams, and driving execution from early concept through public release. I focus on building tools that don’t just work, but meaningfully improve how developers build, test, and ship software at scale.
A major focus of my work is advancing responsible AI in developer tooling and ensuring the systems we build are not only powerful, but also safe, reliable, and measurable. I've been deeply invested in shaping how we evaluate AI-generated outputs, helping establish practices that prioritize quality and trust as these tools become more widely adopted.
Most recently, I’ve been leading work in the testing space, focused on AI-powered tooling for the .NET ecosystem. This includes helping developers generate high-quality tests to validate their code, as well as building capabilities that improve visibility into test suites so teams can better understand coverage, reliability, and overall effectiveness. As AI accelerates code generation, I see testing and validation becoming the defining challenge of modern software development. I’ve helped bring these capabilities from early concept through Preview to general availability, where they are already helping developers shift testing from a bottleneck to an integrated, intelligent part of the development workflow.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with McKenna
01What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best advice I've received is to take ownership before you're asked to. Early in my career, I learned that growth doesn't come from waiting for permission or the "right" opportunity. Instead, it comes from stepping into ambiguity, identifying gaps, and driving things forward yourself. That mindset has helped me expand my scope and create opportunities that wouldn't have existed otherwise.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
My advice would be to recognize that while tech is still a male-dominated field, there is absolutely space for you and your perspective is needed. The most impactful products are built by teams that reflect a diversity of experiences, and bringing different viewpoints to the table leads to better, more thoughtful solutions. Don't feel like you need to fit a certain mold to succeed. Instead, lean into what makes your perspective unique, speak up when it feels uncomfortable, and trust that your voice adds value.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
One of the biggest shifts in software development right now is the rapid acceleration of AI-powered tooling, which is fundamentally changing how code is written, tested, and shipped. We’re moving into a world where generating code is no longer the primary bottleneck — validating that code is correct, safe, and reliable is. That creates both a massive opportunity and a critical responsibility: to rethink the development lifecycle with AI in the loop, and to build systems that developers can trust. This is a defining moment for the industry, where the standards we set around evaluation, safety, and responsible AI will shape how these tools are adopted at scale. I see this as an opportunity to not only improve developer productivity, but to help establish the foundations for a more intelligent, reliable, and trustworthy software ecosystem.
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