Her Story
About Pallavi
Pallavi Kalapatapu is a Principal Engineer at Cisco, where she has worked for the past 20 years. With 27 years of experience in technology overall, her expertise spans backend services, distributed systems, cloud services, security, and AI. She has held various roles at the company, including senior software engineer, tech lead, senior tech lead, principal engineer, and engineering director, demonstrating comfort in switching between management and individual contributor positions. Pallavi earned a master's degree in computer science from Santa Clara University and a bachelor's degree in electrical and electronics engineering. She attributes her success to perseverance and hard work, and she values balance and equanimity in both her professional and personal life. She advises young women entering the industry not to overthink opportunities and to take them even if they do not align perfectly with initial plans, as they can lead to unexpected and rewarding paths. Pallavi is proud of her work building zero-to-one products and holds multiple patents for her innovations.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Pallavi
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think my perseverance and hard work.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
If you want something, you have to go make it happen. You have to be your best advocate. I don't think you should wait for someone else to advocate for you.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Don't overthink opportunities that come your way. Take them even if they don't match exactly what you planned, because they expose you to new things and can lead to unexpected paths. Instead of being very opinionated about specific roles, try opportunities as they arise since they might surprise you.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Balance and equanimity. Having a level head, realizing that success comes from right time, right space, right opportunity, not just one's caliber alone. Not associating self-worth to whether something succeeded or failed, especially in tech where trends change quickly.
Join Influential Women and start making an impact. Register now.