How to redefine the rules and thrive in your tech career
August 8, 2022
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With impeccable leadership skills and technical prowess, Marin Grace is redefining the rules of the game for women technologists, especially young women who want to take their careers to new heights.
Marin credits her career journey from embedded systems developer to dynamic, multifaceted leader to an innovation mindset and the ability to stay on her toes, accept new challenges and remain highly versatile and comfortable with new technologies.
She believes the things that matter when building a successful career in tech are competence, confidence, persistence and care.
She shares why mentorship and nonstop learning opportunities are vital for charting your career path—your way.
Inspired by change
I grew up within the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) community in Kerala. My parents worked for ISRO, and they were extremely analytical and creative in the way they processed problems and situations—especially my mother, who helped me build my knowledge and explore different cultures and perspectives.
This background inspired my creativity and fueled my desire to keep learning and continue trying new things.
When I joined Accenture’s automotive practice as a manager in 2009, our leadership team in India was making headway in this exciting space by seizing new client opportunities. We stayed laser-focused, and results followed. We sealed large multimillion-dollar deals, including a five-year contract with a tier-1 supplier to lead their digital transformation.
And that was just the beginning.
Transforming my career with tech
Throughout my career at Accenture, I’ve been exposed to technologies as diverse as mobility, internet of things (IoT), extended reality (XR) and experience design and transformation.
And I’ve had many distinct roles: mobility capability lead, IoT delivery lead, architectural practice lead, extended reality lead and experience design and transformation lead for Accenture Digital (now Accenture Song) in our Advanced Technology Centers in India.
Now, as a managing director for Accenture Song in India, I’ve led many complex transformation programs for a variety of clients, incubated new technologies and built teams that are creating real, impactful change in India.
We recently designed a system and method that automatically generates deployable code for web, mobile, wearables and XR platforms based on images or other graphical inputs using AI, convolutional neural networks and classifiers. This patented solution enormously reduces development cycles for new products and services in a competitive world.
Our people are the true differentiators
Great mentors, counselors and leaders have made the difference through my career journey. I’ve been able to chart my career path, my way, and have risen through the ranks to become a managing director at Accenture.
I believe being a good leader means leading by example and standing by your team. Being grounded, open, honest and approachable make it easy for people at all levels to walk up to me and voice their opinions.
I always try to set the right vision and then inspire my team to make it a reality. I truly believe that it is our people that make us look good at the end of the day.
Challenge yourself to succeed
Never stop learning. Be passionate about what you do.
No role is too big or small. Whether you are a bricklayer or an architect, you are helping build the cathedral.
Find a good mentor and pay it forward by mentoring others. Challenge yourself continually and do not get complacent.
And finally, something I say to all the younger people on my team: Break self-imposed restrictions and go beyond gender biases. Invest in building a support system in your personal life.
Carve out your own career path and create transformational change with the work you do, every day.
