Spicy Mangos head of engineering discusses her role, and why attitudes around women in tech need to change
By Jenny Priestley
Published: March 5, 2021
Spicy Mango's head of engineering discusses her role, and why attitudes around women in tech need to change
target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin> Spicy Mango's head of engineering discusses her role, and why attitudes around women in tech need to change
https://www.tvbeurope.com/business/changing-the-stigma-around-women-in-technology title=Share via Email class=share-email>
To mark International Women's Day 2021, TVBEurope talks to Spicy Mango's head of engineering Angelika Podlinska about the importance of encouraging younger generations, especially women, to pursue a career in tech.
Tell us a little bit about your background before joining Spicy Mango Before leaving school and starting an apprenticeship with British Airways, I had never come across coding because my sixth form didn't even teach IT. So my first role as a junior software engineer was my first introduction to coding, and it was a bit of a jump into the unknown.
In sixth form I completed Biology, Maths and Geography A-Levels. Although I wasn't sure which career path I wanted to take, university didn't feel like the right path for me because I didn't want to commit to four years when I wasn't fully certain of which subject I wanted to study. The apprenticeship at British Airways for two years seemed a great alternative, and when it finished I joined Spicy Mango.
What was the beginning of your time at Spicy Mango like? I came to Spicy Mango as its first employee, which was just over four years ago. I started as a software engineer after deciding it would be best to explore other engineering opportunities. It was great timing because Spicy Mango was just hiring and after a few interviews and technical tasks, I was thrilled to be offered the job. Being the first employee made it both an exciting and challenging experience something I have loved about Spicy Mango since the outset.
How has your role evolved over time? As the company has grown, I have grown with it. We now have four full time developers and this year I was incredibly pleased to be promoted to head of engineering. My role now involves managing the engineering team, planning projects and completing new project estimates, taking responsibility for the timelines and requirements this entails.
What are your favourite aspects of your job? One of the best parts of my job is all of the interesting projects that I have had the pleasure of working on. Most of the projects are innovative software solutions that we develop for our clients. Working from home is also a bonus because I believe I am more productive and it is a benefit saving the time travelling back and forth from an office. It is always thrilling when we go live with software solutions. I love being able to see the solution develop from an idea on a piece of paper through the development cycle, testing and then going live. I feel very proud, as it's a huge achievement in itself!
What are the biggest challenges you face specifically in your role, and within the tech industry as a whole? Sometimes you have to take risks and evaluating if it is a good risk or a bad risk can be difficult, and having all the responsibility to make the choice is sometimes daunting. Another challenge I have found is that people are often surprised when I say I am head of engineering because of the stigma that surrounds women in technology, despite the changes of the 21st century with women moving into traditionally male dominated' career paths.
In regards to the tech industry as a whole, it's amazing how many aspects of life now rely on the technology industry compared to twenty years ago. It is therefore crucial that we keep up with all the technology changes on a yearly basis, which can be overwhelming at times.
Do you have any future goals that you would like to achieve within your tech career? I would love to experiment with new programming languages and tools, which can be tricky when we have tight deadlines to work against, although I am hoping to do more of this next year. My current role is mainly involved in back-end engineering, project planning and the design phase and I would like to get more hands on with front-end engineering in the future. I would also like to get involved with the security side of software products, for example white hat hacking.
What advice would you give others who are looking to make a career in tech? The most important piece of advice I could give is do not be afraid of any challenge. It is essential to remember that you don't have to go to university to have a career in technology. Apprenticeships are a great alternative and they provide the opportunity to get practical, hands-on experience with real projects and earn while you are learning.
For anyone looking to begin a career in technology, a great place to start is the wide variety of online resources available, from coding to security, project planning and such for all levels. There is a wealth of resources available nowadays and you can begin learning whenever you want online.
What are your views on women in tech' initiatives? Why do you think it's important to highlight women in the tech industry? From my experience the technology industry is still unfortunately viewed as largely a male dominated' sphere. But everything today revolves around technology in our daily lives and tech is an exciting and important sector to be involved in.
For this reason I think it is so important to teach IT/STEM subjects in early education years and throughout school to make sure every individual has access to all the different opportunities ahead of them from an early age. This will be so impo
Europe Stories
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
09/10/2026
September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026
New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
02/10/2026
v1.9.3 introduces AUv3 support
Roland have just released an update that kits their free iPad-based software synth out with AUv3 support, meaning it can now ...
02/10/2026
Dolby Atmos support, AI-powered stem separation & more
The latest version of MOTU's DAW software is now available, and marks a major step forward with t...
02/10/2026
Portable DAC created in collaboration with Steve Levine
British hi-fi experts iFi audio have unveiled a new Master Tuned variant of their praised iDSD GR2 p...
02/10/2026
In our latest blog, Tim Pearson looks at streaming piracy from a different lens, focusing on digital trust, consumer risk, and the future of subscriber protecti...
02/10/2026
Friday 2 October 2026
Crystal Lake, a Friday the 13th' prequel series, com...
02/10/2026
Friday 2 October 2026
Sky VIP helps families celebrate the Christmas season wit...
02/10/2026
How the fertility sector in Ireland remains unregulated
Undercover filming reveals how without proper regulation the promotion of controversial fertility treat...
02/10/2026
Transforming Homes, Transforming Lives
Presenter Baz Ashmawy and his team take on four life-changing builds across Kildare, Limerick, Wicklow and Offaly in the...
01/10/2026
Third collaboration with celebrated composer
Spitfire Audio have once again teamed up with Grammy-nominated composer, producer and technologist BT, creating...
01/10/2026
FL Studio gets dedicated grid controller
Novation have teamed up with FL Studio developers Image-Line to create another dedicated controller for the popular...
01/10/2026
Six new USB interfaces introduced
Universal Audio's USB audio interface line-up has just been refreshed, gaining six new models aimed at musicians, prod...
01/10/2026
Siretta's SNYPER-5G cellular network analyser has been shortlisted for the IoT Global Awards 2026.
The IoT Global Awards recognise products, services and o...
01/10/2026
Mesh Broadcast Services Fits Big-Truck Audio Power into Compact Eclipse Unit with Calrec Argo M Canadian OB company Mesh Broadcast Services has fitted its Eclip...
01/10/2026
X-Rite Pantone Launches Spectura to Advance Connected Color Quality from Lab to ...
01/10/2026
Thursday 1 October 2026
Nominees revealed for 2026 Sky Arts Awards
Current slide, 0 0, undefined1
0
Irish National Opera and Jennifer Walshe: MARS
Jacob Al...
01/10/2026
Vital TV antenna replaced at SudburyHelicopter and broadcast engineers work together to upgrade TV services for 1.5M in the East
--
Share to Linkedin
Octobe...
01/10/2026
Arqiva appoints Simon Duffy as ChairSimon Duffy joins as Chair effective 01 October 2026
--
Share to Linkedin
October 1, 2026
Press Office
01 October 2026...
01/10/2026
Season 4 of the multi-award-winning hit entertainment series The 2 Johnnies Late Night Lock In is back, serving up another round of unpredictable laughs, unforg...
01/10/2026
New season begins Sunday, 4 October at 6pm on RT lyric fm and RT Listen
RT lyric fm's arts and culture documentary series The Lyric Feature returns on S...
01/10/2026
RT is proud to continue its commitment to supporting and celebrating the arts across Ireland this October, highlighting a vibrant programme of theatre, music, ...
30/09/2026
Add an envelope generator to any plug-in
Sync Audio's latest creation is a handy utility plug-in that can be used to combine and modulate other effects ...
30/09/2026
All-analogue tape-style drive joins Series A
Strymon's reputation was built on their digital knowhow, so many were surprised (and intrigued) when they a...
30/09/2026
Two new expansion packs released
Sonuscore have just introduced two new expansion packs for The Pulse, its production engine instrument for modern cinematic...
30/09/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
30/09/2026
New Solution Expands Harmonic's Network Intelligence Portfolio and Brings Comcast-Developed Fiber Monitoring Technology to Broadband Operators, Providing Re...
30/09/2026
How to Shop Well Now starts Monday at 9.35pm
on RT One and RT Player
On the...
29/09/2026
Two new plug-ins launch alongside updated bundles
Zynaptiq have just announced the launch of two new plug-ins, alongside new and improved versions of two of...
29/09/2026
All-in-one bus processor revealed
Wes Audio's ng product range has come a long way since it was first introduced, and now includes a tasty selection of ...
29/09/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
29/09/2026
NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN OR INTO OR TO ANY PERSON LOCATED OR RESIDENT IN, OR AT ANY ADDRESS IN, THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ITS TERRITO...
29/09/2026
We tend to think we live in a digital world, with hopes and fears around artificial intelligence (AI), quantum computing, data centres and the next big technolo...
29/09/2026
Today, in partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), Apple relea...
29/09/2026
Final Cut Camera, the professional filming app for iPhone, receives a major upda...
29/09/2026
RT lyric fm is proud to announce the annual Choirs for Christmas competition callout. Warm up those vocal chords and join us on RT lyric fm for a celebration ...
28/09/2026
EQ plug-in can now be played via MIDI
Scaler Music have recently released a new and improved version of their patented musical EQ plug-in, kitting it out wi...
28/09/2026
New synth developed in collaboration with philterSoup
Boutique effects pedal and Eurorack manufacturer Animal Factory Amps have announced that the new compa...
28/09/2026
Rohde & Schwarz adds an integrated multi-channel pulse analysis option to its FS...
28/09/2026
Monday 28 September 2026
Sky launches Full Fibre 1.6 Gbps for millions of homes
Sky has launched a new Full Fibre 1.6 Gbps product, rolling out from today, gi...
28/09/2026
Arvato Systems Highlights It's Role for Automotive Manufacturers and Suppliers
TISAX
Arvato Systems has successfully completed the TISAX Level 3 assess...
28/09/2026
Crimecall, presented by Carla O'Brien, returns tonight for a brand new series at 9.35pm on RT One and RT Player.
In tonight's episode, alongside appe...
28/09/2026
CELEBRATING 40 YEARS AT THE HEART OF NEW IRISH WRITING
LIVE FROM POETRY IRELAND, DUBLIN AND ON RT RADIO 1 FROM 7PM
DETAILS: www.rte.ie/writing | FOLLOW: #r...
27/09/2026
New compact pedal packs in 120 effects
The latest multi-effects pedal from Boss is a compact unit that promises to give any pedalboard a massive boost in s...
26/09/2026
Launched alongside three new expansion packs
In celebration of their 30th anniversary, Native Instruments have released a major update for their Maschine 3 ...
25/09/2026
Algorithm update & new DVA vibrato-detection engine
A new flagship version of Antares' iconic pitch-correction software has arrived, and along with a co...
25/09/2026
New flagship unit to arrive in early 2027
Two notes Audio Engineering have revealed that a new and improved version of their hugely popular reactive load bo...
25/09/2026
AI-free mixing tool gets an upgrade
Launched in October 2025, Tim Exiles Finalist is an algorithmic mixing tool that's been designed for those who don&#...
Spicy Mangos head of engineering discusses her role, and why attitudes around women in tech need to change
