#OwlAboutMe: Maria Paula Cabra, Senior Manager, Engineering

#OwlAboutMe: Maria Paula Cabra, Senior Manager, Engineering

#OwlAboutMe is an editorial series spearheaded by the Twilio Employer Brand & Recruitment Marketing team. We highlight our Twilions and how they are "drawing the owl" in their day-to-day roles and pushing the boundaries at Twilio!

Let's meet Maria Paula Cabra (She/Her), Senior Manager, Engineering on our Platform Infrastructure team. In her almost two years as a Twilion, Maria has driven initiatives for our Research & Development business unit, empowered underrepresented communities in tech through her work as Bogotá Hub leader, and much more. Learn more about her, how she landed at Twilio, and her absolute fave benefit in our #OwlAboutMe employee spotlight!

Tell us about your role! What do you build? How did you land here?

"As part of our Platform Infrastructure team, I help build services and tools to manage authentication and orchestration services at runtime, and remove gatekeepers by providing services that allow engineers to manage their own firewalls, IAM policies, and secrets in a safe way.

I have a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the University of Alabama, "Roll Tide Roll", and my dream was to work for a multinational company. When I came back to Colombia after doing undergrad in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, I worked for a few outsourcing companies. This was very rewarding as I was able to learn about different businesses, from aviation to advertising, but I wanted more.

I was still searching for the answer to the all time question, “What/where/who do you want to be in the next 5-10 years?” Until now I was doing something that I was passionate about, developing, creating tools that help people, but I knew there was more for me. So in late 2020, when I was contacted by a former Twilio Talent Researcher and saw the Engineering Manager job description, I knew this was the path I wanted to follow.

A few weeks after I was hired and became a Twilion, I was able to answer that passion over purpose question. It was so clear for me what, where, and who I wanted to be for the next 5-10 years of my life, my path to career fulfillment was clear. I am now a proud Twilion and living my DREAM!!"

What’s one of your favorite things about your team? Your proudest moment?

"One of my favorite things about my role is seeing my direct reports get promoted, knowing that I can help them, bringing them one step closer to achieve their goals."

Share your favorite benefit or perk that Twilio offers.

"I LOVE everything Twilio offers. I mean how, can you not? Our ERGs help others be heard and included. Our Employee Experience team constantly adapts to change and is open to feedback, plus acts accordingly to improve. Our People team always helps us to be better at work and personally, offers so many different courses/workshops for you to join. Twilio really cares about their people and it's great to see how hard a company works to make you feel included. We come from so many cultures around the world and Twilio makes sure to respect and take that into account with every interaction."

Last question: Which Twilio Magic value means the most to you?

"We are positrons. My nature is the will to help others and always look at things in a positive way. You will always find that I do my best to be true to myself, you will know me for who I am and what I believe. Honesty is my number one value, it is easier to tell the truth from the beginning and to have things clear. Lies are a vicious act, once you lie you have to keep thinking about what other lie you need to tell to cover up that other lie. Definitely empower others, everyone has so much they can contribute, guide them to show their own potential. Treat others as you like to be treated, with respect."

Thanks for sharing your story and for building with us, Maria! For all the cool things Maria is up to — and to check out her work — follow her on Linkedin.

BTW, we’re hiring!

Check out our open opportunities to see if there is a role you’re interested in at twilio.com/careers.