Team Terazo spotlight: Maha Boddupally on believing in yourself and achieving work-life balance

Terazo Team

Maha’s Professional Journey

Maha describes herself as a “software engineer-slash-scrum master.” She transitioned from radio frequency engineering to software engineering in 2010 and has been with Zennify (formerly Terazo) since there were only twelve employees.

She is most proud of her recent scrum master certifications. Outside of work, Maha loves reading, dancing, running, and exploring new places. She is a mom to a five-year-old son, who she calls her “everything.”

A Passion for Learning

Maha is passionate about continuous learning:

“In my opinion, I feel as a human being, nothing is impossible for you. If you really put your focus onto it, you can learn anything. If you have a basic education, you can always come into whatever field that you want, because today’s generation and world is providing you with lots of items to learn.”

She earned her bachelor’s degree in India, taking several computer science courses but developing a strong interest in satellites and telecommunications. After graduating, she worked as a radio frequency engineer helping to launch 3G networks.

Although she loved that work, Maha shifted to software engineering to achieve her goal of moving to the United States. She compares the feeling of arriving here to Harry Potter going to Hogwarts—finally finding her “place.”

Maha’s journey has not always been easy. Before coming to Terazo, as a young woman in the states, Maha found herself in a challenging workplace situation—pregnant and on a team with no other women, she constantly experienced putdowns to her intelligence from male teammates and management. She says this experience drowned her confidence in her own ability as a woman in software engineering. “It was horrible,” she says. “I had to fight for my right every single day and prove my own worth.”

Facing Challenges as a Woman in Tech

Before joining Zennify, Maha encountered a challenging workplace. Pregnant and the only woman on her team, she faced constant putdowns and doubts about her abilities.

“It was horrible,” she says. “I had to fight for my right every single day and prove my own worth.” Eventually, she resigned, feeling she couldn’t be both a mom and a software engineer.

After a nine-month break to focus on parenting, she realized, “This is not me. I’m a strong woman, and I know that I can do it. That’s how I flew from a different country to here!”

Finding Support and Confidence at Zennify

Maha applied for a role at Zennify (then APIVista) with low confidence but a willingness to try. She was hired and quickly noticed the difference in culture.

“After coming to Zennify, my perspective changed. My confidence started to build because of the amazing teammates—supportive, helpful, and communicative. I realized I can be a mom and a software engineer at the same time.”

She credits Zennify’s flexible scheduling and supportive culture for helping her manage work-life balance as a single parent. Clear communication with her team allows her to attend to her son’s education and medical needs while meeting work commitments.

Growth, Skills, and Opportunities

When Maha started, her experience was primarily in Java. At Zennify, she has expanded into Python, data engineering, and Golang, which she now calls her favorite programming language.

“As an engineer, we should have enough flexibility to learn different things. Zennify helped me find opportunities based on my interests. Whenever I wanted to learn something, my leads and managers supported me and placed me on the right projects.”

She is now a certified scrum master, leading teams and helping clients adopt agile practices that fit their needs.

Advocating for Women in Technology

Maha is active in the Women at Zennify resource group and coordinates speaking engagements with organizations like Women Who Code. She wants women, especially those from backgrounds where traditional gender roles are enforced, to see that tech is possible for them.

“If I can do it with whatever background I have, then you can do it too. It’s possible.”

Advice for Those Starting Out

Maha encourages new engineers to embrace learning and ask questions without fear:

“When you feel like you can’t do this, don’t resist asking or learning. Even if the question is not right, that’s fine. The problem is not asking at all.”

She views life as a continuous learning journey:

“Take every challenge as an adventure. Every experience is a learning experience. When I win, I win, and when I lose, I learn.”

Maha’s story is one of resilience, adaptability, and a deep belief that with focus and the right support, anything is possible.