Bringing Joy to Users: Aditi Toshniwal is TikTok’s Problem Solver

Ever since she was in school, Aditi Toshniwal was always excited by the idea of innovating something which could create an impact on millions of people. Now the Lead Software Engineer at TikTok, Aditi is no doubt a key driving force behind the app that is bringing joy to its users.

Being in the tech industry means facing new challenges and puzzles every day. Working for TikTok, Aditi says, is about putting creativity to use and building something that brings joy to the community all over the world. The products that she builds at TikTok reach a scale of billions of active users, which pushes her to come up with innovative solutions to deliver a smooth experience to the end user.

Aditi finds that software is the one thing that transcends race, gender, or religion. In a space without boundaries, she feels motivated to develop software that reaches out to millions and billions, which is one of the primary reasons why she decided to work at TikTok. This desire to constantly innovate and deliver better every day keeps her excited in her current role.

“It is an amazing feeling for me if I can contribute to bringing happiness to others,” Aditi shares, “and I feel the IT industry has substantial potential for this.”

Early days

From a young age, Aditi liked logical reasoning, problem-solving, and solving puzzles. When she discovered that Computer Science was mostly about solving problems and creating solutions that could make life easier, it instantly caught her attention and she started venturing into it. Ever since, Aditi has believed that learning software development could be a game changer. One could develop an application as simple as a daily reminder app, or a language translation dictionary, and make a difference in the lives of so many people. Hence, she decided to pursue a degree in Computer Science, and join the dynamic and evolving tech industry.

Aditi says there were several people in her life who have been involved with tech and software engineering, but out of all of them, her parents were her biggest source of inspiration. Her parents worked in the tech industry, and they used to discuss problems and their solutions with the help of technology. In her childhood, Aditi recalls that there was a small computer at home with 1 MB RAM which her parents would work on, using COBOL, BASIC, and other programmes to solve problems. At the same time, Aditi used to love playing games on this machine. Living in the same space and looking at her parents working so passionately encouraged her to pursue a career in tech.

Being a problem solver at work

One of the challenges that Aditi faced working as a software engineer is making the shift from thinking not only about the implementation of the software, but also understanding its effectiveness and how it is placed in the broad spectrum of things. Coming from an Engineering background where it had always been about software, algorithms, and system architecture, Aditi found herself having to go through a change in mindset. Scaling up an application was challenging but so was meeting the expectations of millions of users and managing people along with technology.

While growing in her career, Aditi says that she was fortunate enough to be surrounded by mentors and managers who have believed in her and helped her learn and grow through first-hand experiences in these domains. “My advice to anyone in a similar situation would be to surround yourself with people who motivate you, champion you and help you to become the best version of yourself.”

What makes a software engineer

As a software engineer, Aditi feels that it is important to be decisive and accurate, which requires a calm and controlled state of mind. To effectively make important decisions, Aditi takes out some time from her daily schedule for activities like Heartfulness Meditation. The practice of scheduling some time for maintaining a peaceful mind has significantly helped her be more effective and has had an overall multiplier effect in any task that she embarks on.

Rather than hard qualifications, Aditi thinks an attitude for learning, logical thinking, and persistence is key to pursuing a career in tech. She says that the tech industry is very amenable to different skill-sets—even if someone does not hold a degree in Computer Science, they still have an opportunity to hone their skills and showcase their expertise by taking part in online courses, certifications, and building their portfolio through self-initiated projects or contributing to open source.

Today, there are a wide variety of roles in the tech industry beyond the stereotypical IT-only roles. In fact, not everyone that works in technology needs to know how to code or be a computer science graduate or software engineer. That is not the only way to work in tech, Aditi says. There are jobs in tech that do not require hardcore math or science skills, but have a range of roles across marketing, design, strategy or even development.

Aditi highly encourages anyone interested in technology to fully explore through the various programmes available. She says that Singapore is one of the best places for anyone looking to build a career in this high-growth sector as the country sets its ambitions to become a global technology hub.

Technology has made everyday life easier and with the increasing shift towards the online sphere, tech industries have scaled themselves to meet the demand for products and services that have moved to a digital model. During the pandemic, digital adoption was further accelerated, with solutions like video communications and productivity tools that enable remote work making their way to the top. With this increased digital adoption, it also presents exciting new opportunities for tech to be part of our lives, which has given rise to more innovation. Overall, Aditi feels that the industry has become particularly adept at meeting the needs of public and business consumers, even before they knew about their own needs.

The future of tech

Regarding the future of tech, Aditi says that the next decade will be accelerated by new innovations and technologies like Machine-Learning, Big Data, 5G, edge computing, and so on. The future of tech is constantly evolving, and so are the skills and talent needed to successfully adapt.

Tech roles require a lot of in-demand skills today that are also transferable to other industries. While Logical Reasoning, Statistics, and Probability are often discussed as "cross-domain" i.e. relevant to various other industries, Aditi believes that going forward, learning a programming language would probably become something like learning basic sciences and Algebra. Therefore, learning any language and gaining command over it would play a key role in staying relevant even in future.

As we progress towards Industry 4.0, it is key for individuals to be agile and build vital skills for the future of work. This calls for a mindset to continually learn, upskill, and reskill, while also training ourselves to not get too nested in our comfort zone, to be a better problem solver, and more adaptable when staying relevant.

Overcoming boundaries

Aditi says that the tech industry has been welcoming so far and her team members and ex-colleagues have always been very supportive of her. At work, people generally judge others based on the work that they deliver.

However, she also senses discomfort from people outside the workplace who still believe that working in the tech industry is not a right place for a woman to work since it is predominantly male. Aditi feels that such discussions are worth approaching as the thought process could easily demotivate other women who aspire to do well in the industry. To target this problem effectively, she suggests that we must increase visibility to the younger generation, to the girls who are still in school, and educate them on how the industry is flourishing and making progress.

“For anyone who feels disheartened due to any such comments, I would like to say that we need to believe in ourselves, stay put, and know that we are in the right place. Confidence and firm determination in oneself can take anyone well beyond the societal dogma and can help achieve great success!” Aditi says.

Aditi feels that having a diversity among employees translates to diversity in ideas. We often see that the products which tech companies deliver are used by male and female consumers alike. Therefore, having gender equality in the tech industry would translate into out-of-the-box thinking and building products which the employees can relate to more closely.

With the way the tech industry is shaping up, Aditi thinks it is an exciting time to join the industry, and there are great opportunities for getting in into it. “The industry is rewarding for people who like to solve challenging problems and be creative and courageous enough to take risks. If anyone is excited by the prospect of these challenges, they could definitely explore a career in tech,” says Aditi.

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Aditi Toshniwal was a speaker at the Women in Tech webinar held during the JobStreet x Tech in Asia’s Virtual Career Fair, along with Mei Lee from Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Jessica Danajaya Tremel .