Narmatha Bala

At 13-years-old, Narmatha Bala had her first experience playing a video game on an i386. The first-person shooter game was Wolfenstein 3D, and it would set the tone for her lifelong curiosities around technology and creativity.

By the time she arrived at college, she set her affections for tech aside to focus on a degree in business. In India, where she went to school, you choose an undergrad focus and stick with it until you graduate. This meant her interest in computers would have to wait. Narmatha maintained a pulse on computers while finishing her degree and she dove right into her master’s in computer sciences.

Narmatha took comfort in the logical aspects of computer science. Seeing her ideas on paper transfer to the computer intrigued her. She liked that there is an order of operations to bring her ideas to life.

Nine years into her career she became a master of one tech stack and worked her way into managing a team. Narmatha realized she was ready to take on new opportunities to learn and grow more in her career. She could have gone to work anywhere, but what drove her to Microsoft was the ability to learn multiple tech stacks and evolve as a professional. She was willing to make a big career change by stepping away from management to come to CSE as an individual contributor. Narmatha loves that CSE has a whole breadth of technologies that allow her to help her customers solve their biggest challenges.

Narmatha’s creative outlets are in oil painting and gardening. She has even had her own art exhibit showcasing her creative side.