This month we spoke with Nhaiara Moura, the newest Engineering Manager to join the team at Mimi. Nhaiara relocated to Germany from Sao Paulo, Brazil in 2018, and joined us here at Mimi in December 2020.
1. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
My name is Nhaiara Moura, I am 30 years old from Sao Paulo, Brazil and I joined Mimi in December 2020 as an Engineer Manager. To help you with my name, it is pronounced Naiara. The ‘h’ is there just because my mother wanted something different! But you can also call me Nai to make it easier. I moved to Germany in 2018 due to my husband’s job, and when I moved I couldn’t speak any English. It was really scary, so I took an Intensive course to learn English for 4 months where I was studying 7-10 hours a day. I now speak English, Portuguese and I am learning German.
2. What is the Soundtrack to your life?
Imagine Dragons: Whatever it takes.
3. What could you not live without?
I couldn’t live without people. I am someone who needs to be talking with people often and understanding other people’s perspectives. It helps feed my curiosity in the same way that technology does.
4. What influenced your decision to pursue a career in technology?
My curiosity influenced me to pursue a career in technology. I am curious at how things work and learning about the pieces you put together to make something happen. When I was 17, I went to a university open day and I was introduced to different topics and got engaged in engineering and computer science. I also really enjoy Psychology. I am a people person who is curious, which is why I joined the tech world.
5. How has it been for you as a new starter at Mimi?
Really exciting. I am also very surprised and happy at how well the remote onboarding is being handled. There is an onboarding challenge to be completed in the first 3 months with a set of different tasks that helped me through this phase and was also fun to mark the tasks as “completed”.
The team at Mimi are all very considerate about this challenge, and the team always reach out and are happy to make the time and have a chat, whether it be to discuss life or work topics.
Mimi is not a company who only values productivity, it is a space to get to know each other and make connections.
6. What attracted you to Mimi?
I have a degree of hearing loss in one of my ears so I am personally connected to the topic. I want to help people and I want to learn more about the auditory system so I know how to stop hearing loss getting worse, both for me and anyone else. I think it is in my genetics; my fathers hearing is getting worse and my sister unfortunately had a disease when she was 1 which caused her to lose almost all of her hearing ability. This sadly had a snowball effect on her education which in turn has reduced her opportunities.
Therefore, if I can do something to help other people that is what I want; to help people hear better, whether it be helping them learn, communicate or listen to their favourite song; I want to do something to create a positive impact.
I have worked in a lot of industries but if the company’s mission does not motivate me, I get bored.
7. What makes a Mimian to you?
What makes a Mimian to me is the ability to self manage and collaborate to find solutions. Here at Mimi we have tons of autonomy and trust, so you can drive your own path while you’re doing your work and you can suggest and take the lead of topics that you like. We also have the opportunity to contribute in different topics and conversations like diversity and team events. One example is that we are going to have our Chief Commercial Officer running a virtual cooking class for the team with quizzes!
8. What was your result on the Mimi Hearing Test?
It’s excellent – I hear pretty well from my right ear and have a partial loss in the left but my brain compensates for it.
9. What have you learnt about yourself working at Mimi?
I am very quick to judge myself in a way that I don’t judge others. I find that I am no longer overthinking at Mimi as people are honest and transparent; it is just part of the culture.
At Mimi, I find that if you are a person who wants to grow and be ambitious, this is a place to do different things, take accountability and do something which creates better relationships, better learning and a better way of living.
10. What is it like to be a woman working in technology for you?
Philosophical. I don’t know how it could be different. Since I can remember I have always been the only woman in the room.
I always find it interesting that people think in different ways, and that’s where more women are missed, to bring a different perspective into an area that is male dominated. It’s exactly the differences that makes you unique and valuable to that position or specific topic.
I believe it is better to have more differences in a company so people don’t feel like an exception or an outsider like I used to working in tech. I am looking forward to having the experience of being a part of Mimi’s diverse team.
Last week I had a meeting with 3 women and 2 men which made me feel excited. In my last company the ratio of men to women was around 40-1 but at Mimi, women have a good presence in leadership and I am looking forward to having more women with me doing the technical parts. I talk to more women at Mimi than I ever have in the past.
11. What advice would you give to a woman considering pursuing a career in technology?
Go to Linkedin, there are lots of groups and just add them and start to talk. You don’t need to learn everything by yourself, ask for help. Don’t be ashamed to reach out to people and ask for mentorship! People like helping others generally. Connections, this is key.