At Roblox, we strive to operate in an inclusive workplace with employees who represent our diverse community of players. In honor of Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day today, we spoke with four women powerhouses behind-the-scenes at Roblox: Grace Francisco, Kelly Langstaff, Shreya Ramamurthy, and Andrea Fletcher. They discussed their work experiences, life lessons, and visions for the future.
Grace Francisco
Grace Francisco is an avid kickboxer, tennis player, home chef, and the VP of Developer Relations here at Roblox! Teaching herself programming while working through college, Grace proves that no goal is out of reach with enough passion and determination. “I graduated cum laude with a Bachelors in Business Management,” says Grace. “In the same year, I was also awarded best Systems Engineer for Borland in my district.”
Grace joined Roblox when a recruiter reached out to her for an executive opportunity. “Over the course of a few months, it became clear Roblox was the best next step in my career. I was particularly attracted to the opportunity to work with such a young, ambitious developer audience as well as taking on the new challenge of establishing the Roblox Education initiative.”
She credits letting go of perfection as a key career learning. “Perfectionism prevented me from learning and growing – without failure, it is difficult to really grow. It means you aren’t taking the risks necessary to really innovate and find new solutions when you go down the ‘safe path’.”
To women hoping to succeed in fields like Developer Relations, she advises: “Keep investing in your technology skills but equally invest in building core skills – what we often refer to as ‘soft skills’ – communication, negotiation, relationship building, presentation skills – those will carry you far no matter what role you take.”
Shreya Ramamurthy
Shreya Ramamurthy graduated from the University of Southern California with a major in Economics and minor in Mobile App Development. Here at Roblox, Shreya is one of the Product Managers for Developer Tools, Studio, and International.
On her journey to Roblox, Shreya tells us, “I was introduced to Roblox through a friend in my dad’s professional network. I hadn’t heard about Roblox before, but after reading about it I was drawn to the company because of the breadth of the product.” The developer community is something in particular that keeps Shreya motivated and pushing forward in her career, she explains: “The amount of engineering and business talent that these young developers possess continuously pushes us to make Roblox Studio better and better.”
The greatest lesson Shreya’s learned is this: fail quickly. “It sounds like a cliché and while my professional career hasn’t been too long, I already know that this will be the best lesson I have learned. Failure is inevitable, especially as an entry-level professional, so failing fast, accepting those failures, and having the opportunity to learn quickly is worth the risk.”
Shreya offers these words of encouragement: “Don’t get discouraged. Even though the number of women in tech is growing fast, there’s a chance that you may find yourself to be the only girl in the room. It’s important to make sure that does not discourage you, but instead, empowers you to prove yourself. And honestly, I’m also a young woman trying to figure it all out so any advice is welcome.”
Kelly Langstaff
At Roblox, Kelly Langstaff is part of our Marketing and Brand Creative teams. When she’s not in the office, she loves food and cooking, reading, and playing with her cat Minerva. Kelly studied film and animation at New York University and began working in creative marketing for children’s television programming.
Kelly was introduced to Roblox by a child she was babysitting. “The little boy I babysat at the time was super excited to show me this cool game he was playing on his iPad ‘where you can do anything you want.’ That game was on Roblox, and lucky for me, they were hiring.”
The most influential women for Kelly are those who balance their careers and families. “It’s so hard to do both and I am amazed by leaders in our company and industry that manage to have a family, a meaningful career, and be a nice person all at the same time. Women are incredibly generous with their time, and that inspires me.”
Kelly believes women are changing the gaming, tech, and entertainment industries by supporting each other in their careers. “When we have the opportunity, we need to give others the chances that were given to us.”
Andrea Fletcher
Andrea Fletcher is a Full-Stack Engineer who graduated from Georgia Tech with a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and minors in Computing and Management. “I’m passionate about education and accessibility, and in my spare time I like to play volleyball, rock climb, and really anything else that involves spending time with friends,” she says.
Andrea found Roblox when a recruiter reached out to her during her job search. “What drew me to Roblox was the fact that anyone can learn how to use our platform, build games, and actually turn a profit while learning valuable skills (coding) that can help secure jobs in the future. Coding is one of the only skills you don’t need a certification or school to prove you can do it – you can show someone what you’ve built and let it speak for itself.”
Andrea is more inspired by the people close to her than public celebrity role models. “I’m inspired by my mother’s strength, my sister’s energy, my friend Lien’s thoughtfulness, and my coworker Shreya’s rigor.”
These are just a few of the amazing women here at Roblox paving the way for players, developers, and creators everywhere to dream bigger and soar higher. If you share their drive, vision, and imagination, there’s always a place for you at Roblox. Check out our current openings here for roles in Data Science, Automation Engineering, Product Management, and more.