In a time when most women professionals dream of climbing up the administrative and managerial roles, there are a few who would like to excel in core technology work and Roopashree HM, Manager, Analog EDA & Technology Infrastructure, Texas Instruments India is one of them. With over 14 years of experience behind her, there are hardly any arenas in circuit designs that Roopashree has probably not ventured into.

Hailing from Bangalore, Roopashree started her career in 1996 with Texas Instruments post her BE Degree in Electronics & Communications from Mysore University. She started off with Memory Group that was into full chip design, all the way from specs to delivery. Very few companies in India at that time offered circuit design, let alone full chip design. The first year provided a strong learning platform and also involved a 6-month stint at the company headquarters in Dallas, allowing her to do high-end designing and work on the latest technologies.

In late 1998, Roopashree moved to the ASIC group in TI. Here is where she grew as a leader based on highly valued technical work that she did and continued doing. The wireless sector had just begun to boom and she led a small group designing IPs for Digital Signal Processors and Wireless.

Two years later she took up a managerial role with four people and grew it to 8. The most satisfying part of the role for Roopashree was the ability to be involved technically while focusing on the people aspect. "It is the best part of working in an organization like TI since one does not have to choose between two roles. I have been able to take up managerial roles and still be involved technically," she explains.

2004 was the turning point for Roopashree both personally and career-wise. She had her first baby in 2002 and had taken six months off. When she returned, she was still pressed with priorities on the personal front and required a few more months to set things right. But she was hesitant about taking time off since she was unsure if the company could grant her leave of absence and if she would be able to come back to work. After some hesitation, she approached her managers and was given permission. This incident had a great impact on Roopashree. "When I returned back to work, I was much more confident and it reflected in my work as I felt I was much more efficient. This effectiveness was recognized when I was asked to take up enhanced responsibility a couple of months later. Looking back I realized how much faith my managers had in me. Such gestures do wonders to the credibility of the organization", she says. Roopashree has grown at TI from a Lead Engineer, to a Project leader and later to the position of Engineering Manager for an IP group over a span of 7 years. Her new roles involved leading IP design teams that were spread across U.S. and India which she later consolidated into one team.