Women in Tech: Roberta Aquila, IT Specialist, Digitra.com

Oith 15 years of experience in the computer industry, Roberta Aquila works at Digitra.com as a Site Reliability Engineer (SRE). We sat down with Roberta to learn more about her role as well as her advice for those interested in getting involved in the crypto and tech space.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your role at Digitra.com?

I’ve been in the IT industry for over a decade, but had a passion for computers and technology when I was a kid. In high school, I took computer classes so I could start working early in software development. After obtaining a technological base in high school, I went to FIAP where I specialized in computer engineering.

At Digitra.com, I am part of the SRE (Site Reliability Engineering) team, where I am responsible for automating our cloud infrastructure and keeping our systems healthy and reliable by applying modern monitoring and observability.

How did you become involved in the crypto space?

My first contact with crypto dates back about five years. I was working with my current manager at another company, and he was leaving to start a new opportunity at a crypto startup. I had heard of it before but did not delve into it because at that time I was unaware of how big the crypto world was getting. Right after, I started working in a bank and got interested in investments and started to understand the cryptocurrency universe and its projection.

How has technology influenced your role at Digitra.com?

Technology is not only vital to the fulfillment of the cryptocurrency universe, but also to Digitra.com as a business. Serving as an international and entirely remote company, Digitra.com couldn’t even exist if it didn’t also breathe technology. The SRE team uses the flexibility of the cloud combined with security, monitoring and high availability. Technology helps us maintain our infrastructure, quickly change our applications into the production environment, and even facilitate our meetings and decision-making processes.

During your career, what challenges have you encountered and had to overcome?

Working in IT can be tough. Finding our space and demonstrating our competence takes a lot more effort than just being on the cutting edge of technology. I had to reinforce my love for technology to help me overcome certain challenges. I seek to be listened to, not just heard, and I want my opinions to be respected and taken seriously. A lot of times I’ve been taught something that I already know, that people think I don’t already know because I’m a woman. I have cultivated a very strong mind to overcome the stereotype that the technological space is not suitable for my gender.

What advice would you give to people who want to work in the crypto industry or want to take on a role in the tech sector?

When working in technology, it is essential to prioritize resilience. One day you study a language or a model, and another day it is outdated or appears with a different structure and better performance. For the crypto industry, it is important to understand the economics behind the cryptocurrency universe and how blockchain works. Next, dig deeper into the architecture of major cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, and the decentralized monetary system.