Urmila Nadkarni

About Urmila Nadkarni

Headway is hiring! Come help us build a mental health system that everyone can access.*Senior Staff Engineer who thrives at the messy intersection of technical and business problems that defines growth-stage startups. My work centers on figuring out what actually matters, shaping a path forward, and delivering the systems that carry the business. I care just as much about sharpening how we hire, growing others through feedback and sponsorship, and occasionally stirring the pot to make the team and culture stronger.Outside of work, I’m a parent, which means everything I do is grounded in rigorous prioritization, and in helping systems and orgs grow past individual heroics to collective resilience.

Experience

1. Senior Staff Software Engineer

   Headway

   Apr 2023 — Present · Seattle, WA, US

   As a senior staff engineer, I often play a solver role, embedding with teams that need technical direction and a clear path forward. As Headway has grown, I’ve had the opportunity to work in every part of our engineering org - from our core insurance engine to our patient and provider products, and from trust (privacy and security) to platform infrastructure and internal developer experience- I clarify problem spaces, shape technical strategy, and guide execution across teams- Building remains a core part of how I lead. I allocate 25–75% of my time to owning and shipping production systems, depending on the project.Alongside this, I\'m part of Headway’s eng leadership team, reporting to the CTO and helping scale our systems and culture through rapid growth- I co-lead company-wide tech strategy and facilitate our staff+ IC group, helping align our most senior engineers around shared principles, architectural decisions, and org-wide focus areas- I mentor senior and staff engineers as they grow into broader scope, offering support on technical strategy, influence, and execution at the next level- I designed and own key components of our eng interview process, including our behavioral interview, staff engineer interview, and debrief process, and serve as a DRI on hiring decisions (similar to Amazon’s Bar Raiser)- As a trusted IC-leadership bridge, I help strengthen org health by translating strategy in IC spaces, surfacing friction and needs to leadership, and shaping action across both.

Education

• University of Technology Sydney

  Bachelor's Degree, Information Technology

  2003 — 2005