Today’s woman in Tech: Sarah Boen, Director of Strategic Technology and ASICs at Tektronix
Sarah is a technologist with 20+ years of industry experience across semiconductors, communications, education, and defense markets. In her current role as the Director of Strategy Technology and ASICs, she is responsible for driving technology innovation for test and measurement solutions that accelerate the realization of essential technology. Her previous roles include GM Wired Communications, Marketing Manager, and Software Engineer. She has a Master of Business Administration and Bachelor of Science Computer Science from The University of Portland.
When did you become interested in technology? What first got you interested in tech?
I’ve always been interested in technology. When I was young, I remember when ATARI® came out and my mom gifted me a Commodore 64®. I just thought it was the coolest thing, so my mom supported that interest by ensuring we had a computer. I was also in Girls Scouts and vividly remember wanting to earn the Computer Badge for technology. It was always just a passion that I’ve been attracted to from a young age. Games like The Oregon Trail, Asteroids, and Lemonade Stand were titles that I also enjoyed playing when I was younger. When I was a junior in high school, I participated in classes like drafting and computer programming as elective courses. It was a very “boys-oriented” environment in the ‘90s, as we only had two girls, including myself, that were in these programming and technology courses. When it was time for me to decide on what I’d want to study in college, technology was just a natural fit for the interests that I had built. Computer Science to me was fun and I enjoyed it a lot.
Let’s talk about your background. How did you end up in your career path? What obstacles did you have to overcome?
I started working as a software engineer with internal software at Tektronix but wanted to get involved with functions that were more customer-facing. The customer service aspect was something that I really enjoyed. By talking to customers to understand their pain points and designing solutions, it allowed Tek to design solutions to allow them to do their jobs effectively. So, I made the decision to go back to school for my master’s degree in business. My amazing manager was very supportive when I made the decision to return to school. Once I graduated, I took a role on Tek’s marketing team which was heavily focused on electronics testing. The team was mainly comprised of electronic engineers who had physics backgrounds. This opportunity gave me the chance to really explore other areas in marketing for Tektronix and understand the breadth of our portfolios. After spending some time truly working with customers, I realized that I missed being involved with technology. I love to dream so I wanted to reconnect with what the future would look like and how technology could help enable innovations of those visions. Being able to be a part of efforts to think about what’s possible with technology trends is very intriguing to me, especially where these trends align through an economic and environmental lens. Taking a deep look at where these trends converge and how technology will prepare society for them is very exciting to me.
Continue reading: https://jaxenter.com/women-in-tech-boen-176666.html
Sarah is a technologist with 20+ years of industry experience across semiconductors, communications, education, and defense markets. In her current role as the Director of Strategy Technology and ASICs, she is responsible for driving technology innovation for test and measurement solutions that accelerate the realization of essential technology. Her previous roles include GM Wired Communications, Marketing Manager, and Software Engineer. She has a Master of Business Administration and Bachelor of Science Computer Science from The University of Portland.
When did you become interested in technology? What first got you interested in tech?
I’ve always been interested in technology. When I was young, I remember when ATARI® came out and my mom gifted me a Commodore 64®. I just thought it was the coolest thing, so my mom supported that interest by ensuring we had a computer. I was also in Girls Scouts and vividly remember wanting to earn the Computer Badge for technology. It was always just a passion that I’ve been attracted to from a young age. Games like The Oregon Trail, Asteroids, and Lemonade Stand were titles that I also enjoyed playing when I was younger. When I was a junior in high school, I participated in classes like drafting and computer programming as elective courses. It was a very “boys-oriented” environment in the ‘90s, as we only had two girls, including myself, that were in these programming and technology courses. When it was time for me to decide on what I’d want to study in college, technology was just a natural fit for the interests that I had built. Computer Science to me was fun and I enjoyed it a lot.
Let’s talk about your background. How did you end up in your career path? What obstacles did you have to overcome?
I started working as a software engineer with internal software at Tektronix but wanted to get involved with functions that were more customer-facing. The customer service aspect was something that I really enjoyed. By talking to customers to understand their pain points and designing solutions, it allowed Tek to design solutions to allow them to do their jobs effectively. So, I made the decision to go back to school for my master’s degree in business. My amazing manager was very supportive when I made the decision to return to school. Once I graduated, I took a role on Tek’s marketing team which was heavily focused on electronics testing. The team was mainly comprised of electronic engineers who had physics backgrounds. This opportunity gave me the chance to really explore other areas in marketing for Tektronix and understand the breadth of our portfolios. After spending some time truly working with customers, I realized that I missed being involved with technology. I love to dream so I wanted to reconnect with what the future would look like and how technology could help enable innovations of those visions. Being able to be a part of efforts to think about what’s possible with technology trends is very intriguing to me, especially where these trends align through an economic and environmental lens. Taking a deep look at where these trends converge and how technology will prepare society for them is very exciting to me.
Continue reading: https://jaxenter.com/women-in-tech-boen-176666.html
