Ruth Seltzer
Sr Engineering Director, Google Flights and Travel
Google - We organize the world's data and make it findable and accessible.
I manage a team of 170 Software Engineers who create applications to help users to travel. In particular, my team helps users who are planning travel and want to fly or take a train to find itineraries and prices and plan their trips.
I love helping my team to solve problems. Over 150 million users use my products every day. I love the idea that my team built something that is helping so many people.
I do a mix of things from helping my teams to decide what to build, to reviewing technical designs, to helping people to communicate better and to grow as engineers and as leaders.
I started out as a Software Engineer writing code for products. I advanced through several levels as an engineer, a manager, and then a Director. I've worked at both large and small companies. My goal is to always be learning something new at each company and in each job.
I'm always focused on how to make my products better and more useful. I'm also focused on how to help people on my team be more effective and grow.
I love to read, to bake, and to ski with my kids. We do a lot of large family vacations with cousins, grandparents, and aunts and uncles.
I have several favorite quotes. 1. "Creativity is intelligence having fun." ~ Albert Einstein 2. "We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or we can rejoice because thorn bushes have roses." ~ Abraham Lincoln 3. "Set a goal so big that you can’t achieve it until you grow into the kind of person who can." ~ Anonymous 4. "Be so busy loving your life that you have no time for hate, regret or fear.” ~ Karen Salmansohn