My Background
With 25 years in the Software Development Industry, Darva Satcher is the Director of Engineering at GitLab, bringing extensive expertise from her early career in a startup to managing federal software teams. As a Dual Degree Engineering alumna of Spelman College and Georgia Institute of Technology, Darva's foundation is deeply rooted in all aspects of the Software Development Life Cycle.
Transitioning from hands-on development to management, she earned an MS in Software Engineering and led the establishment of a remote Software Development team for the Federal Government.
In her current role at GitLab, Darva oversees Fullstack, Frontend, and Backend Engineering Managers, driving high-caliber team recruitment and ensuring product delivery. Her trailblazing career reflects a commitment to innovation, leadership, and navigating the evolving landscape of open-source development.
Experience
2019 - Current
Director of Engineering
GitLab Inc.
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Oversees global teams working in a tech stack featuring Rails, C#, Java, Go, Vue.js, and TypeScript. Organization included 30+ remote team members globally distributed who built DevSecOps tools for software engineers. These tools empower software engineers in code creation, versioning, review, collaboration, access control, and AI-driven code completion, code generation and many more features, fostering an environment for efficient, collaborative, and swift development for Customers.
2023-Current
Corporate Advisory Board Member
CODE 2 COLLEGE NON PROFIT
Provide strategic guidance and leveraging my tech community expertise to support an empowering program. This initiative focuses on economic empowerment, college access, and workforce development, addressing STEM attrition among underrepresented students through three core pillars: Education, Exposure, and Experience. My responsibilities include facilitating training sessions, hosting professional skills workshops, and providing mentorship opportunities, ultimately shaping the future of diverse talent in STEM.
2008-2019
Engineering Manager
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS & TECHNOLOGY (NIST)
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Initiated and cultivated the growth of a software development team, starting from scratch and expanding it to encompass a team of 12 members. This team enhanced workplace safety of the NIST scientists by creating a suite of internal tools, including applications for Incident Management, Safety Training, and a comprehensive Chemical Inventory database, among others using Rails, C# and SharePoint. Additionally, my role involved leading and mentoring both engineers and engineering managers, fostering a collaborative and productive work environment. These efforts paved the way for the development of a comprehensive safety management system.