Ep. 49 | Driven and Connected, Arm VP Talks Intersection of Automotive and IoT

Dipti Vachani fell in love with technology during her high school years when the idea of being able to write code and magically make something do what she wanted amazed her. Her programming skills, typing speed, and…...running ability?...helped her win computer science contests around the nation. This was just the beginning of a remarkable career that is still going strong.

After graduating from Texas A&M with a BS in Computer Engineering where she was the only woman in her graduating class, Dipti spent 17 years at Texas Instruments. During her time at TI, she worked on numerous projects including automotive audio systems and low-power digital signal processors. As she worked her way up to a Vice President role, Dipti also led the creation of TI’s Sitara brand of Arm microprocessors.

In this podcast, Dipti reflects fondly on that early work:

“It was fun and no day was the same. You came in and you took technology to solve problems for your customers…and when you figured it out and they were happy, it felt like joy, like you accomplished something.” 

Now, in her current role at Arm, Dipti is helping bring the automotive and IoT worlds together as they both begin “to look like a network of networks.” With IoT, Arm is looking to transform every industry including industrial, retail, home, cars, and agriculture. 

While Dipti is active in mentoring younger women in engineering, in this interview she provides important guidance for all engineers about setting boundaries in your career and knowing when it might be time to move on to another position.

Other highlights from this lively episode include:

-How corporate “frenemies” must come together to grow markets

-The important distinction between mentorship and advocacy, particularly as it relates to women in engineering

-Why Arm is the place for Vachani as she looks to leave a legacy

-The “Junk in the trunk” of automotive compute applications