Vania Kurniawati is a product leader at Meta with more than 15 years of experience leading large-scale initiatives across technology, operations, customer experience, and product development. Her career has included roles at several Fortune 100 companies, including Amazon, Disney, American Express, and Meta, where she has focused on building products and experiences that serve customers at scale.
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Key quotes
“You really only need one person to let you in, so you really only need one chance to get in. So I would say it's totally worth it.”
Vania Kurniawati, Technical Program Manager at Meta
“It feels like you don't see people like yourself in positions of power and executive leadership positions, and so sometimes it's kind of hard to visualize yourself in those roles.”
Vania Kurniawati, Technical Program Manager at Meta
“I didn't sit right with me, but at the same time I also didn't want to make a big deal out of it in front of all these people and the senior leadership. So I just said sure, I'll work with you — and then I told my manager about it.”
Vania Kurniawati, Technical Program Manager at Meta
“I think you just can't change the culture of the company, so you need to find something that works for you.”
Vania Kurniawati, Technical Program Manager at Meta
“I heard that it takes 21 days to form a habit, and so after I found the third week still to be really painful to go to work, I decided that was not for me.”
Vania Kurniawati, Technical Program Manager at Meta
Career highlights
You don't need a technical degree to work in tech — curiosity and adaptability matter more.
Vania has a degree in industrial engineering but says her technical ability came from personal curiosity, not her coursework. She notes that even large tech companies like Facebook have hired people without four-year degrees.
Breaking into tech is hard and often unfair — but you only need one chance, so keep trying.
Despite having Disney and American Express on her résumé, Vania struggled to get interviews at tech companies because she hadn't worked at a tech company before. She says the hiring process is 'very broken' but emphasizes that one opportunity is all it takes.
If something feels off at work — like a micro-aggression — you don't have to blow it up publicly. Talk to your manager.
At Amazon, someone asked Vania to schedule a meeting just because she was the only woman in the room. She quietly told her manager, who addressed it, and that person later became one of her biggest advocates.
Find a company culture that fits you — you can't change a company's culture, so pick wisely.
Vania worked at Microsoft, Amazon, and Facebook and says all three have very different cultures. She learned that trying to fight a culture that doesn't fit is exhausting and not worth it.
It's okay to quit something that isn't working — early, if needed.
Vania left her very first job at a manufacturing plant after just three weeks because she dreaded going in every day. That decision led her to supply chain at Boeing and eventually to tech.
The fast feedback loop in tech is a real advantage — you can see the impact of your decisions almost immediately.
Vania contrasts her time in supply chain, where she'd learn about mistakes weeks later, with her work at Facebook, where she can see users drop off or conversion change almost right away — which helps her grow faster.