Gayle Laakmann McDowell (born 1982)[1] is a software engineer and author.

After working as a software engineer for Google she joined a small venture capital-funded startup company as the Vice President (VP) of engineering before being awarded a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

[3] McDowell subsequently founded her own business, CareerCup.com, which helps people prepare for interviews at tech companies.

[8] Coverage of her books include The New York Times,[9] The Guardian,[10] The Wall Street Journal,[11] USA Today,[12] U.S. News & World Report,[13] and Fast Company.

[14] McDowell gave the graduation speech at the University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science Masters Commencement in 2016.