Gayle Laakmann McDowell

Gayle Laakmann McDowell was born in 1982. She is a founder, software engineer, and author. She is known for a series of career development books, Cracking the Coding Interview, Cracking the PM Interview, Cracking the Tech Career and The Google Resume.

McDowell was educated at the Episcopal Academy and the University of Pennsylvania where she was awarded Bachelor of Engineering (BSE) and Master of Engineering (MSE) degrees in Computer Science in 2005.

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. McDowell subsequently founded her own business, which helps people prepare for interviews at tech companies.

First published in 2008, her book Cracking the Coding Interview provides guidance on technical job interviews, and includes solutions to example coding interview questions. She has also published books on Cracking the PM Interview (for product managers: PMs), and Cracking the Tech Career. Her work has been covered widely in the press including coverage in The New York Times, The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, U.S. News & World Report, and Fast Company.

Gayle earned a BSE/MSE in Computer Science in the Class of 2012. She studied as an undergraduate and as a graduate at University of Pennsylvania, earning a Master's Degree in Business Administration from Wharton Business School in the Class of 2011. McDowell gave the graduation speech at the University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science Masters Commencement in 2016.

In addition to running the Career Cup website/forum and writing books, she consults with startups to help them through acquisition interviews and with other tech companies on their engineering hiring process.