10.13.22 Forging your Path as a Women in Tech: A Panel Discussion hosted by MongoDB

MongoDB
October 16, 2022 | Updated: October 17, 2024

How the Atlas Search Team Empowers Engineers: Meet Nolan Lum

To take advantage of the benefits of having a modern database, MongoDB users need the ability to search and filter quickly against their dataset. Nolan Lum is a senior software engineer on MongoDB’s Atlas Search team where she helps create the fastest and easiest way to build relevance-based search capabilities directly into applications. I spoke with Nolan about what it is like to grow her career on the engineering team at MongoDB. Keep reading to learn about her experience and why the Atlas Search team offers great career opportunities for people with all sorts of backgrounds. Jackie Denner: Thanks for sharing more about your experience today, Nolan. To start, can you share some experiences that brought you to where you are now at MongoDB? Nolan Lum: My first experience with software engineering was in high school, and I continued to study computer science at UC Berkeley. After graduation, I worked at technology companies as a software engineer for over three and a half years. I have worked as a software engineer at MongoDB for almost two years now. I’m currently contributing to the Atlas Search team. JD: Tell me about Atlas Search. What is Atlas Search and how does that fit into the bigger picture at MongoDB? NL: Atlas Search is part of MongoDB Atlas. Atlas Search takes the data stored in MongoDB and indexes it for full-text search. It is a separate Java executable that currently runs alongside MongoDB. It replicates the data users store in MongoDB and makes it available for relevance-based, full-text search. JD: What kind of projects does the team work on? NL: The team is tackling search-related challenges from a variety of perspectives. From the product perspective, we are working on indexing data so that it is quickly accessible and scalable and making the experience of searching and using your database faster and better than using off-the-shelf solutions . From the engineering perspective, we’re solving challenges like how to handle data consistency or whether we should provide guarantees on what data you read back from us versus the database. JD: Tell me about an Atlas search project or feature that you've worked on. NL: I worked on a feature called Resumable Initial Sync that aimed to optimize a process in our replication subsystem. The original Initial Sync process would restart from scratch if another action caused it to pause, increasing the overall time to finish the sync. I updated the process to be resumable, so users can pick up where their initial sync left off after a sync interruption. This internal update helps our users have a better experience using MongoDB. It was a fun technical challenge because I had to think carefully about which asynchronous operations were happening in which order to ensure we accurately represented our place in the overall replication process. I'm proud that we were able to ship this feature update without creating any bugs or losing anyone’s data. Our team has good processes in place to ensure that we ship defect-free software as quickly as possible. JD: What do you like about working on the Atlas Search team? NL: This team appeals to me because there are interesting challenges for every type of engineer. We offer opportunities for traditional engineering, product challenges, hard technical problems, and more. We likely have a project that interests you. I also like that I work with team members from different roles in addition to other engineers, which promotes learning and growth through the work process. While working with other engineers is important, I also value the information I learn from collaborating with other types of team members. For example, during the past couple of weeks, our product managers hosted talks highlighting two important use cases for us to consider. The information they shared helped the engineering team better understand which features are the most valuable to spend our time building. JD: It sounds like a collaborative environment. NL: It is, and to a greater degree than I've experienced in the past. We value working together. One of our shared company values addresses the concept of “disagree and commit.” I’ve heard some people question if that actually works in practice, but here I think it is working well. I see my co-workers disagree sometimes, but after we work toward a consensus, the team rallies around the solution to move forward together. JD: What is the leadership on the Atlas Search team like? NL: The team is organized in a way that allows everybody, including the managers, to succeed. Instead of traditional engineering manager roles, we have team leads who are both people managers and engineers. This works for our team because the technical managers are in touch with the team’s day-to-day challenges beyond setting roadmaps and planning meetings. The philosophy behind what it means to be a manager focuses on empowering engineers at the company to succeed and giving them the space to do that. I think we do a good job at that. JD: What has your personal experience been like working on the Atlas Search team? NL: My experience on the team has been shaped by the wide range of experience levels of my colleagues. Our team’s spirit of mentorship has given me the opportunity to learn from other engineers who are senior to me or who come from different backgrounds, which has helped me grow my own skills. I’ve also been impressed with how equal and diverse the retention is at MongoDB, which in turn helps me feel comfortable being myself at work. Taking into consideration that there are far fewer women engineers in the industry, when one female engineer leaves a company, it makes a proportionally higher difference in team diversity than her male counterpart. I’ve noticed that MongoDB spends extra attention on supporting and retaining women engineers to help keep an authentic, inclusive culture at our organization. JD: What stood out to you about MongoDB while you were interviewing to join the organization? NL: When I was interviewing at MongoDB, I was looking to work at a company that offered me growth opportunities and mentorship, and a fair and thoughtful approach to measuring performance. I wanted to contribute to an engineering organization with a positive culture that valued more than just shipping as many products as possible. JD: What was your experience during and after the hiring process at MongoDB? NL: At the time of our hiring conversation, I had almost four years of working experience, and I wanted to grow my career to recognize the increasingly advanced skills I had picked up. The conversations I had with MongoDB employees gave me the sense that the performance and team cultures were fair and that the potential for career advancement was available to me. After working here and observing other engineers here for two years, I am still impressed with how MongoDB values everyone’s performance equally and avoids the favoritism trap that so many tech company cultures fall into at scale. I was originally hired as a software engineer, and I have since been promoted to senior software engineer based on my performance. JD: Did you have search-focused engineering experience before working on the Atlas Search team? NL: Before joining this team, I didn't know a lot about search specifically. MongoDB’s engineering culture made ramping up a positive experience. Relevant experience is a plus, but if you’re interested in learning about search but don’t have specific experience in it, it’s not a dealbreaker against joining the team. I encourage people to apply even if their experience isn’t necessarily search-specific. Interested in transforming your career at MongoDB? We have several open roles on our teams across the globe!

October 13, 2022

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MongoDB Announces Leadership Transition

Dev Ittycheria, President and Chief Executive Officer, shared the following message with MongoDB employees this morning. This is the hardest email I have ever had to write to all of you. If you have not seen the announcement, I have decided to retire as CEO. Effective November 10, 2025, Chirantan “CJ” Desai will become the new CEO of MongoDB. This was not an easy decision for me. The process to get to this point has been deeply emotional, as I care profoundly about MongoDB and the people who have made the company what it is today. This news may come as a surprise, and for some, perhaps even a shock. That’s natural. Leadership transitions can evoke a range of reactions. I want to share why this is happening, and why it’s the right thing for MongoDB. Every personnel change, including the most senior leadership changes, involves two key decisions: first, recognizing that it is the right time for change, and second, selecting the best person to replace the person leaving. This email is intended to explain both decisions. Earlier this year, as part of our regular succession planning process, the Board and I discussed my long-term commitment. They asked if I would continue as CEO for another five years. After many conversations with my family and the Board, I realized I could not make that commitment. Some CEOs see their title as their identity. I do not. My core responsibility is to serve in the company's best interests. The company is primed for a new leader. One with a fresh perspective, grounded in experience and skills needed to guide MongoDB through its next evolution as a company, what we call MongoDB 3.0. Consequently, I informed the Board that I would commit to two more years to help find a successor. That began the search process for a suitable successor. To our surprise and delight, what we thought would easily take 12 to 24 months happened much faster than anyone expected. After engaging with multiple qualified candidates, we found the right successor in CJ. CJ is uniquely qualified for this role. CJ brings the rare growth-at-scale experience that will help continue to build MongoDB into an iconic technology company. At ServiceNow, he was the only executive to work directly with three of its highly regarded public company CEOs and played a pivotal role in organically scaling the company from just over $1 billion to more than $10 billion in revenue. Only a handful of independent software companies have ever reached that milestone. CJ helped transform ServiceNow from a product company to a platform company, scaled engineering, drove go-to-market excellence, and engaged deeply with investors. More recently, as President of Product and Engineering at Cloudflare, he helped fuel strong growth and stock performance. CJ also possesses the personal qualities needed to succeed as CEO. He is humble, eager to learn, and wants to draw on the perspectives of the people at MongoDB and other stakeholders to inform his thinking. This blend of experience, judgment, and character gives me full confidence that he is well-equipped to lead MongoDB through its next phase of growth. I often think of MongoDB’s journey as a long and extraordinary expedition. For the past eleven years, I have had the privilege of serving as its guide, helping chart the course, rally the team, and climb together through both calm and challenging terrain. Along the way, we have reached remarkable summits and proven what is possible through relentless innovation, persistence, and teamwork. Now it is time for a new guide to lead the next stage of the ascent and take MongoDB to even greater heights. CJ is the right leader to take MongoDB to the next summit. MongoDB is on a strong footing, with a clear strategy, an exceptional leadership team, a product platform that is more relevant than ever, and a business that is executing well. The rise of AI and the explosion of data-intensive applications play directly to MongoDB’s strengths. Our technology sits at the center of how modern applications are built and how organizations will harness data to power intelligent, adaptive systems. I am confident MongoDB is perfectly positioned to capture this next wave of innovation. As for me, I am not running away from MongoDB or leaving to join another company as CEO. I will remain on the Board and work closely with CJ to ensure a seamless transition. Over the years, this role has demanded an enormous amount of focus and energy; as a result, there are many things I’ve missed doing along the way. I’m looking forward to being more present for those moments — from simple time with my family to experiences and travel we’ve long put off. I plan to hold on to my MongoDB stock, as I firmly believe in the people and the opportunity, knowing that MongoDB’s best days are ahead of it. Yes, change can be unsettling. I’m sure you will have many questions about this change, such as why now, why CJ is the best person to lead the company, and what this means for you. We will hold an all-hands meeting tomorrow at 10:30AM ET to discuss this transition, introduce CJ and take your questions. That being said, I want to emphasize that the right change at the right time is how great companies get stronger. Just as a championship team refreshes its roster to stay competitive, MongoDB is bringing in new leadership, including other recent C-suite leaders who came before CJ, to drive our next phase of growth. This is not an ending; it’s the founding of a new moment. I am incredibly proud of what we have built together and genuinely excited about what lies ahead with CJ leading us forward. I also want to thank each of you for making this journey so meaningful. Words cannot fully capture my gratitude for your passion, creativity, and belief in building something truly special. I have often said that I want MongoDB to be an inflection point in people’s careers, a place where they can grow, take risks, and do the best work of their lives. I can say without hesitation that it has been exactly that for me. The skills I have developed, the experiences I have gained, and the relationships I have formed here have shaped me more than any other chapter in my professional life. I will carry them with me always, and will continue to cheer for and support MongoDB every step of the way. --Dev

November 3, 2025