2018 Winner
Vanitha Kumar
Vice President, Engineering
Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.
Vanitha Kumar is a Vice President of Software Engineering at Qualcomm Technologies Incorporated. Vanitha holds a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Northeastern University, and a Bachelor of Electronics & Communication Engineering degree from PSG College of Technology, India. Vanitha has 20 years of experience in the wireless telecommunications industry and in embedded software architecture, design, and development. She has also contributed actively to cellular technology standards. In her current role, Vanitha leads the modem SW air interface technology including 5G, 4G-LTE, and Cellular IoT across multiple global locations. She also has vast experience leading multiple generations of Qualcomm chipsets and working closely with customers, vendors and cellular carriers to enable the launch of many devices. She has about 132 granted patents in the US & abroad.
Vanitha is passionate about the role of women in science and technology. She is on the board of Qualcomm Foundation in charge of Corporate Giving. She is also on the board of Elementary Institute of Science which is a non-profit organization that focuses on developing exposure and interest in STEM careers among young children. Vanitha also coaches science Olympiad, Math and Robotics teams at her daughter’s school.