Boomie Odumade
Senior Engineering Leader | Career Coach | Speaker & Board Member
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
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Boomie Odumade is a senior engineering leader and career coach with 20+ years of experience building and scaling engineering teams and systems. Through TechBees, she works with companies as a fractional or interim CTO/VPE, bringing clarity to ambiguous situations and building foundations that scale.
Boomie has led engineering organizations at companies including Accenture, NPR, and Capital One, startups, and scale-ups. She also serves as a board trustee for organizations advancing leadership development and STEM education.
Her talks are grounded in real experience and bring an energetic, practical perspective to engineering leadership, technical strategy, security and DevSecOps, and building healthy, inclusive engineering cultures.
Area of Expertise
Topics
AdaMarie Professional Network - Expert (2026 Cohort)
AdaMarie Expert · Contributing to AdaMarie's year-long Career Accelerator program as a 2026 Expert, focused on early-career and rising STEM professionals.
Deliverables throughout the year include LinkedIn Live fireside chats, recorded sessions, blog content, and social media - all centered on helping fellows and the public make confident career decisions, build range, and lead sustainably. Topics span career planning under uncertainty, building beyond your job description, and operating with greater clarity and confidence.
To follow content from Boomie and other AdaMarie Experts: https://linkedin.com/company/adamarie/ |
https://instagram.com/weareadamarie/
Women of Color in STEM Virtual Summit (Feb 2026)
Speaker · Talk titled "Why Mid-Career Feels Harder Than It Should."
Many women of color reach mid-career doing strong work and carrying real responsibility - yet still feel stalled, stretched thin, or unsure why things feel harder than they should. This talk offered an honest reframe: exploring why early-career strategies often stop working, what effective self-advocacy actually looks like at this stage, and how to make more intentional choices about where you invest your energy. The session generated an extended, energetic Q&A.
Tech Mentor Hangout: Visiola Foundation (Dec 2025)
Mentor Speaker · Returned to Visiola Foundation’s tech boot camp to speak with a new cohort of girls and young women exploring STEM. Delivered a 40-minute talk followed by Q&A, focusing on practical advice, encouragement, and career insights. An ongoing mentorship role since 2022.
Event recap from a previous cohort: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7331675267863617536/
Herding Squirrels Podcast (Nov 2025)
Podcast Guest · Joined the Herding Squirrels podcast to discuss the balancing act of engineering leadership.
Full Episode: https://herdingsquirrels.substack.com/p/herding-squirrels-ep-18-w-boomie?r=hljhr
From Idea to Acceptance: How to Craft a Standout Tech Talk Proposal (Nov 2025)
Panelist · Joined a panel focused on helping technologists craft effective conference proposals and grow their speaking presence. Discussed strategies for choosing topics, writing compelling CfPs, and building confidence on stage.
Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5xnl49b0Gc
OWASP Global AppSec USA (Nov 2025)
Speaker · Talk titled “Two Paths to Security Upskilling: Startup and Enterprise”.
Engineers are on the front lines of secure software, but many teams struggle to find the time, budget, or buy-in to upskill them on secure coding and DevSecOps. In this talk, two engineering leaders shared how we tackled security education in very different environments: one in a large enterprise, the other in smaller, resource-constrained companies moving fast.
Link to video will be shared when available but is currently available to OWASP members.
LeadDev+LeadingEng NY 2025 (Oct 2025)
I was grateful to contribute as:
• (LeadDev) One of the facilitators for the "making technical decisions that balance benefits and tradeoffs" table talk
• (LeadDev) Co-host for the Connecting Black Leaders CRG
• (LeadingEng) Moderator for the Next Steps AMA panels on reaching VP of Engineering and CTO
DevOpsDays DC (Sep 2025)
Ignite Speaker · Talk titled “Humans Don’t Auto-Scale: Lessons in Growing Teams and Tech.” In this ignite, I shared fast, practical lessons from scaling both platforms and people at the same time, under pressure and with real stakes. From aligning humans to avoiding tech chaos, shared bite-sized insights for growing without burning out your team, your culture, or your systems.
Ignite talks features 20 auto-advancing slides every 15 seconds.
Watch the 5-minute video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t374ukVFfAI
CodeSecCon (Aug 2025)
Speaker · Delivered a talk titled “Security Enablement Isn’t Just Shifting Left — It’s Teaching Right” at CodeSecCon 2025. This talk explored the often-overlooked side of secure development: how we teach it. Drawing on coaching experience and engineering leadership, I unpacked why traditional security training often fails and how to design learning moments that developers actually retain and apply.
Sierra Leoneans in Technology Expo (May 2025): SLinT
Fireside Chat Moderator · Moderated a session titled “Building Pathways for HER to Lead, Innovate, and Thrive” with Kaprece James, MPA. Focused on creating intentional opportunities to help girls and young women not just enter, but thrive and lead in STEM fields. Explored inclusive investment, mentorship, and cross-sector collaboration as strategies for long-term retention and empowerment.
Watch a short clip on allyship (under 1 minute): https://www.youtube.com/clip/UgkxjZnTUBneaC38PNYJ4Zh7PNxIt9CCAdkO
Full session: ~6:26:45 to 7:00:00 in the event livestream
Event website: https://slint.org/slinttechexpo/
Engineering Leaders AMA (March 2025): Leopard.FYI
Panelist · One of two panelists in an open AMA for the Leopard.FYI community. Topics included:
- Finding and sustaining great mentorships
- Balancing startup ventures with full-time work
- Unconventional career advice
- Hot takes on software engineering
- Audience Q&A on a variety of engineering topics
Odyssey Guest Speaker Series (February 2025): Security Journey
Guest Speaker · Delivered a talk titled “Security Training Can Be Seen as a Win” for the Security Journey Odyssey Group. Shared how engineering leaders can build developer buy-in, right-size initiatives, and drive adoption by framing security training as both a strategic enabler and a meaningful win, rather than just a checkbox. Grounded in real-world experiences.
Event recap: https://tinyurl.com/boomie-sj-recap
DC CTO Club Monthly Meeting (November 2024)
Speaker · Presented “Whoa, I’m Biased: Reducing Bias for Effective Workplaces” at DC CTO Club.
A 45-minute interactive session for senior engineering leaders exploring how bias shows up across the employee lifecycle and how mindful choices create more effective environments. Topic selected by organizers from several proposals.
DevOpsDays DC (September 2024): DevOpsDays
Ignite Speaker · Gave a 5-minute Ignite talk titled “Strategically Handling Tech Debt in Your Platform.” Explained how to make the case for addressing tech debt in platform systems, especially when it impacts reliability and delivery. Shared six practical tips and a real-world example of a Terraform refactor to illustrate how to navigate resistance and build momentum.
Ignite talks feature 20 auto-advancing slides every 15 seconds.
Watch the talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2YaqnPVseg&list=PL0Ec9C2zxcYGMQ1gNNzwVo9l6ZikXjXxm&index=7
LeadDev New York (September 2024): LeadDev
Panelist · Spoke on the panel “Diving Into the Role of Engineering Director” at LeadDev New York. Shared real-world insights about the transition into engineering director roles, including challenges, mindset shifts, and how the role differs from other engineering leadership positions.
How to Have Empowering Performance Reviews (August 2024): Tech Leader Chats by Multitudes
Speaker · Gave a talk for the Tech Leader Chats series by Multitudes on how to make performance reviews more empowering, fair, and future-focused. Shared actionable strategies for building trust, reducing bias, and making reviews a growth opportunity rather than just an evaluation.
Summary and recording: https://www.multitudes.com/blog/tech-leader-chats-how-to-have-empowering-performance-reviews-with-olubunmi-boomie-odumade
Parenthood via Adoption (August 2024): NextGen Work Culture Podcast
Podcast Guest · Appeared on the NextGen Work Culture Podcast to share my experience with adoptive parenthood and how workplaces can better support different paths to parenting.
Listen to the episode: https://www.kortneyross.com/boomie/
Creating a Positive Adoption Experience (July 2024): Parentaly Podcast
Podcast Guest · Joined the Parentaly Podcast to discuss how companies can better support adoptive parents. Shared practical steps for creating a more inclusive and supportive experience before, during, and after adoption leave.
Listen to the episode: https://www.parentaly.com/podcast-episode/e22-adoption
ELEVATE Conference (June 2024): Girl Geek X
Speaker · Presented “Reducing Bias in the Workplace” at the Girl Geek X ELEVATE Conference. Explored how bias shows up across the employee lifecycle, from recruiting to separation, and how “mindful choices” can be applied at each stage.
The topic was selected by organizers from several proposals.
Watch the talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iAgeOjd5j8
Excel, Lead, Empower (May 2024): From a Woman to a Leader Podcast
Podcast Guest · Featured on the “From a Woman to a Leader” podcast in the episode “Excel, Lead, Empower: A Conversation with Boomie Odumade.” Shared leadership lessons, career insights, and personal stories from my journey in tech.
Listen to the episode: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/limor-bergman-gross/episodes/Excel--Lead--Empower-A-Conversation-with-Boomie-Odumade-e2j5gqo
Job Search Wins & Lessons (March 2024): Leopard.FYI
Panelist · One of two panelists sharing job search wins and lessons from early 2024. Covered practical strategies, setbacks, and surprises from recent tech job hunts.
Scale Yourself as a Leader (October 2022): SheTO
Panelist · Joined another senior leader for a SheTO conversation on “Scale Yourself as a Leader,” sharing practical approaches to growing your impact while staying sustainable.
Blog recap: https://www.sheto.org/blog/scaling-as-a-leader
ELC Annual (April 2022): Engineering Leadership Community
Roundtable Leader · Led a discussion on “Establishing Positive and Productive Relationships with Direct Reports” at ELC Annual 2022. Facilitated peer sharing and practical strategies among engineering leaders.
International Women's Day (March 2022): Visiola Foundation
Panel Moderator · Moderated a four-person panel during the Visiola Foundation’s International Women’s Day 2022 event, guiding a conversation focused on career growth, leadership, and STEM empowerment.
Event details: https://www.visiolafoundation.org/join-us-on-march-8th-to-celebrate-international-womens-day-2022/
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