Irina Delidjakova: Building the Future

Transformation often starts with the fundamentals: a sturdy foundation and a blueprint for how to build upward and forward toward progress. It requires a return to first principles: reconsidering the most basic elements of a challenge to then build solutions from the ground up.

It also requires excellent architects. In meeting with Irina Delidjakova, I was reassured to know that some of our most important transformation work is being led by some of our most capable builders.

Whether she’s remodeling her home, baking, or reimagining product development processes for products that have been in our portfolio for years, Irina is clearing the rubble and reinforcing solid foundations for our technologies’ longevity.

You’ve been leading one of our most critical transformation projects for a product with a 25-year history. I’m curious to hear about your progress.
In 2019 I took the role of leading the Db2 Development Ecosystem team, which is responsible for build, deploy, QA, packaging, install and development infrastructure for Db2. Db2 is IBM’s database technology that’s been core to our product portfolio for over 25 years. Our team has been working to transform development processes and standards for Db2 development teams, a formidable assignment given Db2’s history. We’ve been using GitHub and onboarding more and more developers, so things are moving very quickly, and our team is growing. We started with a core squad that’s already grown substantially, so we’re making great progress.

Irina and her best friend who went together throughout university, internship at IBM together, student on call at IBM, and then many years as full time in IBM.

You transitioned from being a developer to leading development projects as a manager. How have you handled that shift?
I really enjoy the technical work. I recently had the opportunity to take a leadership role as a senior manager, which was definitely a shift to a different skillset than what I was used to in technical roles. Exploring different kinds of roles keeps my job interesting, so even though I've always been a technical person, I’ve enjoyed learning about the management side, too.

Outside of work, do you have any hobbies?
I have so many hobbies! Something I’ve really enjoyed recently is renovation. You can always hire somebody to renovate your home, but my husband and I have enjoyed trying it ourselves, together. So far, the project is going well! In fact, we recently learned about plumbing, because we’ve been working on redoing our bathroom. I even tried my hand at soldering, which was a bit intense because of the flames, but I eventually got the hang of it.

Also, I really love baking. I even made the cake for my sister’s wedding, a three-tier cake—it took me four days! I’ve also made my son’s birthday cakes, and so on. It’s a very calming exercise.

Wedding cake for Irina's sister's wedding.

Those hobbies require a good deal of creativity—is that something that comes naturally to you?
Yes. I’m always looking for opportunities to be creative. I enjoy sewing, too, which is an interest I inherited from my mother and her grandmother. I made curtains for all my windows until I ran out of windows. So yes, I never run out of creative projects to try in my free time.

Do you ever take time to travel?
I used to travel a lot before, for work. I didn’t like traveling alone without my kids, though. So now that they're a little bit older, we’ve started traveling more. We traveled with my son when he was a year-and-a-half-old. We went to Bulgaria, where I’m from, for two weeks. He got pneumonia and I spent a week in the hospital with him. After that, I joked that I wouldn’t travel with my son until he was 16.

Family vacation in Puerto Escondido on the Pacific ocean.

Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Bulgaria’s capital, Sofia. I came to Canada with my family in the year 2000, and we became permanent residents.

Is that where you studied?
I actually started my university education back in Bulgaria. I ended up studying computer science—my dad is a computer engineer. Initially, I really wanted to get into visual arts, because I like design. But my father told me I wouldn’t make enough money if I went into visual arts. He recommended I become a computer engineer, like him. So, I did just that and graduated in 2006.

And do your parents still live in Toronto?
Yes, they do, as do all my siblings.

Irina's brothers and sister at her sister's baby shower.

Do you go back to Bulgaria often?
The last time I was there was in 2014, but I hope to go back again soon. We were thinking of going this year to visit family. But since we’re renovating our bathroom, we had to decide between the bathroom and Bulgaria. It's one or the other.

What are the most exciting technical opportunities you see for yourself on the horizon?
Right now, it’s what I’m working on with development transformation. It’s something that will change the way our teams think and the technologies we develop. It’s very interesting work, and I'm very excited to be on the forefront of driving the transformation work. Especially given Db2’s 25-year history.

Hometown: Bulgaria, Sofia

Hometown Irina calls home now: Canada, Mount Albert

Currently Working On: Large master bathroom renovation, backyard landscaping design, Db2 development transformation, Cake tasting party and June 2020 actual wedding cake

Favorite Baking Recipe: https://beyondfrosting.com/blueberry-lemon-mascarpone-cake/

Favorite Programming Language: Shell Scripting, Javascript, Python

Top Tip to Avoid Disaster while Renovating your Home: Don't do it with your husband - it can possibly ruin a marriage - unless marriage is strong and the wife has the final word

Top Tip Working at IBM: YOU can do anything, as long as you put your mind to it. You have an idea? Keep bringing them forward, we need more innovation everywhere. Don't get stuck in processes that "work" right now.

Favorite Song: Imagine by John Lennon

Dinesh Nirmal – Vice President, IBM Analytics Development

Follow me on Twitter: @dineshknirmal