A Google engineer’s journey from Cairo to Warsaw
Welcome to the latest edition of “My Path to Google,” where we talk to Googlers, interns and alumni about how they got to Google, what their roles are like and even some tips on how to prepare for interviews.
Today’s post is all about Rand El Morry, a site reliability engineer. Rand is a new Googler (what we call a “Noogler”) who recently moved to Warsaw, Poland for his role.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I grew up in Cairo, Egypt. As a kid, I loved to build things and would play with Legos for hours. That grew into a fascination with mechanics, so when it was time to choose what to study, I went with mechanical engineering. But after I took an introductory computer science class, I realized I wanted to study that instead. I loved the coding challenges — it was the first time I actually enjoyed doing homework!
In my free time, I like to play padel, a mix between tennis and squash. Being away from home, I miss my family — and my mom’s cooking — but luckily I get to visit them often.
What’s your role at Google?
I’m a site reliability engineer (SRE), where I work on privacy and security services. SRE teams work across all Google products, like Gmail, Google Cloud and Search, to make sure they’re running properly and reliably. If any service or product goes down, we work to fix it immediately.
Why did you decide to apply to Google?
Like many others, Google was a dream I didn’t think was even possible. Luckily, I found a career program that provides mentorship and training for aspiring software engineers. The program helped me build my interview skills and, most importantly, my confidence to apply to Google.
How did you prepare for your interview?
I worked on different types of coding problems and did mock interviews to practice presenting my solutions. The career program gave me a lot of guidance that helped me feel prepared and ultimately helped me reach my potential.
How was your move to Warsaw?
I moved to Warsaw last June, just two weeks before my first day at Google. It took me a while to feel at home but I started doing little things to adjust, like decorating my apartment the same way it was in Egypt. The language barrier was one of the biggest challenges, but luckily Google Translate exists. It’s helped me out in many situations. There are also other Googlers who have relocated to Warsaw, and we’ve formed a small community.
What’s the best thing about being a Noogler?
I joined Google five months ago, so I’m still learning the ropes. I’d say the best thing about being a Noogler is the mentorship. I have a mentor, an onboarding buddy, my manager and my team lead — and they’re all here to provide support and resources. I truly appreciate their guidance.
What advice do you have for aspiring Googlers?
Failure is part of the journey — you have to make mistakes to get better. In fact, you will probably learn much more from a time you failed than when you succeeded. Keep thinking positive and big, and stay focused on the end goal.
