Microsoft
Marketing & Operations Intern
Where my interest in tech started
This was the internship that made me want to understand the technology and move closer to the technical work.
About me
I’m Ecem, a self-taught software engineer.
I started in marketing and operations at Microsoft. Since then, I’ve worked in cloud, cybersecurity, incident response, and software engineering across Istanbul, Madrid, London, and New York.
Getting here meant teaching myself, asking a lot of questions, and finding people willing to help. I’m still learning. AI with Ecem is where I share what I’m figuring out and building, and help you put it to use in your own work and life.
How it started
I didn’t have it all mapped out.
Age 13
I moved abroad for boarding school at 13. Getting used to new places, languages, and people became part of growing up.
I studied Industrial Engineering without a clear picture of what I wanted to do. As an immigrant, I also had to think about where I could get a work visa. During college, I tried internships at MSD, Pfizer, and P&G before joining Microsoft in marketing and operations.
At Microsoft, I wanted to understand the technology I was working around. I started teaching myself the foundations and applying for technical roles. I got 200+ rejections from Microsoft alone before I landed my first engineering role.
I sent cold messages, met people, and asked for help along the way. That first role took me to Madrid, where I was learning a new profession and working in Spanish at the same time. I taught myself, but I also had people who helped me get there. They’re part of why I want to make it easier for someone else to start.
My career so far
From marketing to software engineering.
Microsoft
Premier Field Engineer
Cloud Infrastructure & Cybersecurity
My first full-time technical role came with a relocation to Madrid. I was learning a new profession, living in a new country, and working in Spanish at the same time.
Microsoft Detection and Response Team
Security Engineer
Incident Response & Compromise Recovery
I worked on global incident response and compromise recovery, helping organizations investigate, contain, and recover from serious cyber incidents.
J.P. Morgan
Cybersecurity Engineer, Vice President
Security engineering in financial services
I brought my cloud, security, and incident response background into financial services at J.P. Morgan.
J.P. Morgan
Lead Software Engineer, Vice President
Security & Observability
I wanted to move further into development and building, so I taught myself software engineering and programming while building on my cybersecurity background.
AI with Ecem
Why I built this.
I know what it’s like to want to learn something and have to work out where to start. A lot of my career has involved doing exactly that. It’s why I care so much about making what I know easier for someone else to understand and use.
These days, AI is what I’m spending that curiosity on. I’m researching it, building with it, and trying things in my own work and life. I like getting into the details: why something works, where it falls apart, and what I’d change the next time.
That’s what I want to share here, along with enough explanation for you to try things yourself. You have your own interests, experience, and ideas. I want to help you figure out where AI could be useful to you.
For individuals
I teach how AI works and how to use it, adapt it, and build with it. The aim is to help you make your own choices and put what you learn to work on something you care about.
For businesses
I can help you work out where AI would be useful in your business and what it would take to implement it, from a focused pilot to a system built around your team’s workflows, data, and security requirements.
As a woman and an immigrant who found her way into engineering, this is personal, too. I want to see more women building with AI and having a say in how it’s used. Sharing how I got here, including the rejections and the changes in direction, is part of that.
I want this to be a place you can come to with a question and leave with something you can try.