Enter Sophie Novati—engineer, mentor, founder. Her story matters because she is not just succeeding for herself. She is building a ladder so others can climb too. She has been through many of the struggles others face and decided to build something different: Formation, a program that helps underrepresented engineers grow into top tech roles.
In this article I will take you through Sophie’s background, the work she is doing, why it matters, what challenges she faces, and what you can learn from her path. If you are an engineer trying to grow, a mentor, or someone interested in how tech can change lives, her story is one you will want to know.
Who Is Sophie Novati?
Early Life & Education
Sophie Novati studied Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University, a place known for high academic standards and strong engineering programs.
During her time studying, she developed both technical skills and saw firsthand how hard it can be for some students to access mentorship, deal with interview pressure, or navigate an industry lacking diversity. These experiences shaped her worldview.
Early Career at Facebook & Nextdoor
After graduation Sophie joined Facebook (now Meta) and later Nextdoor as a software engineer.
At those companies she worked on product infrastructure and other core engineering work. She also saw the hiring process, the team-building, and the practices in place—both good and bad. She noticed many capable engineers who lacked certain “polished” credentials or networks being overlooked.
While working in those roles she also tried hiring engineers and saw that many mentorship or training programs did not meet the rigor or alignment she thought was possible. That tension—sense of potential, gap in opportunity—became part of why she founded her own venture.
Founding Formation
Motivation & Inspiration
Sophie’s motivation to start Formation came from seeing underrepresented engineers who had potential but lacked the mentorship, structured challenge, or adaptive learning paths to succeed in top tier tech roles.
She wanted more than just traditional bootcamps or occasional workshops. Her idea was to combine adaptive learning technology (where what you study changes depending on your performance) with high quality mentorship and ongoing support until the student secures a role. This is not a fixed 12-week class and then done. It’s more continuous.
How Formation Works
Here are key elements:
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Adaptive Learning Tools: The curriculum adjusts to learners’ strengths and weaknesses. If someone struggles with systems design, the program gives more focused work there.
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Mentorship Network: Students are paired with mentors who have real experience, often from top companies. These mentors help not just with coding but with career advice, interview prep, and more.
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Unlimited Support Until Signed Offer: Many programs stop support after a certain time; Formation continues until students get a signed offer at a company.
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Focus on Underrepresented Engineers: The mission includes reducing the representation gap in tech, helping people who might not have gone to a top school, or have non-traditional paths.
Formation was founded around 2019.
Achievements & Impact
Funding & Growth Metrics
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Formation has raised $9 million in funding.
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It is backed by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z).
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It has served many engineers, with testimonials of significant salary growth and better job placements. (Specific numbers vary; some students report large gains.)
Testimonials & Success Stories
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Students of Formation often share that mentorship and adaptive feedback were game changers.
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For example: (Real case) one engineer who was stuck in mid-level roles improved their systems design and interview skills through Formation, then got an offer at a major tech company.
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Another case: engineers from non-traditional backgrounds who did not have connections got matched with mentors who helped fill gaps and prepared them for technical interviewing.
Comparison to Other Programs
Compared to many bootcamps or online courses, Formation’s ongoing support until a signed offer puts more burden on the program to ensure results. That approach seems to correlate with higher participant satisfaction. Also, focusing on underrepresented engineers helps address unconscious bias in hiring pipelines.
Challenges and Lessons Learned
Barriers in Tech for Minorities & Underrepresented Groups
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Bias in recruiting (e.g. overemphasis on university pedigree)
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Less access to mentorship, networks, or insider knowledge
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Imposter syndrome and lack of role models
Formation, under Sophie’s leadership, tries to address these, but it’s not easy. Scaling mentorship without reducing quality is hard.
Scaling While Keeping Quality
As demand grows, more students, more mentors, more curriculum content are needed. Ensuring that quality remains high — in mentorship, in feedback, in personalized learning — is a constant challenge. It is easy to overstretch.
Financial, Operational & Market Risks
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Raising funding is hard, especially for education/edtech with long time to outcomes.
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Keeping learners engaged over long periods can be difficult. Adaptive learning helps but requires investments.
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Competition from other bootcamps, degree programs, MOOCs, and coding accelerators is strong.
Leadership & Style
Sophie Novati’s leadership style seems to combine technical depth (her experience as Staff Engineer) with empathy. She often speaks about mission, equity, and the need for rigorous standards.
She values transparency (in program outcomes, funding, mentorship). She seems to prefer building systems that scale human support rather than replacing it.
Her style is likely shaped by her engineering background: data, metrics, performance, but balanced by social mission.
Why Sophie Novati Matters
Social & Economic Impact
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Engineers from underrepresented backgrounds often face barriers that limit diversity in tech. Sophie’s work helps reduce that gap.
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As tech plays a larger role in the global economy, ensuring broader access to high paying engineering jobs can have large ripple effects—for income equality, regional development, etc.
Cultural Influence
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Role model effect: Seeing someone like Sophie succeed and build a socially conscious company helps encourage others.
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Changes in hiring culture: Programs like Formation can push hiring managers and companies to rethink what they look for in candidates (skills vs. pedigree, potential vs past credentials).
Industry Trends She Represents
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Edtech / mentorship + adaptive learning is growing.
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Focus on diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI) in tech is no longer optional but expected.
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Remote learning, hybrid mentorship models are becoming more mainstream, accelerated by digital tools.
Practical Tips Inspired by Sophie Novati
Here are things you can do if you want to follow a path similar to what Sophie has advocated for or benefited from.
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Seek out mentorship early
Even when you think you know enough, a good mentor helps you see blind spots—technical, career strategy, interviews. -
Focus on fundamentals plus systems design
Interview performance often weighs systems design, scaling, architecture. Building strong fundamentals in data structures + scaling systems helps a lot. -
Practice adaptive learning or self-assessment
Track your weak spots. Use platforms or tools that adjust based on your performance. If you always struggle in coding challenges, drill those specifically. -
Build a strong portfolio & real-world projects
Projects show what you can do. Open source work, side projects, contributions—even if small—help impress beyond just resume claims. -
Network & community
Affiliated groups, peer groups, online dev communities, tech meetups—these help share resources, give feedback, produce referrals. -
Understand the job market & hiring process
Research what companies expect: interview style, coding test, systems design, how they test problem solving. Tailor your prep accordingly. -
Maintain resilience & growth mindset
There will be rejections. It’s part of the journey. What matters is learning from them, iterating, improving.
Future Outlook
What lies ahead for Sophie Novati, Formation, and the broader field?
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Expansion of Formation: More participants, broader geographic reach, possibly new partnerships with companies that need to improve their engineering pipelines.
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Technology enhancements: Better adaptive learning tools, AI assistance for feedback, more data-driven mentoring.
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Increased competition & collaboration: More edtech startups, coding schools, and corporate training programs will enter this space. Some will compete; others will partner.
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Policy & systemic change: As voices like Sophie’s grow, there may be more regulatory or policy efforts to require diversity in hiring, encourage inclusive mentorship, or fund programs for underrepresented groups.
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Global influence: While many participants are in US/tech hubs, there is potential for reaching engineers in emerging markets, remote areas, or via remote programs.
“Why It Matters” — Cultural, Social & Economic Impact
This section draws the threads together: Why is Sophie Novati’s story more than just another founder biography?
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Economically, increasing representation in engineering improves productivity, innovation, and helps close wage gaps. Diverse teams perform better in many studies.
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Socially, her model helps reduce inequity. Engineers who might have been excluded (non-traditional schooling, lack of network) get access. That builds more inclusive communities.
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Culturally, she is part of a shift: from meritocracy defined narrowly (top school, well-connected) to merit plus effort, growth, learning potential.
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In terms of role modeling, she inspires others, especially women and people of color, that leadership + tech + mission can combine in meaningful ways.
Statistics & Data
Here are some relevant data points that support the need for the work Sophie is doing:
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According to Stack Overflow Developer Survey, underrepresented groups (women, non-binary, racial minorities) still make up a lower percentage of senior engineering roles.
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Data from Statista shows that in the United States, only around 25-30% of computer and information science degrees are awarded to women (depending on year). (You can check: Statista “share of women in computer science degrees”)
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Reports by McKinsey & Company and Deloitte indicate that diverse teams outperform homogeneous ones in innovation, problem-solving, and financial returns.
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Edtech funding has been growing: investment in online learning, mentorship, and training platforms has seen multi-billion dollar increases over the past 3-5 years.
These statistics reinforce why mentors, adaptive learning, and inclusive training programs are both socially important and in demand.
Conclusion
Sophie Novati is an example of what happens when technical skill meets purpose. Her journey from engineer to founder of Formation shows that gaps in tech are not merely individual problems but systemic ones—and they can be addressed. Her emphasis on mentorship, adaptive learning, equity, and continuous support are not just good values—they are necessities in an industry that claims to be about innovation.
If you are an engineer, a mentor, or someone who cares about creating fairer opportunities, there is a lot you can learn from Sophie’s path. Define your goals clearly, keep improving your fundamentals, seek out mentorship, don’t settle for average support, and always remember that your background or network do not have to limit your dreaming.
FAQs
Here are some frequently asked questions about Sophie Novati, and detailed answers.
Q1: What is Formation, and what role did Sophie Novati play in founding it?
A1: Formation is a virtual engineering fellowship or training program co-founded and led by Sophie Novati. Its goal is to help underrepresented engineers reach roles in top tech companies by combining adaptive learning technology, strong mentorship, and ongoing support until the students secure job offers. Sophie saw a gap in existing mentorship / training quality and built the program to address that.
Q2: What is Sophie Novati’s background before Formation?
A2: Sophie studied Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University. She then worked as a software engineer at Facebook (Meta) and Nextdoor. At those companies she built product infrastructure, saw what made strong teams, and noticed gaps in how mentorship and hiring were done. Those experiences influenced her founding of Formation.
Q3: How does mentor matching work in Formation under Sophie Novati’s model?
A3: Formation pairs learners with mentors who are experienced engineers. The matching takes into account what topics the learner needs help with, their current skills, and the mentor’s background. Mentorship is not one-time but recurring, aimed at helping with technical challenges, interview prep, and career advice. The program monitors performance and gives adaptive curriculum (if many learners are struggling in one area the program focuses more there).
Q4: What kind of outcomes have students of Formation achieved?
A4: Students of Formation have reported job offers at top tech companies, meaningful career growth, often significant increases in compensation. Some have moved from roles where their growth was stalled to roles with more responsibility—all helped by the tailored learning and mentorship. (Exact numbers vary by cohort.)
Q5: What is some challenges Sophie Novati faces leading Formation?
A5: Some key challenges include scaling mentorship without losing personal quality, maintaining student engagement over longer timelines, ensuring funding, dealing with competition, and ensuring outcomes continue to be strong even as program size grows. Also, adapting to changing hiring standards in tech, remote work, and evolving interview practices.
Q6: How can someone work or study under Sophie Novati’s influence or at Formation?
A6: To get involved, prospective engineers can apply to Formation; prepare by building fundamentals, systems design skills, showing personal projects, and perhaps getting referrals. Also engage in communities, open source, mentorship. If you want mentorship from her indirectly, follow her talks, interviews (podcasts, videos), or participate in events she speaks at.
Author Bio
Fari Hub
I am a tech writer and former software engineer with over 8 years of experience building engineering teams, advising startups, and working in mentorship programs. I’ve written extensively about inclusive tech, leadership in engineering, and career growth strategies.
Website: Favorite Magazine
