By David Levy
Sanjana Wadhwa has never fit neatly into one box. A painter from a young age, she spent countless hours capturing landscapes in oil and watercolor — studying light, shadow, and texture with precision. At the same time, raised in a family of engineers, she was equally immersed in the structured world of mathematics and programming.
This duality — the creative and the technical — didn’t feel like a contradiction. For Wadhwa, it was a path forward. “My motivation has always been to work at the intersection of art and technology,” she says. “I wanted to make tools that empower creativity, not just use them.”
After earning her bachelor’s degree in computer science, she pursued a graduate degree specializing in Computer Graphics from The Ohio State University. This decision combined her creative instincts with a profound understanding of the systems that drive digital expression. During a pivotal internship at Nvidia, she wrote GPU code to optimize the rendering of curves on the screen, making creative workflows more efficient and precise.
But something clicked beyond the technical challenge. “I realized I cared more about shaping the experience and how people interact with technology than just optimizing what’s under the hood.”
The experience at Nvidia laid the groundwork for her next leap: a role at Google Cloud. There, Wadhwa learned how to build for scale, maintain reliability, and communicate complexity with clarity. She also honed an often-overlooked skill in engineering — storytelling. “Understanding how to build is important,” she says, “but so is understanding how to communicate why it matters.”
In 2018, she joined Apple as a software engineer and experience prototyper. Since then, Wadhwa has contributed to groundbreaking, zero-to-one product categories, including the Apple Vision Pro. Her focus remains crafting human-first digital experiences that push the boundaries of interface and immersion.
Throughout her journey, Wadhwa has drawn constant inspiration from her roots in the art of painting.” Art taught me patience and structure — how to build something layer by layer. It’s how I approach systems today,” she explains. “I also learned how to see form, balance, and emotion truly. That sensibility informs my UI work.”
More than just bridging design and engineering, Wadhwa sees her role as advocating for inclusive innovation. She’s deeply committed to building tools that reflect and serve diverse communities — and to creating tech environments where all voices are heard.
“To me, innovation only matters if technology empowers everyone,” she says. “Whether I’m writing code or sketching an idea, I’m always asking: who is this for, and how can we make it better for them? Accessible designs not only make tools inclusive but also improve the experience for everyone.”
With her rare blend of artistic intuition, technical depth, and human-centered thinking, Sanjana Wadhwa is quietly shaping the future — one thoughtful interface at a time.
