Charishma Tammina knows that solving complex challenges requires both technical skill and curiosity. As a Software Engineer II on the Production Addition Workflows team, she has spent the past 10 months enhancing Wayfair’s supplier product onboarding process through thoughtful design, implementation and collaboration.
“Though new to the domain and team, Charishma played a key role in the successful release of the Default Answers feature, being actively involved from inception to its seamless production release,” said Abhishek Kumar, Senior Manager. “It was impressive to see how quickly she developed such a strong understanding of our team’s core functionality.”
Read on to learn how Charishma and her team are streamlining supplier onboarding and driving impact at scale.
Joining a new company and a new industry can be challenging. How did you navigate that transition and establish your impact so effectively?
I was always interested in working on solutions I could relate to in day‑to‑day life. That kept me curious to grasp the domain context and perspective behind the technical requirements.
Additionally, my team’s collaborative spirit and openness encouraged me to ask questions freely, fast‑tracking my contribution and growth at Wayfair.
Can you explain the impact of the Default Answers feature and the strategies you and your team implemented to bring the project to life?
Suppliers often list multiple products within a single class and end up entering similar attributes repeatedly. The Default Answers feature lets them set default values for questions, so they don’t need to fill them in every time. These defaults then auto-populate across all products in that class and persist across future uploads, saving time and effort.
Clear requirements, technical expertise, strong collaboration and timely execution — all aligned with our planning — made delivery seamless and brought the project to life.
Can you walk us through how Datastore works to streamline development processes?
We leveraged Google Cloud Datastore to simplify development and testing. Its local emulator lets us run and test applications locally without affecting production data by simply configuring connection through environment variables. This enables rapid iteration, safe testing and seamless integration into CI workflows.
What’s the best piece of career advice you’ve received, and how has it impacted you?
Early in my career, one of my managers advised me, “Technical ability is essential, but it’s your domain expertise and functional understanding that truly make you stand out over time.”
This shaped how I approach my work, reminding me to balance technical skills with deep domain knowledge. It helps me understand problems better, ask more contextual questions and communicate effectively.
What’s one fun fact about you that most people don’t know?
I really enjoy playful banter and joking around with my friends and family, I find it keeps things fun and lighthearted.
Where do you call home and what does “home” mean to you?
For me, home isn’t just a place; it’s the people who make you feel supported and loved, where you can truly be yourself and create moments to cherish forever. That’s where I find my heart’s home.
What’s your favorite Wayfair product that you’ve purchased?
I haven’t yet purchased it, but this oversized recliner chair by Hokku designs looks really cool! I like the look of the brown mesh material a lot, and the dual motors being silent is a plus.