Cécile Guillot
Each question opens a new path
Entry created on: 04/12/2025
Role
Keywords
Reference profile
Short summary
Each question opens a new path
Role
Site Reliability Engineer (SRE). She ensures the reliability, resilience, automation and scalability of IT systems so that everything runs smoothly.
Skills and topics
Teaching use
A discussion support for the role, journey, and topics shown in this profile.
Resources
2 professional resources are listed later in this profile.
Date / version
Entry created on: 04/12/2025
Reuse status
Public website content; reuse is governed by the site legal notices. See legal notices
Never apologize for loving to learn
Cécile is an SRE engineer at OVHcloud, a job sometimes called the “computer doctor”: she ensures systems withstand failures, adapt to growth and continuously improve through automation. Having joined in July, she now works at the heart of cloud infrastructure, where every detail counts.
Her story breaks a persistent stereotype: women would rather take care of people than machines. For Cécile, understanding how everything works — both humans and computers — is simply another way of taking care of the world.
Timeline
Chronological journey
Growing up curious in a world that doesn't reflect her
Growing up curious in a world that doesn't reflect her
Born in the Ardennes to an Ardennes father and a mother from Réunion, Cécile grew up mixed-race in a small town where she sometimes felt out of place. From a very young age she took apart everything she could find, devoured books and asked a thousand questions, encouraged by parents who wanted to broaden her cultural horizons. At school she mostly played with boys, without perceiving social roles. Her curiosity quickly became her driving force to learn and to imagine a wide-open future.
Holding on despite harassment and doubt
Holding on despite harassment and doubt
Middle school is a difficult time: mockery, racism, and violence, but also teachers who support her. She keeps working and discovers that she enjoys learning, even when others try to push her toward "women's jobs." In high school, she faces a math teacher who discourages her, lowering her grades and her confidence. Thanks to other teachers, she regains the desire to move forward and earns her baccalauréat with honors.
Seeking, Losing, Finding Yourself: The Path
Seeking, Losing, Finding Yourself: The Path
Cécile explores many fields — biology, history, computer science, psychology, neuroscience — before realizing that the path is never linear. After a burnout, she retrains through programming, strings together various experiences, and discovers her neurodivergence, which finally allows her to understand her difficulties in the workplace. Supported by a caring manager, she moves into system and network roles, which she learns very quickly. At OVHcloud, a recruiter placed her in an SRE role where she is today the only woman… and right where she belongs.
Their commitments and values
Their commitments and values
Cécile champions curiosity, the freedom to find oneself and the right to make mistakes. She believes that every detour, every difficulty, every encounter builds a unique path.
She also carries a strong message about neurodiversity: understanding differences makes it possible for each person to find an environment where they can finally breathe and thrive.
What Cécile shares with you:
“Don't hold yourself back: changing your mind is moving forward.”
“The best path is never linear. Detours matter.”
“Don't listen to stereotypes: try, explore, reach out to your teachers.”
Their profession
Cécile is a Site Reliability Engineer (SRE), a role dedicated to ensuring that computer systems remain reliable, fast, and able to scale without breaking. She automates what can be automated, analyzes incidents, improves systems' resilience, and devises solutions to prevent human error. It's a job of precision, logic, and foresight — a profession for those who enjoy understanding how everything works.
1001 TEACHING GUIDE
Teachers or curious to use role models and personalized stories? Explore our teaching guide co-created with schools. 👇