Just two years after graduating from Florida Polytechnic University, Melia Rodriguez ’24 is putting her skills to work on technology used by one of the world’s leading providers of real estate data and analytics. As a software engineer at CoStar Group in Richmond, Virginia, she develops tools that help support critical business operations and the company’s expansion into new international markets.
CoStar Group operates some of the most popular online real estate marketplaces, including Apartments.com, Homes.com and LoopNet, while providing property data and analytics to customers around the world. The company’s portfolio includes about 30 brands and subsidiaries.
As part of the company’s finance technology department, Rodriguez works on Account Manager, a customer-facing platform that allows users to view invoices and contracts and make payments. She also helps develop internal tools and new features that support the CoStar Group’s expanding family of real estate brands.
Rodriguez is a member of a six-person team working across full-stack development, handling maintenance, bug fixes and new features. The team recently began adding support for an Australian real estate platform acquired by CoStar Group, giving Rodriguez a role in the company’s continued international growth.
“It really changes day to day,” Rodriguez said. “We’re always changing our technology, and because our team is so small and focused, you become an expert in what your team owns.”
One of Rodriguez’s first major projects was independently developing a guest-payment feature that enables customers to pay a bill without creating or accessing a full Account Manager account. The tool launched in early 2025 and has generated additional revenue for the company, she said.
“I got to do it completely by myself, start to finish,” Rodriguez said. “My manager gave it to me and said, ‘This is going to be yours.’”
Rodriguez first connected with CoStar Group as an undergraduate through Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT), a career-readiness fellowship. A Florida Poly mentor introduced her to the program, which provides coaching, professional-development seminars and connections with corporate partners. After completing a summer internship with the company in 2023, Rodriguez accepted a full-time position with the same team.
“I wanted to go back to my specific team – I love them,” Rodriguez said.
At Florida Poly, Rodriguez said she developed the communication and relationship-building skills she now relies on at CoStar Group. She served as Florida Poly’s student body president during her junior and senior years, representing students on the University’s Board of Trustees.
“I was working with students, faculty and administration, and with that, developed really, really good people skills,” she said.
Rodriguez said the University prepared her to adapt and learn quickly. Her coursework provided experience across several programming languages and technologies, giving her a strong technical foundation as the tools and platforms she uses continue to evolve.
She has also found ways to use those skills to make a difference. Driven by a personal commitment to creating more inclusive online experiences, she updated her team’s web platform to improve accessibility for users with visual impairments.
Beyond her technical work, Rodriguez represents CoStar Group at MLT events and encourages students to build professional connections, ask questions and pursue opportunities even when they feel uncertain.
“Don’t say no for them before they can say no to you,” Rodriguez said. “You have to be willing to reach out to people.”
Contact:
Lydia Guzmán
Director of Communications
863-874-8557
