Hi! 👋 I’m a technology leader who is passionate about developing software, machine learning, and AI. I have over 20 years’ experience at places such as Confiant, Rivian, Ericsson, and Wikimedia. I live in San Francisco.
I am truly passionate about leading and supporting teams of people to do their best work. Beyond my individual contributions, I see my personal calling as leading, mentoring, and supporting my team. I am proud of building diverse and inclusive teams and retaining the world’s best technical talent.
At Confiant, I had overall responsibility for Confiant’s engineering function, including managing managers in a globally distributed, remote-first organization. The organization’s engineering scope is broad, ranging from in-app SDKs, extensive data processing, to cloud infrastructure.
My team at Rivian used data to understand and optimize hardware and software performance. To do so, we built, maintained, and optimized data infrastructure to ingest petabytes of streaming data from Rivian’s products in fleet, testing and validation facilities, and R&D labs. We then used those data to understand how our products performed and then developed novel machine learning approaches to optimize product performance, focusing on hardware reliability and software. My team collaborated closely with manufacturing to use data to improve manufacturing efficiency and throughput.
In prior roles, I have led teams that develop machine learning platform design, with a focus on edge computing, network-connected devices, and encryption. I have held appointments at Emory University and the University of Michigan. Many years ago, I was one of the first sys admins on Wikipedia, where I led some of our initial security and engineering development.
I am also passionate about primary research. My academic research has two broad themes. First, I study machine learning in resource-constrained environments, such as on battery-powered devices and edge computing. Second, I develop causal inference methods for observational data. I have multiple peer-reviewed papers and approximately 30 patents pending.
Speaking at the “How can LatAm startups leverage 5G” panel at Mita Tech Talks in Punta de Mita.
Sunset in San Francisco from Mt. Davidson.
Work
I have been active in technology and development for over two decades; my first tech leadership role was in 2002 when I became one of the first sysadmins on Wikipedia. At Wikipedia, I developed some policies and engineering aimed at ensuring trustworthiness and security at scale.
In 2020, I was an inaugural Tech Policy Fellow at the Tony Blair Institute for Social Change. In 2021, I served as an external advisor for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on AI. I am a mentor for the College of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of New Mexico and with Latinx in AI (LXAI). I’m also on the programming committee at MLconf.
I currently work at Rivian, where I lead the Core Battery Data team within the Product Development organization. My team works on engineering a data platform using open source tools to ingest and process petabytes of streaming data related to our products’ performance in fleet and from our R&D facilities. The team uses the best in data science to integrate machine learning into the engineering and design process. We also conduct primary research on machine learning related to product design, including reinforcement learning and anomaly detection.
Prior to joining Rivian, I was AI Research Leader at Ericsson Research. My team at Ericsson focused on integrating security into spatial computing and perception. I was also the Principal Investigator for Ericsson Research’s multi-year collaboration with MIT related to neuromorphic computing and lithionics. This research aimed to produce the next generation of more efficient computer chips, which should enable more efficient computing and substantial energy savings.
Prior to joining Ericsson, I worked in digital advertising and media. Beyond innovation, I am passionate about connecting R&D to business outcomes and needs. Prior to leaving academia, I worked at Emory University and the University of Michigan. I am an Affiliate of Emory’s SimBioSys Lab in the Department of Computer Science.
Personal
I serve on a number of boards and advisory committees, including at Red Hat and the New Zealand American Association of San Francisco. I’m deeply passionate about diversity and inclusion in technology, with a particular focus on women, Latinx, and LGBTQ+ people.
Speaking
I am passionate about making technology accessible to all audiences. To that end, I love talking about technology, machine learning, and security. I have appeared in the DRUM Award-winning UnBoxed Office series, at Red Hat's OpenShift Commons, on Noticieros Televisa, and on various podcasts.
Awards
I am proud of leading the team of nearly 400 Ericsson volunteers who were awarded the best corporate response to COVID-19 by the Global Business Alliance.
I have received multiple prestigious awards and grants, including a RAPID Grant from the National Science Foundation and fellowships at the San Diego Supercomputer Center.
Outside of Work
I am passionate about diversity in tech because I’m one of fewer than 100 Americans who have both dropped out of high school and earned a PhD. Prior to my PhD studies, I attended Columbia University, The George Washington University, and the University of Maryland before getting my PhD from UC San Diego (go Tritons! 🔱). In addition to my professional work, I’m a fine artist, downhill skier, and marathon runner. My life goal is to start a rescue for senior dogs.