Cillers Developer Experience

Meet Payal Kumari, Full-stack Developer and Women Techmakers Ambassador. Payal is a passionate full-stack developer and a distinguished Women Techmakers Ambassador, committed to empowering women in the tech industry. Recognized as a LinkedIn Top Voice and a Google WTM Ambassador, she actively guides the next generation of developers through impactful events and engaging content creation. Recently,...

Meet Abdul Qadeer, Data Scientist at Xclusive Trading. Abdul Qadeer started his tech journey in Karachi by fixing a neighbor’s computer, which sparked his interest and led to a gold medal in his academic career. He is driven by a strong desire to make a positive impact. As a Machine Learning Engineer Abdul takes on challenges like a recent customer segmentation project, finding joy in solving real...

Meet Mustafa Sherif – Co-Author of "DREAM, HACK, BUILD" In this episode, we talked about: Hack for Earth's mission to address the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals through global hackathons, and how these events are structured to foster citizen-driven solutions. The comprehensive mentorship program at Hack for Earth, which enhances the hackathon experience by providing structured guidan...

Meet Abdeali Siyawala, Technical Product Manager at Siya Tech Ventures. In this episode, we talked about: Abdeali's role in helping non-tech founders build and scale startups at Siya Tech Ventures., focusing on MVP development and product strategy. The dual business models at Siya Tech Ventures: time and material, and equity-based studio partnerships, tailored to assist startups from ideation thro...

Meet Theodoros Ampas, technical mentor at lablab.ai.  Ampas is a tech mentor at Lablab.ai, an organization known for global AI online hackathons and a startup accelerator program.  Hackathons have played a crucial role in his professional development, and in this episode he shares insights that can inspire others in the field.  We discussed Ampas role in facilitating AI-focused hackathons and the...

Meet Nikita Kosolev, Lead Software Development Engineer at Mastercard. Nikita's interest in technology was sparked by a curiosity about how things work, influenced by his father's background in computer science and a love for science fiction. Despite financial challenges, he pursued a career in tech, ultimately becoming a software development engineer at Mastercard. In this episode we discussed va...

Meet Jori Karvonen, Start-up mentor, lablabai, Helsinki University, Tech Nordic Advocates etc Jori Karvonen mentors startups in incubator and accelerator programs across Europe, focusing on business strategy, product development, and securing funding. His passion for supporting startups stems from his own experiences as a founder and the support he received from local entrepreneurs and the Finnish...

Meet Oluwadamilola (Ewa) Edun, an aspiring data scientist and hackathon enthusiast! Ewa's interest in tech was sparked by a coding camp before high school, leading her to pursue data science and computer science. Her journey emphasizes the transformative impact of early exposure to technology. Now, she is making the most of her gap year by diving into hackathons. In this episode, we discuss her ex...

Meet Luca Cavallin, Senior Software Engineer at GitHub. In this episode, Luca shares his experiences organizing internal hackathons at GitHub, emphasizing their importance in promoting collaboration and creativity, and exploring their potential to inspire future product innovations. We also discuss strategies for increasing software development velocity, highlighting the significance of quality de...

Meet Victor Moreno, Senior Software Engineer at AWS. Victor Moreno has a diverse background, not just in software engineering but also in management, leadership, education, sales, recruiting, and finance. He's really passionate about helping other engineers maximize their professional impact and earnings.  In this episode, we discussed the role of hackathons in driving innovation and addressing re...

Meet Tiago Santos, Software Engineer at Shopify Tiago is a tech enthusiast, a disguised nerd, an internet kid, and a home automation hobbyist. With 17 years of experience in web technologies, a solid foundation in computer science, and nine years of working with Ruby, he's currently exploring the complex field of digital identity. As a tech lead, he's dedicated to inspiring positive changes in the...

Meet Omer Farooq, Senior Software Engineer at Deel. Omer Farooq is a Senior Software Engineer at Deel, specializing in web development, Android applications, and full-stack development. He has significantly influenced architectural, design, and coding practices, focusing on cost efficiency, quality, and performance. Omer's expertise extends to leading software development cycles, managing cloud tr...

Meet Sanaz Mousa, Senior Technical Program Manager, Intercom. Sanaz Mousa, commonly known as San, is a Senior Technical Program Manager at Intercom and is pursuing an MSc in Cybersecurity Management at Munster Technological University. Her experience spans academia, humanitarian efforts, and the tech sector, providing her with a broad view of the cybersecurity landscape. Known for her strong organ...

Meet Chris Konarski, Vice President, Client Engineering, IBM. Chris leads the Client Engineering team at IBM, renowned for forming a global team that partners closely with clients to develop cutting-edge tech solutions. He's a master at sparking new business ideas and guiding teams towards success. Off the clock, Chris loves to immerse himself in nature, watching wildlife or casting a line far out...

Meet Kevin Dubois, Senior Principal Developer Advocate at Red Hat. Kevin is a Java Champion, keynote speaker, cloud-native developer, open source contributor, and author! In this episode, we discussed two hackathons organized by Red Hat. The first was an AI Hackathon at the University of Brussels, long before AI became a hype. It featured an interesting concept with gamification where teams traine...

Meet Kirill Ianchuk, Technical Lead at Deel Deel, established in 2019, quickly became the fastest-growing B2B software company in the world. As an all-in-one payroll and HR platform for global teams, Deel simplifies managing a workforce, covering everything from onboarding and compliance to global payroll, HRIS, and immigration support. Today, Deel boasts 4,000 team members across over 100 countri...

Meet David Tippett, Search Engineer at GitHub David is building the future of search at GitHub. Before joining GitHub, he worked at AWS as the Senior Developer Advocate for OpenSearch, where he taught developers how to build search experiences on the open-source datastore. With a background spanning network automation, software engineering, DevOps, and data engineering, he loves helping new engine...

Meet Daniel Ung, Full-Stack Intern at SAP Daniel is a full-stack intern at SAP and a member of the Hackathon Team at SJSU Computer Science Club. In this episode, we explore how a hackathon profoundly impacted Daniel's life. The energy and camaraderie at these events inspired him to attend countless hackathons. We discuss the vibrant hackathon culture in the Bay Area, focusing on Berkeley's annual...

Meet Shane O'Toole, Senior Technical Program Manager at AWS Shane helps customers use cloud technology to meet their goals for reducing carbon emissions. Shane works with AWS customers, partners, and internal teams to develop and implement solutions that improve sustainability. He has over ten years of experience in various roles including operations, maintenance, engineering, education, and manag...

Meet Meet Kamesh Sampath, Lead Developer Advocate at Snowflake  Kamesh is a veteran tech innovator with 20 years in the trenches. As an author and developer advocate, he's on a mission to demystify data and cloud technologies. His passion? Empowering developers to push boundaries and create the impossible. With a track record of crafting enterprise solutions across diverse industries, he brings ba...

Meet Akshata Sawant, Senior Developer Advocate at Salesforce. Akshata co-authored "MuleSoft for Salesforce Developers," published by Packt Publication. As a global speaker, she has presented at major tech events including Dreamforce, Devoxx, APIDays, and DevOpsDays. Her current focus areas include conference speaking, leading tech meetup groups in London, Manchester, and Mumbai, evangelizing MuleS...

Meet Grzegorz Szczepanik, Senior Software Engineer at IBM Grzegorz Szczepanik is a Senior Software Engineer at IBM. In his early career, he co-founded a small ISP company with friends before joining a game development company, where he spent seven enriching years. Since 2013, he has been with IBM, where his passion for innovation has led to authoring over 40 granted patents. Grzegorz describes him...

Meet Charlie Isaacs, CTO for Customer Connection at Salesforce. Charlie helped develop the Connected Car platform, connecting cars directly with Salesforce technology. He also led the creation of healthcare solutions during the pandemic, including systems for Remote Patient Care and Vaccine Management. He has been instrumental in promoting the Internet of Things within Salesforce for over eight ye...

Meet Priyank Mehta, Software Engineer at AWS Priyank Mehta is a Software Engineer at AWS, where he ensures the payment systems used by many AWS customers are reliable and capable of handling numerous transactions. He is passionate about supporting startups in the US and India, advising non-tech founders on product development. Additionally, he mentors Indian students in the US, guiding them throug...

Meet Chintan Shah, Tech and Product Lead at Salesforce Chintan Shah is a Tech Lead at Salesforce, where he simplifies how data is handled by improving ETL processes—that's the technology used to gather and prepare data for analysis. An experienced software developer, he has helped build major platforms at companies like SanDisk and Microsoft, impacting millions of users. Chintan is also a mentor a...