Xiaoyao Qian

Xiaoyao Qian is a highly accomplished software engineer with extensive experience in the tech industry, particularly in data processing, machine learning infrastructure, and distributed systems. Here's an overview of his career and achievements:

Professional Experience

Current Role: Xiaoyao Qian currently works as a Senior Software Engineer II at Cruise, a position he has held since May 2023.1 Cruise is known for its work in autonomous vehicle technology.

Previous Roles at Twitter: Xiaoyao had a significant tenure at Twitter, progressing through several roles:

1. Senior Software Engineer (October 2021 - April 2023)

   • Led ML infrastructure optimization projects
   • Achieved over $18 million/year in infrastructure cost savings
   • Designed real-time ads ML training data pipeline1

2. Software Engineer II (June 2019 - October 2021)

   • Developed scalable, streaming-first data processing stacks
   • Led migration of ~180 data processing pipelines1

3. Software Engineer I (December 2018 - June 2019)

   • Contributed to Apache Heron project
   • Improved resource allocation, resulting in 10% lower CPU core and 20% lower RAM usage1

4. Software Engineering Intern (June 2017 - August 2017)

   • Created a PrestoDB connector for Twitter's customized Kafka 0.71

Other Notable Experience

• Apache Heron Committer at The Apache Software Foundation (September 2019 - Present)1
• Co-Founder and Tech Lead at NAD Grid Corp (October 2017 - December 2018)1
• Tech Yahoo, Software Development Engineer at Yahoo (July 2014 - August 2016)1

Education

Xiaoyao Qian holds a Master's degree in Computer Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.12 During his time there, he also worked as an Undergraduate Research Assistant at the Coordinated Science Laboratory.1

Skills and Expertise

Xiaoyao's expertise spans various areas of software engineering, including:

• Machine Learning Infrastructure
• Data Processing and Analytics
• Distributed Systems
• Cloud Computing (Google Cloud, Dataflow)
• Open Source Contributions (Apache Heron)
• Blockchain Technology

Languages

Xiaoyao is proficient in both Chinese (native or bilingual proficiency) and English.1

Xiaoyao Qian's career trajectory demonstrates a strong focus on building scalable, efficient systems for data processing and machine learning, particularly in the context of social media and advertising technology. His contributions have led to significant improvements in system performance and cost savings at major tech companies.