meet our
instructors
Learn from people who made it. Our instructors hold positions at some of the top tech companies. With a combined record of over 100 years of tech work – we know what you don’t know (yet.)
meet our
Known for his passion and innovation, Patrick is a QA Engineer with over six years of industry experience. He has worked on mobile and VR applications for many Silicon Valley companies, including Facebook and Intel. Patrick likes to uncover creative solutions in his work and believes that the best projects place a client’s needs first. Patrick enjoys combining his tech background with his love for art and creates CGI and 3D renderings in his spare time. Patrick is a compassionate instructor who feels most fulfilled when he can assist his students in achieving their goals.
A Sr. Software Developer in Testing, Lana has been working in QA for over eight years. Her work has been very colorful, and she has a great deal of experience in building and leading front end and back end automation at many large organizations. Throughout her years in QA, Svetlana has taught and mentored many QA professionals who now work at top Silicon Valley companies.
Before getting into the tech industry, Brandon worked in sales, fitness, and property management. Now, with the help of Careerist, he has found success as a QA engineer and is currently working in LA, helping to maintain a complex tech stack. He's a vocal advocate for students of our program and encourages everyone to reach their fullest potential.
After helping his peers find careers at big tech companies like Google and Facebook, Max decided to widen his impact, leading him to co-found Careerist. He is an established QA professional with over seven years of experience. Max previously worked at companies like Apple and Intel. He takes pride in sharing his expertise and providing Careerists with the skills they need to land their dream jobs.
Sofiia started her QA career as a Manual QA in a small startup, and worked her way up to Automation Team Lead in global organization over the past ten years. With her modern approaches and passion for quality, she's helped multiple teams build QA processes from ground up and implement an automated testing strategy for the frontend and backend. She loves to share her knowledge and expertise in order to help you achieve success in your QA career.
Iurii is a successful software developer and quality assurance analyst with over eight years of experience. He has a master’s degree in visual communications and has worked at many major companies across Silicon Valley, including Google. As an instructor, Iurii is very knowledgeable, having developed instructional materials for a variety of tech-related subjects. Iurii helps Careerists master Software Testing best practices and prepare for an industry that is always changing.
Hezron, a Software Testing Lead with 12 years of experience, has worked at various top Fortune 500 companies in the US. He enjoys being in QA because he gets the opportunity to test and break systems before the actual users can use the applications. Hezron teaches Manual QA trainings for Careerist and is passionate about sharing his extensive QA knowledge and experience with the next generation of Software Testing professionals.
Maria is a QA Lead with 14 years of experience working with various multinational companies based in the US and Europe. While in the US, she also completed a master's degree in business. Maria started her career as a Manual QA intern and then worked her way up to senior and lead roles. She is passionate about providing quality software to clients as well as sharing her QA knowledge and experiences with aspiring QA professionals.
Expert team lead Alex is a QA manager with over eight years of experience in the industry. He has worked for a variety of tech startups from all over the world. Alex is skilled in testing and works hard to prioritize effectiveness. He is also trained in agile and scrum methodologies. Alex is excited for the opportunity to inspire future tech professionals to become top-rated QA engineers.
Ignacio began his career in 2007, working on various projects from manual and automated quality assurance. Eventually, he transitioned into Software Testing management, where he has been responsible for leading several high-performing teams at companies including Intel, Globant, Eventbrite, McAfee, and CambridgeSoft. With over 14 years of experience, Ignacio is an accomplished tech professional, ready to share his expert knowledge with aspiring Careerists.
Natalia is a QA Manager with over a decade of experience working for companies like Apple, Intel, Marketing Evolution, ItsOn, and others. She started her career as a QA Engineer, moved to a Lead role within a few years, and later became a QA Hiring Manager. In her free time, she also writes articles for our blog. Natalia is the mother of five kids and five cats.
Vitaly is a QA Automation Engineer with over seven years of experience. He earned his master's degree in Computer Engineering and has been in the tech industry for the last 12 years. He has worked for various Silicon Valley companies and has a profound expertise in building test automation frameworks for back end and front end services. Education is his passion, and he enjoys helping people get into the technology field.
Michael is a Software QA Engineer who has experience at Indeed.com and Sure App. He worked in sales prior to getting into QA, and is now passionate about improving the quality of software and sharing his knowledge with others. He likes to help people who want to start their career in the technology industry.
Justin Bailey is a Lead Software Developer in Test at financial tech company Payoneer. He has 7+ years of experience in the industry and has worked with other companies such as St. John's University (NY) and Con Edison, where he built out QA software testing teams and infrastructure.
A Sr. Software Developer in Testing, Lana has been working in QA for over eight years. Her work has been very colorful, and she has a great deal of experience in building and leading front end and back end automation at many large organizations. Throughout her years in QA, Svetlana has taught and mentored many QA professionals who now work at top Silicon Valley companies.
Vitaly is a QA Automation Engineer with over seven years of experience. He earned his master's degree in Computer Engineering and has been in the tech industry for the last 12 years. He has worked for various Silicon Valley companies and has a profound expertise in building test automation frameworks for back end and front end services. Education is his passion, and he enjoys helping people get into the technology field.
Stephen Dodd is a master of education focused in Curriculum and Instruction from The University of Texas at Arlington. He is a Full Stack Software Engineer and Machine Learning engineer with 5+ years pf experience. He loves Python and teaches it to different specialists in Tech.
Bringing over 15 years of experience to Careerist, Charles is a senior field solution architect with extensive knowledge of sales engineering.
April is an outcome-oriented leader who thrives in high-growth, fast-paced tech companies. She has worked in the tech industry for over a decade, during which time she has gained skills such as building and scaling a team from scratch and translating relationships into recurring revenue. She's passionate about fostering the next generation of tech talent.
Michael is a US Air Force veteran who decided to pursue a career in sales engineering after his time in the service. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and a Master of Science in Systems Engineering. He has extensive experience in engineering and project management, a high level of technical knowledge, and the leadership and interpersonal skills to help businesses succeed.
Ryan is a Senior Solutions Engineer for ID.me with over nine years of experience at companies like Crossmatch, Citrix, and Ingram Micro. He's also a real estate investor, online retailer, and content creator. He's passionate about sharing his love for pre-sales and wants to empower more individuals to pursue this career path.
Sheldon is a Digital Asset Specialist contractor for multiple organizations. He has 10 years of experience as a Network Security and Solutions Engineer for companies like Hewlett Packard, Arrow Electronics, Charles Schwab, DXC, and EZCorp. He also has over 20 years of experience in music and network engineering. He's currently backpacking through Southeast Asia on sabbatical.
Nader has over 20 years of sales engineering experience at companies like OpenText, Oracle, and smaller startups. He has a Bachelor of Science from The American University in Cairo and a Masters Degree from California State University, Fullerton, both in Mechanical Engineering.
Site Reliability Engineer with 10+ years of experience at Box, EPAM, New York Times.
Linux System Administrator at Garmin with 10+ years of experience as Sr. Systems Engineer, Cloud Systems Architect and DevOps background. Lead Instructor at NYU School of Professional Studies and University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Currently a Lead Technical Analyst in Infrastructure, Keith has over 25 years experience working with various Unix and Linux platforms and their associated hardware. Keith is also a Senior Visiting Professor with over 30 years of instruction experience both in the classroom and online.
Alex is a well-established Senior Engineering Manager with over 30 years of experience in the field. His expertise in Systems Engineering, management, DevOps, and SRE has been put to use at companies such as Cisco, Google, Ticketfly, and Dreamworks. Currently, Alex is working at an Artificial Intelligence startup, helping build systems, networking, and cloud engineering to power new technology. Alex is also an expert in computer history and has worked as a curator at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA.
IT Systems Engineer with 30+ years of experience at companies such as Bank of America
Ksenia began her career as a self-taught graphic design freelancer, then shifted to UI Design at a tech company in Ukraine. After that, she moved to the US and began learning about the world of product design, and she now works as a Product Designer at Meta. She’s passionate about helping others build their portfolios and land their dream jobs.
As a leader in UX Design and Product Management, Caesar focuses on setting clear outcomes and measuring progress for the experiences he has built at different companies, including various startups, Kroger, and Google. He brings this same discipline to mentoring passionate students towards finding their first opportunities as UX designers. Originally from the Mexico-US border, Caesar now resides in Los Angeles, CA.
May is a freelance multidisciplinary designer who is self-taught in graphic design and illustration. She also has experience in UI, product design, and instructing with the goal of solving problems through storytelling. She's passionate about mentoring and supporting others in their career-change trajectories so they can reach their professional goals.
Jonathan is a user-need streamliner and multi-disciplinary design researcher with 24 years of experience in creative services and media production. He has also spent 10+ years in specialized education and data analysis. He's a team leader who is passionate about simplifying messages for target audiences, ideation and revision, information architecture, wireframes and storyboarding, and precise creative detail. He has advanced proficiency in conceptualization and project management, with years of training in language and literacy, human behavior, mathematics, and socio-emotional education. He has an award-winning work history reinforced by accredited data and critically acclaimed products.
Zoie is a freelance Senior Product Designer who has worked with a variety of startups in Silicon Valley, including JEFIT, Branding Brand, and Arcsite. She's passionate about working on consumer-facing products in particular. She became a successful Product Designer with zero design background herself, and she's excited to guide others through their own career journeys.
Katsiaryna "Kate" Tsiukhai is the co-founder and Head of UX/UI at Sizze.io, the founder of Design Regatta, and a seasoned professional in the field of user experience and user interface design. She previously served as the UX/UI Team Lead at SberDevices, where she specialized in the development of no-code platforms, virtual assistants, app stores, and products for designers and developers. Her work there earned her and her team the prestigious Red Dot award. Kate has also served as a curator for UX/UI courses, teaching over 500 students both online and at traditional universities in Eastern Europe.
Vishali has over six years of experience in exploratory and statistical analysis across industries, including IT/consulting, insurance, defense, and gaming. She currently works as a Senior Analyst at Electronic Arts and has also been teaching data analysis for over a year, where her passion for sharing knowledge and empowering others shines through.
Alex is a data analytics mentor who currently also works as Chief Data Analyst at Nordea Bank. He has over eight years of experience in the field along with a strong background in finance, data engineering, and hands-on data analysis and visualization. Alex is passionate about business intelligence, data team formation, and helping people get careers in the data field.
Davey is a Senior Manager of Analytics at Nike, one of the three Fortune 25 companies he has worked at in his seven years in this field so far. He has primarily specialized in supply chain analytics, and his work has helped address issues related to the impacts of COVID-19 on supply chains. He's also passionate about teaching analytics to students and small business owners.
Vishal has been working as a data analyst for over seven years in industries such as healthcare, real estate, and software development. He uses his deep love for storytelling to bring data to life, making it accessible for decision-makers. He's also passionate about mentoring and helping others unlock their potential so they can reach their goals.
Thomas began his career as a cybersecurity consultant at Mastercard and now works in the Consumer Division at Unity. He's passionate about data visualization and is always trying to find creative solutions for visualizing abstract issues with data.
Alex has over 10 years of experience creating enterprise value as a data analytics leader across industries, including financial services, automotive, live sports/events, and media. He focuses on analytical maturation, promoting data literacy organizationally, and operationalizing data in day-to-day processes. He has also mentored over 100 data analytics and data science students.
