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    Ryan Walker

    Ryan Walker

    Visionary and customer-focused engineering manager with a proven 15+ year track record of spearheading, leading and delivering innovative consumer products.

    Entrepreneur San Francisco University of Souther...
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    Experience
    Dapper Labs
    Dapper Labs
    Director of Engineering 2021 - Present (almost 5 years)
    - Steer the strategic vision of the company while designing and delivering innovative technology solutions within the blockchain and digital collectible sectors. Cultivate... more a high-performing culture centered on collaboration, integrity, and innovation by empowering and leading a team of 30+ engineers and engineering managers.

    - Achieved a 28% boost in engineering throughput while also increasing job satisfaction by applying impactful best practices in software development, professional development and project management.
    - Pioneered, recruited, hired and staffed 10+ engineers, leveraging best practices for the engineering pipeline that championed diversity & inclusion.
    - Led technical and platform decisions that ensured a competitive advantage and technological advancement within a fast-paced industry and environment, decreasing overall service footprint by 3x.
    - Sponsored the effort to transform QA into QE, with a dedicated focus to automated testing and improvements in our CI/CD processes.
    - Drove company success in a challenging market through the successful launch of multiple features and products, exemplified by Disney Pinnacle, a blockchain based iOS application, LaLiga Football, a web application, and countless releases on NBA Top Shot and NFL All Day, both iOS and web based applications.
    - Partnered with various stakeholders including customer support, product and design teams to create positive feedback loops for our products that led to an overall 20% lift to customer sentiment based on the cadence and type of feature releases we delivered from engineering.
    - Presented and advocated for the entire engineering organization to the executive suite, including CEO, CFO and VPs.
    - Proposed, created, and implemented a new way for Dapper Labs to approach ideation and feature consolidation through the use of “problem statements”. Currently in use today, Dapper has created over 500 problem statements that align and galvanize key contributors across the company.
    Apple
    Apple
    Senior Software Engineer 2020 - 2021 (about 1 year)
    - Engineered and implemented cutting-edge internal and external iOS, watchOS and macOS applications for the company's wireless technologies group written in Objective-C and... more Swift.
    - Improved performance benchmarks in critical frameworks, particularly HomeKit and Wireless Stress, through strategic initiatives and cross-functional communication with other teams in Hardware, Software and Watch orgs.
    - Reduced the Home App's loading time on Apple Watch by 500ms by architecting and delivering highly impactful code changes for native applications, that utilized validation, data visualization, and testing within the Apple ecosystem.
    - Designed, developed and led the team for both iTester macOS, and a yet-to-be-released internal application focused on Apple’s baseband. Responsible for end-to-end delivery of both applications, including development schedules, project updates, bug and feature prioritization, and functional specifications.
    - Increased scalability and maintainability of iTester’s internal frameworks by decreasing code complexity and encouraging team members to pursue strong object-oriented design patterns.
    - Upskilled 4 new hires and career-experience interns in the areas of enhancing the AirDrop experience for customers, providing guidance on programming and effective communication of code improvements.
    Software Engineer 2016 - 2018 (over 1 year)
    Skills: Team Leadership and Development · Shipping Systems · Cross-functional Collaborations · Architectural Design · Project Management · Performance Optimization · Mobile... more Application Development · Product Requirements
    Tap Bio
    Tap Bio
    Co-Founder, Head of Product & Engineering 2018 - 2019 (over 1 year)
    - Led a dynamic team of 5 React/Ruby backend engineers to drive successful project outcomes and foster a high-performance work environment. Transformed core development practices... more by utilizing agile methodologies that enhanced developer experience, increased throughput, and facilitated continuous code shipping and immediate fixes.
    - Designed and implemented impactful features, bug fixes, and internal tools for a project with 13M+ users, including renowned figures such as Eminem, Janet Jackson, and the Virgin Media Group, that heightened user engagement and increased 23% subscription rates.
    - Attained an industry-leading 99.9% uptime by establishing and maintaining a highly scalable and resilient tech stack — still in use today.
    - Interviewed and partnered with key customers in health, wellness and food industries to better understand product requirements and needs.
    WITT Labs
    WITT Labs
    Head of Product 2019 - 2020 (about 1 year)
    - Orchestrated the complete product life cycle by integrating user feedback into the roadmap and strategically analyzing feature releases for optimal ROI growth and positive... more user sentiment. Oversaw the end-to-end conceptualization, technical
    design, and development of the Link in Profile web application, written in Ruby, culminating in a successful exit in August 2016.
    - Achieved a noteworthy milestone of $60K in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) within a rapid six month timeframe.
    - Developed Cookery, a #1 Food and Drink iOS application, by showcasing expertise in app creation, strategic partnerships, and obtaining top ranking status in a competitive market.
    - Conceived, researched, designed, and pioneered MicroHero, an iOS application, that engaged users to answer 37K questions and accelerated $2K in donations to 65 charities within the first week of launch.

    Skills: Mobile Application Development · Web Application Development · Architectural Design · Financial Growth Strategies · Best Practices Implementation · Performance Optimization · Team Leadership and Development · User Engagement · Project Management · Product Requirements · Shipping Systems · Entrepreneurship
    Founder 2009 - 2015 (almost 6 years)
    Link in Profile
    Link in Profile
    Founder 2015 - 2016 (about 1 year)
    Skills: Team Leadership and Development · Best Practices Implementation · User Engagement · Shipping Systems · Architectural Design · Financial Growth Strategies · Entrepreneurship... more · Project Management · Performance Optimization · Web Application Development · Product Requirements
    Founder
     
    Employee
    Apple, Link in Profile, WITT Labs, Tap Bio, Dapper Labs
    Investor
     
    Incubator
     
    Advisor
     
    Attorney
     
    Board Member
     
    Mentor
     
    Member
     
    Acquired
     
     
    Education
     
    About
    Achievements

    Recognized for developing top-tier talent to support organizational growth while driving innovation, making platform decisions, and ensuring a competitive advantage through the adoption of cutting-edge technologies. Adept at leading teams, shipping high-quality consumer facing software, boosting engineering throughput, and defining concrete roadmaps from various constraints and ambiguity. Expert in product launching, Agile methodologies, secure software architecture, and regulatory compliance. Proven success in managing iOS and web engineering teams, facilitating continuous product improvements, and defining metrics for velocity, code quality, and operational efficiency.

    Describe the most impressive thing you've done.
    Skills
    Statistics Data Analysis Survey Design Mobile Devices Mobile Apps Design Swift Javascript Objective-C SwiftUI Swift/Objective C/iOS/Xcode
    Locations
    San Francisco Bay Area San Diego Nashville
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