Firas Kazem — CTO

I'm closing in on 20 years in the tech industry, having spent most of it at AWS, IBM, and BlackBerry at its heyday. I started as a software developer and spent the last 10 years in engineering leadership. I have built and launched new software products and transformed legacy ones. I have led teams through periods of restructuring, transition, and growth. I've written code, designed systems, envisioned products, and inspired people. I've been a disruptor, a stabilizer, a strategist, and a reliable executor. I'm currently at AWS. I'm the Head of Engineering for Amazon Managed Service for Prometheus; a monitoring and alerting service for containerized applications at scale. Our customers rely on the availability, reliability, and security of our service to monitor their own services and applications. If we're down, they're running blind. I am enjoying the challenges of my current role; running a time-critical, globally available service, and solving complex scalability problems in distributed systems. AWS gives me and my team autonomy and ownership in building and operating our service. What differentiates my team from others is that we're exceeding AWS's high bar for speed and operational excellence while contributing to and depending on open source software. At SSENSE, I did things I hadn't expected. I redesigned the engineering career track. I introduced a patent program, I tracked CapEx spending, standardized MLOps, and brought Data Science and Engineering together. Most importantly, I saw how enterprises that have traditionally been my customers operate from within. Oh and I hired a ton, especially managers. At IBM, I was a change agent. I inspired and facilitated internal teams' adoption of AI/ML. I became a better story-teller, I upleveled my skills in stakeholder management, and I innovated (8 patents granted). I also got to see how the different teams and orgs within a mammoth like IBM operate. At BlackBerry, I practised the 101s of engineering leadership. I experienced growth in the fast-paced days of rapid adoption in messaging and video calling (now used by billions of users daily). I extended and eventually sunsetted legacy products. I downsized, pivoted, and launched new products in the enterprise space. I put on a product manager hat, a developer advocate hat, and a UX designer hat. I wrote blogs, presented at conferences, and troubleshooted customer setups. I saw how hard it is to start a new business, and why building great software and great software teams are not the sole ingredients for success.

Stackforce AI infers this person is a SaaS and Enterprise Software leader with a strong focus on AI/ML integration.

Location: Seattle, Washington, United States

Experience: 3 yrs 5 mos

Skills

Engineering Leadership
Distributed Systems
Software Project Management
Team Leadership
Product Development
Ai/ml Integration
Software Development

Career Highlights

20 years of experience in the tech industry.
Led engineering teams at AWS, IBM, and BlackBerry.
Innovated with 8 patents granted.

Work Experience

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Head of Engineering, Amazon Managed Service for Prometheus (4 yrs 3 mos)

SSENSE

Director Of Engineering (11 mos)

IBM

Senior Software Development Manager (1 yr 11 mos)

BlackBerry

Senior Software Development Manager (9 yrs)

Nortel

Senior Software Developer (3 yrs 5 mos)

Education

Ma. Sc. at University of Ottawa

Ba. Sc. at University of Ottawa

Firas Kazem

CTO

Seattle, Washington, United States3 yrs 5 mos experience

Highly StableAI Enabled

Key Highlights

20 years of experience in the tech industry.
Led engineering teams at AWS, IBM, and BlackBerry.
Innovated with 8 patents granted.

Stackforce AI infers this person is a SaaS and Enterprise Software leader with a strong focus on AI/ML integration.

Contact

Skills

Core Skills

Engineering LeadershipDistributed SystemsSoftware Project ManagementTeam LeadershipProduct DevelopmentAi/ml IntegrationSoftware Development

Other Skills

Team ManagementMLOpsAI & MLAI/MLCloud ComputingSaaSPaaSTechnical LeadershipTelemetryOpen-Source DevelopmentAnalyticsAmazon Web Services (AWS)Engineering ManagementMobile ApplicationsSoftware Design

About

Experience

Amazon web services (aws)

Head of Engineering, Amazon Managed Service for Prometheus

Dec 2021 – Present · 4 yrs 3 mos · Seattle, WA · On-site

Head of Engineering for Amazon Managed Service for Prometheus; a fully managed, globally available AWS service.
We're solving complex scalability problems in distributed systems and contributing back to Open Source.

Distributed SystemsTeam ManagementEngineering Leadership

Ssense

Director Of Engineering

Jan 2021 – Dec 2021 · 11 mos · Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Leading 7 squads with ~40 Developers, Tech Leads, Dev Managers, and Architects working on
Buying, Pricing, and Customer Engagement for an e-commerce retailer in hyper-growth.
My
teams leverage AI & ML in:
● The pricing engine that allows us to select the optimal selling price for our products
● The buying platform that enables data-driven purchasing of our merchandise
● The recommendation engine that personalizes our customers' shopping experience
My key accomplishments are:
● Kicked off an MLOps initiative to standardize our ML pipeline company-wide
● Launched a re-designed pricing engine with x20 performance & auditability built in
● Launched a company-wide Patent program
● Unlocked +20% R&D budget through better tracking of CapEx and SR&ED
● Redesigned the engineering career track at SSENSE, introducing new levels & disciplines

Software Project ManagementTeam Leadership

Ibm

Senior Software Development Manager

Feb 2019 – Jan 2021 · 1 yr 11 mos · Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Leading an AI Incubator team with a mandate to drive innovation and embed Watson Artificial Intelligence into IBM's products.
My key accomplishments are:
● Built the talent and set up the processes for an unconventional, high-performing development team with a focus on innovation and agility.
● Established collaborative relationships with stakeholders across multiple organizations.
● Delivered user impacting cloud native solutions into IBM products; notably,
A Business Analytics Dashboard Builder utilizing machine learning, visual recognition, natural language processing, optical character recognition, and several data analysis techniques (recepient of Outstanding Technical Achievement Award).
● Drove innovation by building AI-infused solutions and contributing to IBM's patent portfolio
Developed original concepts for solutions that span multiple services and products
Filed 8 patent applications
Member of the Data Analytics & AI Invention Disclosure Committee (for evaluating patent disclosures)
● Mentored, grew, and nurtured talent in my team, my org, and my local Lab
Successfully mentored 10 first-time inventors
Organizer and Judge for IBM Ottawa Lab's Call for Code Global Challenge
Judge and mentor for IBM's JumpStart program for developing early professionals

Software Project ManagementTeam LeadershipAI/ML Integration

Blackberry

Senior Software Development Manager

Jan 2010 – Jan 2019 · 9 yrs · Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Responsible for the software development of BlackBerry's secure communications solutions; BBM Enterprise (SaaS) and Spark Communications (PaaS).
My key accomplishments are:
● Launched BBM Enterprise, a secure instant messaging and conferencing solution (SaaS).
● Launched Spark Communications SDK, a secure communications platform (PaaS).
● Successfully transitioned the team from developing applications with an ad-based revenue model in the consumer space, to building an enterprise focused secure communications platform.
● Restructured and consolidated four different teams into one cohesive unit with renewed focus and minimal attrition.
● Fulfilled a technical product manager role by setting the vision for the Spark Communications platform. Defined the product’s offering, including the broad strokes of the API layer, example applications, developer guides, and supporting content used by developer relations and marketing.
● Played a large role in supporting the Sales team close on high value customers and accelerating discussions with prospects at partner conferences.
Technology Stack: JavaScript, Node.js, Java, Swift, C++, MySQL, NoSQL

Software Project ManagementTeam LeadershipProduct Development

Nortel

Senior Software Developer

Aug 2006 – Jan 2010 · 3 yrs 5 mos · Ottawa, Canada Area

I had multiple roles in Advanced Research, CTO office's Incubator team, and Carrier Applications. I primarily worked on original concept ideas; prototyping, incubating, and filing patents.

Technical LeadershipSoftware Development